Barn cats- do they come in your house?

[okggo]

I got a Baltimore street kitty from Erin who does EVERYTHING in his power to live in the house with us (including trying to sneak in by hiding under our 120 pound Mastiff puppy). Needless to say, he has successfully made it in on a couple instances, which has only made him more determined.

Now...I have serious reservations about letting him in, but yet part of me kind of does. I've had bad luck with cats marking in the house, which is why I now have dogs only. My husband and I agreed we could handle an outdoor only cat, which was our intent with this guy. He is INSANELY friendly, crawls in your lap, purrs, needs, he just adores people. He was un-altered until AE (after Erin).

Do any of you let your barn cats in the house? Other than giving them a litter box, how do you prevent them spraying? And my other fear, if we let him in and he does spray, how will we EVER keep him out after that!? He is one determined kitty!

[Paddys Mom]

My barn cats are in the house as we speak.
I am a softie and it is cold.
Believe me, my cats want back out where they can hunt, but they don't like this weather. They will go out, turn around, and run back in. :lol:

My cats (both spayed females) do NOT spray in the house ever. They use a litter box. They do, however, try to get on the counters :mad:. I have trained my dog to police that. :winkgrin:

[county]

Never ever!!!!!! I'm 58 and theres never been a cat in my house it just ain't going to happen.

[saddleup]

No.

[Holly Jeanne]

Yes, he enjoys my company and that of my other felines. I generally feed him breakfast in the house and he stays in during the weather extremes. (I keep him in a metal shed at night to protect from coyotes.) I have litter boxes for the indoor kitties and the barn cat (who is fixed) has never, not once sprayed in the house. The only problem I have with him is that he is afraid of the water fountains for the cats. He enjoys being outside so usually eats in the morning and then goes out. (and yes, all cats, indoor and out, get flea treated and dewormed regularly)

Now his brother is another story. He REALLY wanted to be a house cat and kept getting into trouble outside until I told him he was costing me too much in vet bills and let him move into the house. He's not tried to get outside once since.

[JSwan]

They only come in at night when it's bitterly cold out so I don't mind. They don't have any parasites and they are fixed and have their shots. They're up at the crack of dawn and back outside doing their job. No messing in the house.

One of them is over 10 years old so it can't be that godawful a life for her. ;)

[chism]

My teenage girls are softies & kept letting my barn cat in because "It's cold outside!". He has now become house cat #3. I'm hoping that once the weather gets warmer I'll be able to get his fat, lazy butt outside again. ;)

[witherbee]

If you do let him ion (and I have only INDOOR cats, no barn cats), the key is to show him the litter box (put him in and take his paws and scratch them in the litter) and KEEP IT CLEAN! To give yourself the best chance of him using it, you can buy a cat attractant at PetSmart (it's a scent that they love that calms them and makes them want to be over there). This is often used for cats who spray to try to help with the situation. I got a declawed adult cat that had been dumped at my husbands work and was treated as a barn cat before they realized he was declawed (and was getting beat up and hurt - his paws were alll bloody). Turns out he was probably released their by his former owners because he pees everywhere in the house and will even pee on you if you are napping on the couch. I've worked with him A LOT, and he is much, much better. He only has accidents now in certain spots if there is upheaval in the house (overnight guests, visiting dogs, parties etc), and I've almost eliminated that as well. The key for him has been a clean litter box and cleaning up his former messes with Nature's Miracle and Woolite Pet Stain remover to get the stain and the smell out so he won't mark there again. It's a PITA, but he's worth it and I certainly can't place him with anyone else - who would take him? he can't go back out because the coyotes and other predators are too strong here and even the cats with claws don't last long.

Here's my guy, Sylvester; http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i245/wtryan/Our%20Pets/Sylvester/
Good luck!

[equusvilla]

Barn cats are just that ...and stay in the barn. I would imagine that half of what I want them to hunt, kill and keep out of the barn comes out at night ...so that is when I really want them out there. If you want an inside cat - you need to have one that is fixed ...or get this one fixed - let him inside the house and get another barn cat. NOTHING smells as bad as a house that a spraying cat lives in!!!!

[ReSomething]

Yep. He was supposed to be a barn cat but sort of snuck inside. Got good and beat up just before the <snip> so he HAD to stay inside for medication. Blasted abscesses. We will see what happens when the weather gets better but so far he makes forays out to check the perimeters and then RUNS back to the house. He hasn't sprayed but we did have two urination problems. Once he was locked out of the laundry room where the litter box was and the other time he urinated in the pet carrier - DH didn't know to line the carrier with a towel for absorption as well as comfort - and the urine soaked cat bolted for under the bed, dripping as he went. Yuck. There is a three part recipe of all natural ingredients that works to remove the odor well, but I can't recomend a black light to see the dried urine, either that or a reptile uv light doen't work.
I think spraying is more of a personality and emotion thing for cats. He may never even think of it if he has no feline competition and gets the loving he wants (and deserves)

[merrygoround]

I had one that would come in spend the evening, sometimes stayed over, but was ready to leave by dawn. Never had a litter box, never ate here. Just wanted to sit by in the evening. I miss her!!

[Trevelyan96]

LOL, I have a barn, and I have cats who like to hang out in my barn and kill mice and birds, but they run the house as well.

I do have one who will generally take off and disappear when the weather is nice, but come cold weather or rain... she's back in the house, and I have a problem with my neutered male spraying when she's around alot. I generally just grab him and toss him out, and when he comes back in later he minds his manners.

A REAL barn cat would be nice, but the rule in my house is they all have to be tame enough to catch for spaying/neutering/rabies shots.

[DiablosHalo]

My feed house is a 12x12 old milk house. We insulated it, sealed the windows, put in a cat door and a heater. It's now warmer in there then my bedroom (seriously!)- so the barn cats stay out in the feed house but still do NOT catch the mice that eat the feed. They are lazzzzzy!

Before I fixed up the feedhouse, they came in the house in one room only, at night during cold weather. They still prowl around the house, but I also now have 4 dogs and they don't reallllly wanna come in with them!

[YankeeLawyer]

No, absolutely not. I would sooner bring my horses inside.

[2DogsFarm]

Interesting topic.
My Dream Farm is a house w/barn attached.
Right now I have one indoor cat and one barncat, and so far never the twain have met.
If DF ever became a reality I figured I'd have a cat-door connecting barn to house.

Present barncat is pretty independent - in the 3 years I've had her she's come calling to the house a couple times - usually when I'm outside or on the deck - but never tried to get in. In the barn she's a lapcat and very affectionate but also Death To Vermin & a darn good hunter.

Housecat is interested in outside, but I am too old and too close to a busy road to deal with that adventure. She's about 10yo now (shelter cat) so no sense in getting her converted this late.

Anyone here ever combined housepet with barncat and not had Cat Wars result?

[Arcadien]

I'm probably the biggest softie here - I have a cat door cut in the side of my house. :) All my cats have a choice, inside or out. I don't know what makes them decide, but a handful end up choosing to live full time in the barn. Always the ones I don't expect, i.e., long hair, looking like gorgeous show cats, they are the ones that decide they prefer "roughing it" for some reason.

Right now I have a big gorgeous long haired barn cat, I forget his original name, now he is called "Barn Manager". He stays 100% in the barn/paddock areas (and "supervises" all my chores out there, lol) UNLESS the temperature drops below 20 degrees. It's so funny, as it usually happens in the middle of the night, and I hear one of the mainly house cats growling, as they aren't used to seeing this huge furry black guy in the house. "Oops, Barn Manager is on strike, must be cold out tonight," LOL he's as good as any thermometer.

But then, I'm probably too weird to count in this survey - in the summertime I have a "cat sized" hole in one screen, too so the cats have two options for inside/outside status.

Arcadien,
(does the above and the fact that I have 3 full sized cat trees in my living room make me an official crazy cat lady?) :) ;) ;)

[Icecapade]

yep... all cats are indoor outdoor cats. they come in at night... or we try to keep them in at night so they aren't eaten

I have more issues with the dog pissing in the house than the cat (well at this point)

at my Ca home, 3 dogs and upwards of 8 cats, coming and going coming and going. they are out most of the day- we gave up on doggie/cat doors, to much room for strays and them bringing in the funk...snakes squirrels etc.

Now I live in a condo... and my barn cat is stricktly indoor and the damn dog pisses on everything- eats the cat food... and I glare at him he pisses...

growels at me over his food bowl... he winds up pissing...

at my bf's house and their dog isn't fixed :mad::mad::mad: and my dog marked a corner of leather couch... I was so pissed but we only caught it b/c their dog was peeing on it afters.

yeah the marking continued at least twice more and his ass got locked up on the porch outside with a swift schwack in the ribs. damn dog... I'll take a cat any day!

[Gloria]

I have found that my cat is much easier to house train than my little yuppy dog did. Actually I did not even train my cat. She came to us as a stray when she was about one year old on a Thanksgiving night. I brought her in to warm her up. The first time I noticed she was making circles agitated in front of the door, I showed her the litter box, and that was it. We use one of those Littermaids so it's kept pretty clean. When the sand is too low for her liking, she either whine to us nonstop or hold until we open the door to let her out.

We taught her not to jump on the kitchen counter, and not to touch any food sitting around except for her own cat food in her own food bowl. It only took a handful of repeitions and stern "No" to achieve that.

Now after having several episodes of my dog peeing in my bed:mad:, I have decided no more indoor dogs.

[cloudyandcallie]

Do ex-barn cats count? I have one, Tobey, who was dumped out as a kitten at the barn at which Cloudy and Callie boarded. The BO wanted him as a barn cat, but didn't do anything for him so I paid to have him altered and get all his shots. Then the BO decided she didn't want him, so he became Cloudy and Callie's pet, following me thru the woods when I rode. Then an eagle killed a cat in a subdivision down the road and the 2 rescued bouviers of the BO started attacking horses and dogs and people. Tobey at over one year of age moved into my house with my cats, and fit right in and is a perfect house cat. He used to have to deal with the 30plus raccoons at the barn and the 2 bouviers and the horses, and now he sleeps in my bed.

Dogs and cats that "mark" in the house have either physical or mental issues. A barn cat can move right in and use a cat pan and behave just as a cat that was born inside can develop issues and whiz outside the litter box.

Only thing now is Tobey isn't killing those big squirrels and burying them in the stalls in shavings or leaving them in the feed room for me to find.

[KellyS]

Haha...

When we moved to our farm there were 2 tiny feral kittens living in the old bank barn. We started putting dry food out and within 3 months (October) I could touch them. I really wanted to get them neutered so I started enticing them into the sunroom of the house with food and finally took them to the vet for vaccinations/neutering.

You know where they are right now? Curled up in bed. They are the best hunters (well, unless they bring a half dead animal in the house...that's caused some excitement) and during the warm months they spend most of their time outside. However, now with the temps consistenly below freezing they are staying inside. They go out in the morning with me when I feed/turnout/do stalls and then are waiting to come back in when I head back to the house an hour later.

We had 2 indoor cats that moved to the farm with us. I've always been against having cats outdoors, but we slowly introduced these 2 to the outside world last spring and they love it. The youngsters have shown them around and they all pal around outside together and then crash out on the couch or bed when inside.

The one little cat loves doing bedcheck with me...he follows me out to the barns (and typically crashes around in the underbrush scaring the heck out of me because I've forgotten he's outside) and then follows me back in.

I've feed everyone once a day and they have free choice dry food. Doesn't change their hunting habits at all. In fact, they've taught the one former inside cat how to hunt too. They all are great about using the litterbox, but much prefer going outside. That's what I love about cats--no house training. We had one other inside cat that did start to have a bad problem with urinating in the house (all over). He absolutely would not be an outside cat (terrified) and we did everything medically and behaviorally to sort him out. He ended up being miserable (we couldn't let him lose in the house anymore--he was confined to one room) and we did put him down. It was definitely a quality of life issue.

All the current guys are such people cats and really relish attention. I couldn't imagine making them stay outside. So maybe I'm just a big softie, but having them curled up in bed every night just makes me feel good. My husband is a big cat person too so he certainly doesn't mind. They lucked into the good life. :)

[Edgewood]

OMG, no (kind of)! We initially had no cats inside, only outside and we had my dogs (from before marriage) in the house. Well those dogs ended up dying and we brought 2 barn cats in and made them house cats.

My husband LOVES cats (and I like any animal). Well pretty soon, we now have 5 house cats (2 permanently indoor, others indoor/outdoor), all from the original barn stock. We still have 8 (outdoor only) barn cats. No way am I letting them into the house (although I am pretty sure 5 of the 8 would love it. :lol: None of our house cats have ever tried marking in the house and all were easy to litter box train.

It seems that my neighbors know that we like cats and provide nicely for them in our barn, so our cat numbers in the barn are pretty high because 1 neighbor traps feral kittens and brings them to us (but it is a big barn with lots of places for mice to hide).

[eventgroupie2]

We have two barn cats. The only time they are allowed inside is when it is really, really cold. Then I allow them to sleep only in the extra bedroom where I put their litter box. They are both "fixed" and I have never had any trouble with them going outside the box. The fourteen year old female hates to come in and can't wait to get back out to her job, while the young male would love nothing better than to become #1 full time indoor kitty. :)

[Bravestrom]

After we built our new barn in 2005 we thought we should get some barn cats for mouse control. So we went to the local shelter and got two brothers (apparently but not really) - anyone one got injured so he had to be in the house - so they both did - eventually they became indoor and outdoor cats - occasionally going into the barn.

We lost one in october - rip apollo - he was such a baby and a great mouser - even my husband loves these guys. We really miss this guy and his brother zeus really misses him too - now zeus thinks that chad - our bmd is his best buddy - but chad does not think so.

So most of the winter zeus has spent most of the winter inside but we take him out to the barn once in a while - now that it is warming out he will probably stay outside more and go into the barn.

[Woodland]

Yes, I have brought mine in because it has been bitter cold in Illinois. I allow them use of the laundry area. They are all spayed and neutered and are very tame. And exceedingly well loved! I adore each of their fuzzy faces!

[medhorse]

I have a bathroom which is also my laundry room on the first floor of my house. We keep the bathroom door entering into the house always closed. The window to the bathroom has a modified cat door. The four fat outdoor cats can come inside to sleep and drink water in the cold. Their food is in the barn. These cats are all neutered/spayed, vaccinated, frontlined etc..

[camohn]

We have 8: 3 come in, 5 stay in the barn. Of the 5 in the barn 4 are feral and one would come in if I ever gave him the chance. He comes up to the porch and looks hopeful...I think he was a dropoff/he is too friendly to be feral. Of the 3 housecats: 1 is a kitten of one of the feral barncats that was born before we were able to get the feral cats trapped an fixed. The others in the litter were given away/hubby let the kid bring one in the house for a pet. The other 2 were also Drop Offs that refused to become barn cats and clawed their way through the screens to BE hosuecats. Either they were housecats or they went to the SPCA.....where I know they would be euthanized since the SPCA is seriously overloaded with cats here....so here they still are.....
The 3 indoor cats are really indoor/outdoor cats. 1 of them spends most of her time indoors, the other 2 (both males) spend most of their time outdoors.

[abbydp]

I started with 2 indoor only female cats (both spayed). When I moved, one of my beloved, spoiled rotten barn cats (neutered male) disappeared. He somehow made his way back to the original barn after almost 10 weeks. I got him back and took him and his buddy (spayed female) into my apartment on the farm. There are some spats between the 2 old ladies and the young girl who LOVES to torment them. They do ok, though. Neither of them spray, ever. They used to come in all night and out all day. Now, though I live a lot closer to a very busy road, so they only get out in the daytime when I'm home. They all get shots, wormer, flea meds. I couldn't handle coming home to find one dead in the road. They would prefer more time out, but it's just too dangerous. Given the chance, they will hold it and only use the bathroom outside. When they can't, though, they always use the litter box.

[MistyBlue]

I have one indoor only cat...and two feral cats. Well, they used to be feral cats but now I'm doubting you can call them that since they live here. :lol:
No barns cats...my ferals that showed up wanted nothing to do with the barn. They hung out on my back deck...shivering in winter. I noticed they took shelter under my lawnmower cover when it rained so hubby and I bought them two insulated small dog houses for the deck and they were happy there. One comes and goes...the really timid one hasn't left me deck except to pee in the woods for almost 2 years now.
3 weeks ago when it went below zero I felt bad for Spare Kitty and Boy Kitty and brought them in my finished basement for the night. Boy has been in a few times before...Spare never because he's pretty timid and never lets you do more than pet him once and then he takes off. I was able to catch him and got him in the house without getting shredded...he just clung to my jacket and shook and hid his head.
Wellll....Spare has been in my basement for 3 weeks now. He won't leave, LOL! I try to pick him up and out him outside on nicer days and the minute I get near the door with him he launches over my shoulder and runs under a couch. :lol: He's no dummie! He's also now quite friendly and comes over for rubs when I go down there to feed him or dress for the barn. Boy still comes and goes...he hollers at the door to be brought into the basement. But after a few hours of napping on the couch he hollers to go back out.

[okggo]

Hmmm..I'm still on the fence about it, but still leaning toward no.

This particular cat is neutered, but he was in-tact until Erin caught him "on the streets" and fixed that little problem. He's UTD on shots and he gets flea/tick and wormer so we are good on that front. Honestly my ONLY fear is him spraying. And that would be a deal breaker for me. As it stands right now, it's a daily battle to keep him out. Every time the dogs go out to pee, 2 go out, 3 try to come back in. He is quick and very very sneaky.

To date, no sign of barn cat abilities, but the proof will be when I actually see him curled up sleeping with the mice. He is EXCELLENT about teaching dogs to be cat savvy, however :)

[Alice]

Just let the poor bugger in if he wants in that badly! Most healthy (like 90%) altered adult cats don't spray.

It sounds as if he is not happy being outside all of the time, and wants your company.

If he did urinate inappropriately, put him back outside.

I really don't get why people are so weird about having cats in the house. They are as clean or cleaner than dogs. They also hate being cold.

Ours love their inside heated cat bed. I couldn't live with myself if I had a friendly cat desperate to get in the house and I didn't let them...

[Chief2]

I have brought three inside. Two females were rescued from a barn in bad financial straits, and the third, a male, was recently retired from duty (he was the one they blamed for spraying the walls.) The females turned out to be clean cats (one would soil if the box was not kept religiously clean, so that was the answer to that); the male (who is blind, has FIV, heart arhythmia, hyperthyroid and high blood pressure) is exceptionally clean, and will ONLY use his boxes. No problems at all.

We sprayed Feliway on areas we didn't want them near to keep them into the boxes right from the start. It is a bit expensive for a bottle of it, but it worked well for us. We also used a Turbo scratcher with catnip to keep there nails in good shape and our furniture intact.

[Chall]

We had two indoor cats converted to indoor/outdoor and they love it. Also one feral converted to in/outdoor. All use a raccoon proof electric door, so strange cats/raccoons can't come into the house. Our females spray, but do it outside in the neighborhood when we go for a walk. I was surprised to see females most definitely spray (urine, and backwards!). They never do it inside.

[ponygrl25]

I lost a great barn cat because I didn't let him in, my older cat DID NOT like him at all and she has seniority. He went to live at a house down the road where the kids let him in. I tried to entice him back but no dice.:sigh:

[Romany]

Just let the poor bugger in if he wants in that badly! Most healthy (like 90%) altered adult cats don't spray.

It sounds as if he is not happy being outside all of the time, and wants your company.

If he did urinate inappropriately, put him back outside.

I really don't get why people are so weird about having cats in the house. They are as clean or cleaner than dogs. They also hate being cold.

Ours love their inside heated cat bed. I couldn't live with myself if I had a friendly cat desperate to get in the house and I didn't let them...


Couldn't agree more, on every count. Alice, you're my new best friend! :lol:

Life's too short to be mean to cats. :rolleyes:

I just don't get why people think it's perfectly acceptable to be mean to cats, but are aghasted by those who are mean to dogs, horses, spouses, kids, etc (not getting at you, OP, just those who are mean to cats).

[rainechyldes]

A stray tom showed up one day. He was so underfed I actually thought he was a kitten.
Howling and mewling - so I caved and fed him. In the barn!
Sent the boys round the neighborhood to see who'd lost him- no one.
Hmm.
I figured he was a dump job by then.

So the rule was- he could stay but had to live in the bottom barn, as my SO is allergic to cats. Plus he was a tom yet.
The next week he was suddenly being fed in the top barn - the excuse - well it's closer to the house and he's lonely. hmm. ok.
Then- I find his food on our deck - but he's lonely!!! *sigh*

"Uhm you're allergic to cats hun, remember?"
SO - "For some reason this cat doesn't make me sneeze...uhhuh...
yeah so... said barn cat spends 23 hours a day in my house now.
I give up.:)

[Huntertwo]

Just let the poor bugger in if he wants in that badly! Most healthy (like 90%) altered adult cats don't spray.

It sounds as if he is not happy being outside all of the time, and wants your company.

If he did urinate inappropriately, put him back outside.

I really don't get why people are so weird about having cats in the house. They are as clean or cleaner than dogs. They also hate being cold.

Ours love their inside heated cat bed. I couldn't live with myself if I had a friendly cat desperate to get in the house and I didn't let them...

Totally agree. It sounds like this guy craves human attention and IMO it would be kind of cruel to toss him outside rather than giving him a good petting.

Not all cats spray, especially if he is neutered. Plus, since cats don't like the cold, I bet he will want to go back out once the weather warms up.:yes:

[cloudyandcallie]

If you change the cat pan every day, the cat has no excuse for spraying.
The cheapest litter around here is that in the red 20 or 25 pound bags at walmart, or the "oil dry" in the auto department at Sam's club.

Using a cat pan more than one day is like not flushing the toilet:eek: and can cause cats to use the area around the pan.

And then there are the kitties who spray cause they have cystitis (vet check needed and sometimes the pulling down the urethra operation :eek: which works fine btw and requires no dietary restrictions-I've had boy cats who had to have it done) or psycological retraining, the latter being very dificult.

There's nothing like a bunch of big warm fuzzy alley cats purring all over you at night with several dogs snoring in the bed also. Well, maybe guys don't think that is so cool but............

[siegi b.]

In my opinion cats really aren't meant to spend the nights outside in colder climates (below 32 degrees), and leaving them out in those temperature is not very nice.

I'm currently down to one kitty who rules all 50 acres - house, barns, etc. etc. - and I wouldn't dream of not letting him in the house when he wants to.... After all, I'm his door person! :-)

[county]

Not outside below 32!!!!! Hell they'd be inside about 8 months a year here!!!!!

[SidesaddleRider]

I have an "Erin" barn kitty as well. Ceasar is a total character. We refer to him as "the dog that meows", as he follows us everywhere, even out to the field to check fencelines. ;) I try not to let him in the house, although sometimes he comes and parks himself outside the french doors of the family room and meows LOUDLY until he gets to come inside and get some scrittchies. Then he goes back outside. We have to make sure that doesn't happen too often, otherwise he'll just sit by one of the doors and wait for someone to go outside and he tries to get in, and it will take a couple of day of saying "no" before he goes back to hanging out at the barn full-time. In very cold weather, I do let him stay inside the heated tack room, as I feel sorry for him. I have NEVER had a problem with him spraying, and he was a tomcat for quite some time.

(and you can tell we really love him as he just landed us with a $1k vet bill... ouch!)