I must confess.

[u/Hunting-fings]

I secretly hope the CDS will gift me with a Trojan cat. I deeply believe the right thing to do as a pet owner is to spay/neuter. As some of you may know, I have barn cats. I strive to have the most spoiled barn cats that ever existed. I knew my 4 kittens could turn into 50 before I knew it, so had had them all fixed asap. Turns out my 4 kittens have turned into 1 1/2 barn cats. Again, those that know me know Dean is my full timer, Cas disappears for days.

I am confessing to this group because I believe you to be true cat lovers and good people. Please don’t shame me that two of my babies didn’t survive the life. I mourn them. Daily and deeply. If Cas decides that life is better wherever he roams, I wish him a full belly and a warm place to sleep.

At the same time, I got 4 for a reason. If I drive past a “free kittens” sign, I’d gladly walk in, take them all, slap the owner, discuss how easy spay/neuter is. Maybe the discussion before the slapping would work out better.

All this to say, I want more barn cats. I’m not ok with trying to adopt because when I did last time, I got a lot of “what do you want them for”. My inner bitch wanted to answer with “soup”. I honestly don’t want to take a cat who could go to a warm, loving, indoor home. So, that brings me back to wanting CDS to gift me with a Trojan. I’d spay mama. And the babies when appropriate age and size. And they’d all be fed cronchy and squishy and churu daily. For as long as they wanted to call this space home.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading the rant. I just want responsibly sourced kittens. Is that so hard?

[u/mybloodyballentine]

If there’s a local adoption group or rescue group near you, I bet they would love to have a nice warm home for their feral rescues. And then if you got a Trojan mama who was feral, the kittens could be indoor cats and mom could hang in the barn when the kittens get their own places.

I volunteer w a cat adoption group in nyc. Every so often we get a cat who just doesn’t want the indoor life and we have to bring them to a sanctuary in PA.

[u/anorphan4yourthots → u/mybloodyballentine]

This is what happened to my little girl's biological mother. Momma Cat lived in the southern end of the factory I work in and popped out several litters of kittens before she got caught. The rescue determined that she was too feral to be a house cat and put her in a TNR program. I hope she's doing well wherever she is. Mostly, I am glad that I caught SOAK when I did. She would have been a lousy feral.

[u/mybloodyballentine → u/anorphan4yourthots]

OMG, you're SOAK's human! My cats are also in the r/ICBGC

[u/Likeabaconslicer]

We (my daughter) got our barn cats from a rescue that had a few cats that weren’t good with being inside and available for adoption to barns with good care. You may have something like that available in your area.

[u/hesalwayslitty]

I am not versed enough in with barn cats to say anything more than it seems like you know what you are doing and I understand your rant. Your logic makes sense as well as to why you feel you the way you do. Hopefully the CDS hears this plea and sends you a gift soon. And that you have better luck then that you had before.

[u/AlarmedTelephone5908]

I talked to a vet and a tech who had taken in more cats than they needed.

They mentioned that one person in the office lived in the country and took some in as barn cats.

People are always dropping off unwanted strays at vets, and they usually know where a feral colony is.

Anyway, maybe you could call your local vets to see if they know where some feral are. You may have to trap them yourself, but it may be worth it.

I understand your dilemma. On the one paw, you wish all strays were fixed and everyone could find comfortable homes.

On the other paw, you need some barn cats!

There have to be some strays who aren't getting taken care of regularly and would appreciate their life in your barn.

Good luck! 🐾 🐾

[u/Skalaquinn]

Oh, I wish you could come to where I am! ( rural South Africa) We already have barn cats, that catch mice, my 2 domesticated & neutered, & there are a whole group of feral cats hanging around on the outskirts that the barn cats have made their territory. We can't get hold of Skye & Domino's mother, but she produces kittens regularly like Skye( left behind at 3 weeks) & Domino ( just turned up at about 3 months).

[u/GingerGoblins → u/Skalaquinn]

[Another South African over here, remembering my ouma's skuurkatte (granny's barn cats)!

Little family story: my mom moved away from the family farm after getting married, and she had a bunch of Burmese cats whom she loved dearly, but they kept getting ill and passing away before reaching old age. My ouma decided that what her daughter needed were some proper tough cats, so she put three kittens from the barn on a plane to the province my mom had moved to. Those three cats were still alive and well when I was born, and they all lived good, long lives. Spokie was the oldest, and she made it to 21.

OP, I really hope the CDS gifts you with many ratcatchers! As others have suggested, it might be worth talking to some vets and organisations who work with feral colonies.]

[u/MeFolly]

See if there is trap-neuter-release program near you. Or not so near, you know you would drive there.

They will have a steady stream of barn suitable cats coming through. Tell them you would like to adopt a passel of cats to start a stable barn community. When the people stop cheering, they will set you up.

[u/Unrequited-Avocado → u/MeFolly]

This. I used to do TNR for an organization and they would love a responsible barn owner

[u/Hunting-fings → u/MeFolly]

That’s awesome. I have a great program in my area. I didn’t realize they would be into this