[sschuessler]

I think the title says it all.... but here's the story:

I came into the barn yesterday and found one of our 6-wk old barn kittens not right. He was stumbling around and wouldn't eat. Finally got some food/water in him and left him for the night. This morning he was about the same/worse so I took him to the vet (I have NEVER taken a barn cat to the vet before... but my heart went out to this little guy). Turns out that he had an obstruction somewhere between his kidney and bladder. So, I took him home and we humanely put him down because there was nothing we could do for him besides a $500 surgery.

Now I am crying like an idiot over a barn kitten.... there are 5 more of them, but he was "mine".

Anyone else get way too attached to barn cats or other animals that aren't even yours?

[White Lie]

You are not alone... now they live in the house (sleep on the bed).

I am sorry about your loss. There is nothing wrong with how you are feeling.

[Alagirl]

there is nothing wrong with that

not one bit.

Some little life just speaks to us.

godspeed little kitty!

[bludejavu]

(((((HUGS))))) to you sschuessler. It doesn't matter what animal has a problem on our place - if they are under my care, I get attached. I've cried over several of my dearly loved barn kitties in my life that had to be put down for various health reasons. I am a true animal lover and judging by your post - you are too!

[MizzouMom]

Bless you for caring about him, and mourning the ending of his life no matter how short.

Nothing wrong with being attached to an animal that touches you in some way. Wish it were less painful to lose them.

[RacetrackReject]

So sorry about your little one, but yes, it happens. I found 3 kittens in my hay barn. They now come in the house every morning and every afternoon to eat their special wet kitten food, even though they eat dry with the big barn cats, and play with my JRT. They seem to like him because he licks their faces then he gets all squirmy and falls over and they can climb on him..lol.

[threedogpack]

How can you not love the babies?

We have a batch of kitties at our barn right now and I am trying SO HARD to resist the little one that hears us and runs right to us with that happy tail right straight up in the air. You pick him up and he sings and sings. H also has a goopy eye and looks wormy to me.....

iwillnottakehim
iwillnottakehim
iwillnottakehim

is my chant, but then the barn owner told me my mare stepped on him too.....

he doesn't seem lame but honestly....he is hard hard hard to resist!

[alabama]

You are not alone... now they live in the house (sleep on the bed).

I am sorry about your loss. There is nothing wrong with how you are feeling.

Ditto that. I had six kittens born at my old house about 6 weeks before I was due to move. I was feeding their mother and trying to capture her (she was wily, though). About three weeks after she gave birth, I never saw her again. I trapped her six kittens and they were going to be my barn kitties at my new house. That didn't happen. Two got adopted out and I kept the four orange boys - in the house.

The three that were born last year and moved to my porch started coming in the house last winter when it got cold. Plan was for them to go out during the day. Ummm. Didn't happen. Now it's too hot. Honestly, I'm just too afraid something will get them.

OP, I'm sorry for you. It would kill me to even lose one of the semi ferals that that I have outside so I can relate.

RIP little kitty.

[appaloosalady]

I love my barn cats, but always lose one or two a year to illness, coyotes, the road, machinery, etc. It breaks my heart every time. It seems like it is always my favorite that dies, so I have gotten into the habit of telling my favorite that she is stupid and ugly and I hate her. My kids think it is pretty funny, but they yell at me if they hear me saying how much I like one.

[sschuessler]

Thanks everyone It helps knowing I am not the only one who gets attached to them. I told the BO I took the kitten to the vet and she just shook her head and said she probably would have done the same thing even though it is silly to take a barn kitty to the vet. We seem to go through an awful lot of cats at my barn... people are constantly stopping to ask if they can take them because they are so friendly or they run off. Every time its hard when they don't come back in the morning but this little guy (fondly was known as Birdie b/c he chirped instead of meowed) was special.

[JoZ]

In 2008, we lost 10 barn kittehs. Well, start back a bit further, we moved to this farm in 2004-2005 and spent several years trying to get the resident group of barn kitties back to health -- not much success. Horrible upper respiratory problems and general unthriftiness. They died out and we started to actively seek barn kitties i.e. on Craigslist. So unlike the folks who have kitties show up or get dumped, for that one year (2008), every single one of those blessed kittehs was hand-picked, named, loved and lost. I had an almost-physical ache in my heart.

Which is why I now have two llamas and two donkeys. This is the llama that chases the coyote that kills the cat that controls the rat that eats the grain that lives in the barn that JoZ didn't build...

We've had the current six barn kitties for 2+ years and I'm about to introduce a new one -- hate to mess up the status quo but this kitteh WAS dumped. He is in transition right now in a cage.

Before I rattle on forever, I think it's apparent what my point is -- you have my sympathy and understanding about your barn cat attachment AND loss. I spend more time with the barn kitties than my house kitties, OF COURSE I'm attached to them!

[summerhorse]

How can you not love the babies?

We have a batch of kitties at our barn right now and I am trying SO HARD to resist the little one that hears us and runs right to us with that happy tail right straight up in the air. You pick him up and he sings and sings. H also has a goopy eye and looks wormy to me.....

iwillnottakehim
iwillnottakehim
iwillnottakehim

is my chant, but then the barn owner told me my mare stepped on him too.....

he doesn't seem lame but honestly....he is hard hard hard to resist!

youmusttakehim
youmusttakehim
youmusttakehim

Seriously he is too friendly to be a barn cat. He'll get stepped on again (for good probably) or run over or eaten.

pleasetakehim
pleasetakehim
pleasetakehim

[LookmaNohands]

How can you NOT get attached to a cat?

One of my house cats, Blossom, turned 18 yesterday! Very sadly though I had to have her mother put to sleep yesterday too!

Blossom and I will miss her mother, Sweetie!!

[bird4416]

Sorry for the loss of your kitten. I get attached to them quickly. I was really sad when a feral female I TNRed got hit by a car last year and killed. I never even touched that cat but she came up to my porch every night to be fed and I felt a bond with her and was hoping someday to tame her.