| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| nampafarmgirl |
Posted - Oct 02 2008 : 3:08:13 PM
Dont laugh. I recently got two kittens. They were 8 weeks old when I got them, now this wekend they'll be 12 weeks. I bought them their shots and this weekend will give them round two and their leukemia shots. They were got to be barn cats. Well its dark out there at night and their so little so I have them both in a dog crate inside a dog house as the dog crate has too many holes in it and I am sure they;ll freeze. I lock them up at night as I am also afraid of a loose dog or racoon getting my furballs. My question is when do they get old enough to let them out so they fend for themselves? They dont know alot about climbing real wood yet, they get about 3 feet up. I hope I am giving enough inof for someoem to tell me , how do you raise a cat? (can you tell I have never had a cat b4?)
Kim
Farmgirl Sister # 302 |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| shepherdgirl |
Posted - Oct 03 2008 : 09:40:33 AM
Oh, the joys, AND the heartache of farm life! I have had cats for nearly 20yrs. I've had house cats, I've had "barn" cats, and I've had cats that live the "double life" (both house AND barn!) Cats will be cats no matter WHAT we humans try to do for them! Actually, I personally feel that its not right to keep a cat in a cage, but I won't hold it against anyone who does. I know it's done in love, so I'm not saying anything else on THAT subject.
Right now I have 10 cats. Only one is an indoor/outdoor cat. The rest stay outside. (one is 13, another 8 and a third is 5 or 6-- the rest are younger and new to our farm) Do I worry about them? SURE I do! I feed them every day, pet them, play with them and enjoy the heck out of their antics-- even my teeny tiny little kitten who seems too small to be climbing out of the box I put him in each night, but INSISTS on trying to hang with the OLDER "kittens" (we have 5 "teenagers") I worry he will get stepped on, or that the Chihuahua's will play a little too rough with him, or that my husbands lab might hurt him, but he so wants to just "be a cat." There is an old saying-- "YOU can own a dog, but a cat owns YOU!" -- how true is that? Yes, I've lost many cats over the years-- to cars, predators, strange diseases and a neighbors murdering Pooch! But I loved those cats and took care of them the best I could. I also let them BE cats. Just do what's best for you kittens Kim. Search your OWN heart and you will know what to do. Don't be afraid to let them live their lives as they wish.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Oct 02 2008 : 7:08:47 PM
When I first moved here, I had some kittens that lived in a huge cage until they were 5-6 months old. In your case, I personally would do something like that so they can learn to stay and who feeds them and stuff. My parents made very thick heavy boxes inside the cages for them to sleep that were pretty warm.
Having farm cats, you never know when something could happen. You should prepare yourself that sometimes they get killed by animals, get hit by cars, or just run away and you never know what happened to them. If you don't think you can handle that, maybe you should think about other options. If my hubby didn't hate cats so much, I would have some in the house, but I can't. :( Actually one of my barn cats had 7 kittens yesterday and she and they are in the house in a crate temporarily. I lost 2 kittens already, they are very small, and I know they wouldn't last outside with how cold it has been getting at night.
http://plumcreekmama.blogspot.com/
http://plumcreekcreations.etsy.com |
| Laura Marie |
Posted - Oct 02 2008 : 5:52:09 PM
I've always had cats, however not a barn. But growing up our cats were indoor and outdoor cats. They would come in and sleep when they were tired and go out and play and hunt when they wanted to. I guess if they are kittens once you give them there shots give them another week or so before they can run free. They will learn to fend for themselves and learn where to sleep. You might want to get a crate that will hold them and put them in an area of the barn where they can sleep so they get use to it. Sleeping in the dog house is becoming a comfort zone for them and they might start going there to sleep. Also if you put the blanket they are sleeping on now in the straw when they are out they will probably go back to that area for sleeping. Even if you leave the crate in the barn during the day open in the area they might just natural start going back there. I'm not sure if this is much help, but it's what I would try. Cats are great animals, I have two myself. And they tend to take care of themselves. So give it a try and have fun watching them learn to climb to new heights! |
| windypines |
Posted - Oct 02 2008 : 5:18:28 PM
we got a going on 5 month old cat. my son found it as a tiny little kitty under his car, one dark rainy night. Her being so tiny she was in the house. So now 4 months later guess where she stilll is. She does spend her daytime hours outside, but night time is in the house. I am a big softy. At the time our barn cat was not very receptive to a little kitty, so I did not want to leave her outside. She is so funny, and alot of fun. But she also loves to play, and we all have plenty of scratches on us. have fun whatever you decide to do
Michele |
|
|
