Rehoming Barn Cats

carolsferals.org 616 560-0555 info@carolsferals.org

Relocating feral and outdoor cats is not as easy as physically placing them in their newoutdoor home. Cats are very territorial, and if you simply place them in a new location, theywill try to find their way back to where they came from, often times killing themselves in theprocess.

Fortunately, feral and outdoor cats can be acclimated to a new territory fairly easy and in ashort amount of time.

Rehoming Procedure

1. Place the cat in a large cage or kennel within the building they will be calling home. Give the cat a small towel lined carrier with the door held open with a small bungeecord, food and water, and a litter box. Clay litter is better than clumping in thisenvironment, as clumping litter can get wet or in the water bowl, making a sticky messthat is more difficult to clean up.

2. Clean the litter box and give fresh food and water daily. This can easily be done byclosing the cat inside the carrier (the one you have bungeed open) to keep the cat safewhile you are tending to its needs.

3. After 2-3 weeks, you can open the cage door. Food and water should be kept bothinside and outside of the cage. Once the cats leave, they may never want to go backinto the cage.

4. After two more weeks, the cats should be comfortable in their new home and the cageand supplies can be taken away.

5. Caring for your barn cat is as easy as providing fresh food and water daily. Some barncat caregivers keep litter pans inside their barns, but often are rarely used. Never relyon outdoor cats to sustain themselves on rodents alone, they need a nutrient rich dietto sustain a healthy life.

Want a barn cat?

If you are interested in having your own working barn cat, we often have some available. Justcall or fill out a barn cat application on our website.

Need to find a home for a barn cat?

If you have an outdoor or barn cat available for adoption, you can solicit barn homes oncraigslist.com. Be sure the farm agrees to follow the above guidelines on rehoming barn cats,provide fresh food and water daily, offer year round protective shelter, and have all other catson peoperty spay/neutered before adopting cats to them. Also, be sure to check with propertyowner as to whether or not they have used poisons for rodent control in past 6 months.

We have an adoption contract you can use when re-homing your ferals to barns, if you areinterested.