We have both indoor and outdoor cats.
Outdoor Cats
When we moved into the house in 2012 our neighbor had over sixty feral cats (please, please, please spay and neuter your cats!). When her husband passed away and she moved out of the home, a cat rescue came out and we helped them trap over forty of the cats to spay/neuter them and rehome them as barn cats. Ten of the cats died before we could trap them. We took nine cats and had them spayed and neutered. Over time, some of the nine left our barn to play or hunt and never came back.
The cats that stayed with us were extremely feral and afraid of humans. The only interaction they had with humans was when the neighbor’s son tried to exterminate them. Tabitha worked for six years to build trust in the cats and she can now pet them and they rub against her and sit by her! They are proof that feral cats can be rehabilitated, it just takes time.
Trouble and Abetzi
Trouble and Abetzi are two of the once-feral cats we still have. They are big boys and their favorite thing to do is snuggle with each other on the top level of their scratching post in the garage. The boys are so bonded with each other that if you see one, the other one is always nearby. They never go anywhere without each other!
Update…Trouble passed away on March 11, 2021. He was a big part of our family for nine years. He loved rolling around in the dirt and soaking up as much sunshine as he could. Our sweet boy passed away in his warm bed with his brother, Abetzi, by his side.
Milo
Milo came to us when his family moved and left him behind. He’s an affectionate cat who loves to sit on our lap purring and drooling. Most times when we look outside, he’s sitting on the back porch looking into the house with his tongue sticking out and drooling. We tried to teach him to be an indoor cat, but after he “watered” the Christmas tree over and over again, we decided to keep him outside. He loves chasing grasshoppers and rolling around in the dirt. He’s afraid of the chickens because they chase him and peck him on the head, but he loves the rabbits. He likes putting his paw on their heads to pet them and they nap together.
Update…Like a couple of our other barn cats over the years, Milo went out exploring one day and never came back. Even though we have barn cats, we’ll be the first to tell you that cats are much safer inside the house. Barn cats are tough little cats, but no matter how tough they are, they face dangers on a daily basis. The hardest thing about having barn cats is, when they leave the yard, you never know if they are coming back. When they don’t come home for dinner, you take notice. When two dinners pass without them, you start to worry. After a month of untouched dinners, you know in your heart they won’t be back. It’s been over a year since Milo went out exploring. Whenever we go outside we still hope to see him run up to us asking for snuggles. Maybe he found our barn cats, Fern and Elm. Maybe just over Rainbow Bridge he’s rolling around in the dirt. And drooling because he’s happy.
Trinity
Trinity adopted us in February, 2020. We don’t know where she came from. She just started coming around and decided to stay. We’re pretty sure she’s been spayed because the tip of her ear is missing. Ear clipping is done in feral cats so you can tell by looking at them if they’ve been spayed or neutered. That way, you don’t have to traumatize them by trapping them and taking them to the vet, only to find out they’ve already been sterilized. Trinity is incredibly timid. We’re hoping that eventually, we’ll be able to reach out to her without her running away.
We set up a couple of houses for Trinity (one is heated), but her favorite place to sleep is in a small burrow the rabbits dug when they shared the yard with the chickens. She hides in the burrow during the day so she doesn’t have to fight with Trouble and Abetzi when they’re out. After Trouble and Abetzi are closed up for the night, she comes out and sits on the back porch waiting for her food and warm water. She really loves our cat, Paige. She meows at Paige and rubs on the glass door when Paige is looking outside. Sadly, Paige doesn’t feel the same love for Trinity!
Feeding the Outdoor Cats
We free-feed the outdoor cats dry grain-free food. Since we have cat visitors from around the neighborhood, we make sure to have dry food available at all times because we don’t know who will be stopping in for a meal. We also give them each a can of wet food at night. We give everyone baked chicken for an occasional treat.
Indoor Cats
Our indoor cats are Gypsy, Willow, Chunk, Aspen, Paige, and Lizzie. Gypsy and Willow are our senior cats. We’ve had them since 2004 (Gypsy) and 2005 (Willow) and they are starting to show signs of their old age. We give them a glucosamine supplement to help with the aches and pains of senior cat life. They creek and pop when they move, but thanks to the glucosamine Willow still plays like a kitten.
The Young Bunch
Chunk, Aspen, Paige, and Lizzie are our younger indoor cats. The babies came to us in 2017 when they were orphaned at the age of two weeks old. We bottled fed them around the clock and now they are affectionate, mischievous little lions. They’ve changed everything in our lives in the few short years we’ve had them. I’ll tell you about their story soon!
Feeding the Indoor Cats
The cats get fed grain-free dry food. Willow won’t eat wet food or baked chicken so we just give her dry food. Gypsy has had problems in the past with her blood sugar and since getting her off dry food and putting her on a grain-free wet food diet her blood sugar has stabilized and she is doing much better. The younger indoor cats are fed grain-free wet food and are supplemented with grain-free dry food. As a treat, everyone gets baked chicken.
(Report a typo or let us know what else you want to know about the cats!)