Best for hunting

I want to have a couple of cats around my stable.  They will be indoor cats, in that  they will have an inside and outside kennel, and when the barn is opened up, they will be in their kennel, and at night, they will be let out into the barn on "rat Patrol"

What type of cat would make the best ratter?  I don't want something too wild though, because I do want to pet them.  I want to get them as kittens so they grow up together and learn, my indoor routine.

What type of cats would be the best hunter?  I don't intend to neglect them in any stroke of the imagination, but I don't want cats that won't kill rats.

Are Maine Coon cross cats better hunters?  What you you do?  how would you design a indoor/ outdoor kennel for a couple of cats?

Honestly I would do this.

First off, it's not necessary to build anything at all. You simply need an outbuilding where you will always leave food and fresh water, a safe spot.

It must be escape proof as you must acclimate the cats to this property for a good solid 4 weeks in order for them to stay and understand this is their new forever home.

If it is not escape proof, then put a large cage in the bldg for them while acclimating.

Once this time is up, let them out. Period. They will roam the area mainly at night, and nap during the day, as cats tend to be nocturnal if it is up to them.

All cats have the instinct to hunt, I promise this and know first hand from my one cat Krissy, raised only by me from the first day she was born, so never taught anything, and she will hunt!

There is not a specific breed or color of cat who make better hunters, it is their background.

My highest suggestion on which cats to get?

First choice would DEFINITELY be to pull a pair from the shelter who will be euthanized if someone doesn't pull them out.

This would be semi-ferals, shy, or abandoned cats who have the high survival mode intact. Those who are not lap cats would be the right choices.

Not being a lap cat means less socialization this cat had as a kitten, meaning a big chance it was born to a feral, or at least a limited amt of human interaction.

This does NOT mean the cats won't warm up to you in time. It just means it may take a bit longer but they will be excellent for hunting rodents for you.

Remember this. I always have a couple of posts on craigslist that I have cats available for mousers or barn cats. It always suprises me when the replys I get sometimes think that they can stop feeding the cats as soon as they are acclimated because they will eat rodents. Afraid if they are fed they will not hunt.

This is absolutely NOT true! What you will get is an unhappy cat, eating just enough to survive with no strong will, who may roam in search of food.

This is what cats who once had been provided food will do. It is only the true feral cats who are used to surviving on rodents only. But if you want to interact at all, you won't be happy with ferals, as you will rarely ever even see them at all, and never come anywhere remotely close to you.

You will have done something very good, it's a great feeling in your heart to save a cat's life.

If you were to go into what we call here at our shelter 'the cat barn' which is basically a holding cell with cats on death row, look at those cats in there, all eyes are on you, pleading eyes, you are their only and very last hope of life for them beyond another day or 2.

So go save a couple cats Get a male and a female. Be sure they are spayed/neutered and given an fvrcp vaccine.

If there is any chance of predators around your property, coyote, fox, then please get dark colored cats, this will help them to not get caught. Light colored cats can be seen too easily at night when their enemies are on the prowl.

I am all for saving a couple of cats.  The problem is that when I contacted the local shelter, they don't let people adopt cats that are going to have them as outdoor or barn cats.  The only feral rescue close by is about 2 hours away.  They won't let me pick the cats up, they would want to have a pen/ room whatever ready and they would come and see it and drop the cats off.  That is fine, I would really build the pen,........... but they don't deliver this far from their city location.

There are people on the online classifieds that have kittens to give away...... but if they are house cats, their mom wouldn't have taught them to hunt.

I understand that  when to have barn cats I need to feed at least 1/2 to 1 cup of cat food/cat per day to keep them happy and at home.  

Around here it costs 200- 250$ to have a cat spayed or neutered.  So to have them fixed and then let them run outside would be an expensive proposition.

How stupid would it be to buy a pair of Siamese pet stock and keep them inside and let them have a litter a year to help offset their food cost???  I am pretty sure I will get scolded for asking that question, but at least explain/ help me see why it would not be a good option first.

I know that there are lots of cats that need homes.  I have a home for a couple where they would be warm, fed, petted ect..  they wouldn't be treated like people........... but there are a lot of cats that would be better off with that than what they have now........... But I don't qualify for those kittens, That is not really my fault.

Keeping intact cats indoors is not what most people want to do. Intact males pee everywhere (and ugh it stinks) and fight with other males, and intact females howl and scream and pee everywhere trying to attract males. If you aren't going to have them spayed/neutered I don't think you'll be happy with the results.

Cats are not the greatest ratters. They're terrific against mice and voles and other small rodents, but rats are big and mean and fight back. The cats might get a few young ones but if you really want a ratter a terrier dog would be more effective.

As for getting purebred cats and letting them breed. . .well, for starters, good breeders do not sell their cats to people like that. So you'd be starting with stock from not the greatest bloodlines. Then you need to get the kittens de-wormed and vaccinated, keep them fed and socialized and clean. You should have the parent cats tested for the pertinent genetic illnesses. Good breeders do not make money on breeding. I suppose some irresponsible breeders do but that usually involves a fair amount of neglect, of the kittens and the parent cats. I can't recommend it.

As for where to find a good hunting cat, look for a farmer whose farm cats had kittens. There are usually lots of them in rural areas. Don't take them from their mother too early (before 10 weeks or so) or she won't have taught them how to hunt properly.

True, common well run shelters wont adopt out their cats for anywhere.  They avoid barns, as many barn cats dont have it good.

The trick is to do as Catwoman said, take such a shelter who is a high kill shelter.  There they dont bother much, are just happy these doomed cats did got adopted by some decent person.   (They do the killings frequently and routinely, but yes, they dont enjoy the killing, they prefer them to be adopted out).

OR  cats from a barncat, who were with their mom at last 10 weeks, as Willowy suggested.

Take if possible some big, Maine Coon look alikes.  At least one of them.  The chance will be bigger they are willing to fight rats.

Re  breeding yourself.  If you are the least serious breeder, you wont get any big plus.  Even if you do cut some of the most typical costs, like participating in Shows, or taking in good studs from outside.  

Re shy cats getting attached to you.    I have an interesting example.  My bridgepartner is a small farmer.  So he has hunting cats.  They live in the cellar to an outside building.  I dont think they are ever allowed inside his house.  Thus, not much petting.  Yet, I see they all are friendly and at easy with him.

They are supposed to hunt, but he also gives them some food. Usually cheap dry food.  Not optimal, but they do get  animal proteins and fat from huning, no?

Last summer, he took two kittens of perhaps 6 months.  They very visibly shy to him, did hide when he was nearing, I could see it from the car.   I wondered, how will it go, as he isnt the man of long fostering, nor petting nor sweet gestures.

But now I see they arent at all afraid of him.  They often wait with him when I come and fetch him to play bridge...

I suppose he is after all friendly with them, when nobody of his neighbours was near and could observe him... 

I mean, it cant be just the fact he is coming with their food.

Thank-you for  listening to my thoughts and ideas and explaining the pros and cons.  Lots of times it is easy for people to say something isn't a good idea without saying why.  Sometimes that just makes it sound like a person is trying to keep us "from the good stuff" and causes people to try it anyway.

  I don't really like Siamese cats personalities and I live in Canada and I don't think that they would be warm enough in the barn.   I might have to build an insulated box  for them to curl up in for winter warmth, although the horses are fine in there.

I looked at a picture of a  Maine Coon cat, it sort of looks like a tiger striped cat, but really big............. They almost look like the wild bob cats we have around here.

How much bigger than a regular cat is a Maine Coon?   I mean are they as big as a fox?  they look it in the picture.

If a shelter will not adopt homeless cats to be barn cats, I REALLY doubt a breeder is going to sell you purebred kittens to be barn cats. Not to mention that you may not want to pay hundreds of dollars for a pedigreed barn cat . If you like the Maine Coon look, there are many longhaired brown tabbies on Northern farms that appear to be from the same stock the Maine Coon was developed from. I'm sure you could find some if you asked around.

An insulated sleeping area would be a good idea for any cats you get. Some people make a cozy spot out of hay bales, if you don't want to build something.

Purebred Maine Coons are large---some males up to 20 pounds at a healthy weight---but they also look larger due to their thick coats.

I know a local "pet Breeder" that I can buy the Siamese from for 150$ a piece.  I know they are not from show stock, but I had no intentions of showing them, so that wasn't that important to me.   But again, I am not sure that I like a Siamese personality.

Siamese cats are very needy and high maintenance and I do not think they would make very good outside cats.

Your best bet would be to get some local farm cats or cats that come from a outside background.

The guy I buy my hay from  has several cats in his barn. ( probably at least 10) I  will check with him and see if he has any young kittens.

I am thinking of a little house like the one in this Video to keep them warm, if they want to go in. ~~

Okay, your area surely must have cats that are ear-tipped, this means they are already fixed.

The shelter here is constantly contacting me with ear tipped cats they picked up, that some rescuer trapped and had them fixed, and returned them.

Why not ask them if there are any who are already spayed and neutered?

It's alot cheaper for them and more humane to adopt them out to you since ear tipped cats are always euthanized.

As for raising Siamese to off-set the expenses, I will definitely not be one to encourage this, in the end it ends up costing so much more than getting a pair of cats fixed.

You mentioned a rescue? But they won't drive 2 hours? I bet they will be more than happy to if you ask for a pair of cats already fixed, which surely they have been fixed (that's what rescues do)  and you are willing to pay for their time and gas.

Might check that out, I am always looking for people to take mousers we have, mommas with babies who we pulled from death row, they can care for the kids until they grow a bit, they get spayed and noplace for them after this if they are shy/unsocialized. I'm always thrilled when someone replies to my cl ads that they are available.

I drove 12 ferals about 2 1/2 hours away from me, just to save them and give them a hime. 5 I paid to have fixed first.

I took 10 recently to Joe Montana's amazing home about 1 1/2 hours from me as well.

(talk about an incredible layout he has..) I got the grand tour too. He was supposed to be there and got called and had to leave, the caretaker said not 10 minutes before I arrived....darnit

catwoman707 said:

 
You mentioned a rescue? But they won't drive 2 hours? I bet they will be more than happy to if you ask for a pair of cats already fixed, which surely they have been fixed (that's what rescues do)  and you are willing to pay for their time and gas.

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Ask for black cats.  blacks have often difficult to get adoption homes, so they will prob not be as fussy as otherwise, just be glad someone decent wants them.

And for you minding Catwomans tip, blacks are extra useful, as it is a natural camouflage color in the dard.

Our local shelter is a No- kill Shelter.  They are currently full, and turning all other cats away, but won't let them be barn cats.  I will check the farms.

If the local shelter is turning away cats, then the cats' owners must be advertising somewhere. Take a look at local bulletin boards, maybe at the laundromat, grocery store, or vet's office.

Makes me wonder what they do with 'hard to adopt' cats, semi ferals, shy, etc.
This would explain why theyre full now and it's not even kitten season yet.

Makes no sense. They must have some pretty big areas set up to release ferals there....go figure.

There was a news story recently where there was a man that was out for a walk and found a clothes basket with cold wet kittens in it.  They weren't new born or anything.  They were advertising on the news that they needed to find them homes because the shelter would not take them because they are full, and they have lots of cats out in foster homes.  I don't know what they do with feral cats.

  I have posted on the local onl ine classifieds that I was looking for kittens suitable for barn cats, I will accept any colour but would love to find a pointed kitten.   I got two reply, and both were scams.  They had free pointed kittens and I could have them free IF I sent them money to have them shipped to me.  I am pretty sure that the kittens would never arrive.

So for those that can't understand how I could even THINK about the purebred cat breeding:  so far I have struck out with the shelter, the rescue, the online classifieds.  With all the hungry, cold and frightened cats out there, my barn is no house, but I would buy cat food, they would have a litter box with sawdust, a hot box type structure to help them stay warm.  There are some adult cats on the internet to give away but a lot of them have been declawed, which would make catching rats difficult.   Why are so many people giving away 10 year old cats !  I mean who spends 10 years with an animal and gets up one morning and say I think I will give you away!

Who would have thought that it would be so hard to adopt a kitten............... I think it might be easier to adopt a baby.

Honestly, during kitten season I can hardly go anywhere without being offered kittens, or finding homeless kittens, or somehow ending up with more kittens! I'm thinking that you just aren't looking the right places, because I don't think cats breed any less up there :tongue2:. Right now most mama cats are pregnant, so if you wait a couple months there should be tons of kittens to choose from. Farmers don't always advertise, because most farm kittens will die so they don't care if they find homes or not, but if you ask around I'm sure there will be plenty to choose from.

Have you tried hard-copy ads on local bulletin boards? Online ads are SO easy for scammers to find, but if you advertise locally I think you have a better chance of finding the real thing.

a pregnant cat............. I could take in a pregnant cat.............. Here kitty, kitty kitty!  Maybe I have been asking the people when I should have been asking the cat.   maybe I could kidnap one!

recipe for making a backyard breeder

Take one person that really wants a cat or two,

Add  the real breeders who won't even talk to them,

In another bowl mix together the rejection of the shelters, rescues.  

Slowly mix the ingredients together and stir with the scam artists that want to rob them blind.

Pour into a pan and let it stew............... 

Does it seem to you that the very organizations that promote "no backyard breeders" mix together to create their own worst nightmare? 

I am not really saying that it the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but maybe something that each of the organizations might want to mull over................. maybe......................

I think I will build baiting stations and rat poison.  It might cause some grief too, but it will be simpler and cheaper in the long run.