We have a farming cooperative in our rural town. Some of us grow veggies & fruits. Some are dairy farmers. Some have chickens. Some have pigs. Whatever..... then we all share in the co-op.
Well with barns, and there are lots of them, come barn cats. And there are lots of them! Now we spay or neuter the cats and they are handy to have on the farms as they are "mousers" for their food. They kill field mices, moles, and voles.
But...... how do you keep new cats from coming to join the collective? We started out with 3 cats. All are fixed. Then another showed up, and we fixed her. Then a 5th, and we fixed him. But enough is enough! I swear our cats are sending out signals to come live here! There's hundreds of acres in the co-op with loads of vermin to catch and milk from the dairy barns.
How do we tell the new kitties, no room at the inn?
2007-01-26 01:45:10 · 19 answers · asked by kja63 7 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Polls & Surveys
LOL -- Y'all aren't helping! We have dogs too. Mostly herding dogs to help with the farm work. Amazingly, almost all of the dogs & cats get along just fine. We even have 2 Rotties and they just ignore the cats.
2007-01-26 01:53:48 · update #1
Rural American is loaded to the teeth with guns -- But we don't shoot kitties!
2007-01-26 01:55:40 · update #2
Just to clarify, we don't feed the kitties. They are required to hunt for their food. Okay, I confess, we squirt them a little milk from time to time but we don't feed them. But hunting is great on the lands we farm. The co-op has barn owls too that hunt. And we have bats that hunt the bugs. And barn swallows that hunt the bugs. So we are very happy with what we have, we just don't want more cats to have to fix and get vaccinated.
2007-01-26 01:59:41 · update #3
Voles are like moles. When they run, it looks like they are on little roller skates. Cute actually, but they are vermin and the cats hunt them for food.
The co-op does share in the cost of the spay & neuter program we have. And we're not complaining. We just don't need any more kitties and so I was wondering if y'all had any ideas how to stop the new ones from joining the collective.
2007-01-26 02:17:17 · update #4
I think there is some unknown way that cats communicate with each other, calling in the strays to join their happy little family.
My sister and I live in the country, across the road and down about 200 yards from each other and when I moved out there, I had one cat. Male, neutered and declawed, a rescue from the local pound. He must have put out the signal that he was lonely because now we have 2 that have just come to visit and stayed.
My sisters barn cat population has exploded to about 2 dozen cats....all neutered or spayed and vaccinated, but I must tell you, its a never ending job keeping up with them. Some days we look up and here come one or two across the fields, ones we have never seen before, seems they are just wandering in from everywhere.
Seriously though, IF more people spayed and neutered, there wouldnt be that many more strays added to the population.
Almost every major city in the united states runs a feral cat program and will come out and capture then spay, neuter and vaccinate the wild cats, returning some to their home and adopting out those that would make good family cats.
2007-01-26 01:53:10 · answer #1 · answered by kimmi_35 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A friend of mine would tell you he could take care of that for you for a nickel a piece, but I don't think that is the way to go. Do you have people dropping them off or are they just stray finding food? I would guess you are marked as a good place to dispose of unwanted kittens and that is probably better than the alternative disposal method. It is good that you are having them 'fixed' and should continue to do so for the good of the cat population, bird population and the world. I would guess you would either need to start packing them up and taking them to a shelter or deal with them.
Rob - farrow cats are a problem. They breed and inbreed and spread disease. They not only help keep the 'vermin' population down they also kill 100's of 1000's of song birds a year. That wouldn't be good for your 'nature walk', now would it!
2007-01-26 01:53:31 · answer #2 · answered by D Marie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I really see that there is no problem at all going on.
Cats will get coming as long as there is an abundance of food for them.OK,lets take the cats away:back to the days of the HILLBILLIES when vermin had to be handled with traps.
Now you get rid of the pest creatures in a way easier manor..
Rather have those mice,moles and rats back?
Rob.
Do the cats harm anybody?
I don't think so.
Stop wining:be a happy vermin free person.
BTW:where I LIVE there are hundreds of cats.
Big deal.
2007-01-26 02:01:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Usually the dominate tom will keep the other males from coming around. We have had the misfortune of losing cats to the road. I am glad your family feels the way they do about cats. Usually farmers see them as just another animal and their well being not on the top of the priority list. We live in a mobile home in farmland. We lost 8 cats to a fire a couple of years ago. they are like our children. We call them in for t night. ell to answerer your question...the Tom usually weeds out the males and we firmly discourage getting to friendly with other cats. It works for us. what is voles?
After reading responses I can't believe how your question was taken. first you can not feed the world population of cats. it is not as simple as just letting them take over. To those who responded get a clue.
2007-01-26 02:03:17 · answer #4 · answered by Wat Da Hell 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi.
I'm not sure I understand what the problem is. The new kitties aren't going to go hungry or thirsty so why do they need to live with you? Or are you concerned about it always being down to you to get them fixed? Maybe you could start a fund amongst your neighbours so you don't have to bear all the cost yourself.
As for your kitties sending out signals....LOL. My lot wait until we're at the bottom of the drive then they have everybody in for a party. ........
2007-01-26 01:55:51 · answer #5 · answered by lou b 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We live in a rural area and I think people get new pets and they bring them out and drop them off when they find out being a pet owner is not so easy. That is actually how we got our dog.
Around here animal control is not very helpful, telling us just to let them go again :( can you believe that???
So we found an emergency facility that will fix them and find them homes.
Good Luck to you, with your kitty problem.
2007-01-26 02:00:14 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
People may be dropping them on you thinking you need them for your barns. I know we have aquired a few that way. There is really no way to keep more from coming unless you quit feeding them. And you can't do that because then the cats you already have will leave.
2007-01-26 01:55:35 · answer #7 · answered by precious1too 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We have barn cats to.W e have some farmers that have grain bins and they take some for us.To help keep the rats and mice away.I have a inside cat and it just lays there and watches the mice.lol.
2007-01-26 01:56:02 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
my mom also lives in the country and has many cats on her property. She feeds them because she feels sorry for them. They are wild/feral and will not let you pet them. She thinks people drop off litters and she has had a few pregnant cats that have been dumped too. She doesnt mind as long as they remain wild and just come for food. none of them are in the house. i think you will keep getting cats as long as people keep dumping them. its sad
2007-01-26 01:53:51 · answer #9 · answered by wonder woman 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well that would be hard, if their are a lot of mice other kitties will notice this too, i think its great that you are letting these animals stay in your barns, i'm not sure what you can do though
2007-01-26 01:51:10 · answer #10 · answered by Falloutgirl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋