Male barn cat keeps leaving

Last year I trapped 3 feral kittens, neutered them and socialized them with our other barn cats. We have a barn with heated condo and beds. The kittens wintered extremely well with the older cats. This spring, one of the females went missing. I found her and brought her back. The second time, I couldn't find her and then a couple of weeks later the other female left. Numerous attempts have not found either of them.

NOW, the male leaves and I find him about a mile away, in the woods...bring him home and he will stay for a few weeks and then he does it again. Of all the strays I've taken in over the last 30+years...this is the craziest behavior!

kcbtrish said:

Last year I trapped 3 feral kittens, neutered them and socialized them with our other barn cats. We have a barn with heated condo and beds. The kittens wintered extremely well with the older cats. This spring, one of the females went missing. I found her and brought her back. The second time, I couldn't find her and then a couple of weeks later the other female left. Numerous attempts have not found either of them.

NOW, the male leaves and I find him about a mile away, in the woods...bring him home and he will stay for a few weeks and then he does it again. Of all the strays I've taken in over the last 30+years...this is the craziest behavior!

Click to expand...

  Is there a chance they have found another food source?

Sometimes things go on in colonies we'll never see or understand.  There could have been a little territorial tiff going on or one of the older ones just took a dislike to the newcomers.  Sometimes, youngsters need to strike out on their own.  Unfortunately, this often get them into trouble.

It may also be that there's someone else feeding who is offering something they liked.  Have you talked to any humans in the vicinity of whereyou found the male?  If someone thinks the cat is lost or a stray, he or she may be tempted to leave out food, which will attract the cat even more.

Glad to hear they are all fixed.  That will certainly cut down on the wandering problems, not to mention new kittens!

A little more history...yes, ALL of our cats are spayed or neutered.  The other cats in the barn...another year old male that I found the day he was born, in our heated condo.  We've been able to socialize him from the beginning and he seems to be a real friend to Garfield (the problem cat).  There is an older female and two older males.  In April, the feral female from the neighboring farm had 3 more kittens...I successfully trapped her AND the kittens (a long story there)!  They are all neutered/spayed and the 3 kittens live at our barn now (but I still go twice a day to feed the old feral mom).  One of the little females from this litter seems to be especially close to Garfield...but has never followed him when he leaves.  I've set up a trail camera to try and figure out what is happening...but have found nothing.  There is a Tom cat that hangs around the neighboring feral and I've occasionally seen him come to our barn to feed, but have watched from a distance and our cats just seem to give him space and there haven't been any problems I've seen.  If it IS him, why is Garfield and his sisters the only cats that have left our barn?  Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

The woods where I find him every time, is close to another farm...where there are lots of cats (non neutered)!  I've checked with the farmer and they've never seen Garfield. ( I just posted a little more history on the problem.)  Yesterday, after 3 days gone, I got him to come home again.  I sat with ALL the cats in our barn, while they ate, especially "hungry" Garfield.  I thought I would get at least a couple of days before he left, but last night he missed "bed check" again!!!   All of our cats know they get canned food at night and come when I whistle...no luck for Garfield...as many times as I kept going out and calling.

Some cats just like to wander.  I have had three of my male ferals that were all neutered that would leave for days to weeks to months.  I think it is just their nature.  You never know if one of the other cats is causing conflict or possibly the territory feels too small.  Something has perked his interest.  Of course when one leaves some of the others may follow. 

I guess you could get a GPS tracker on him if you really want to know where he's going. 

I hate it when my ferals go wander and don't return for lengths of time.  I have cried and cried over many of them.  I had one gone for 8 months.  I have another one that was here for 8 months and then just left.  I have only seen him 4x since March.  He must have found another food source and felt it was too crowded at my place.

Thanks for the information on your ferals.  As winter is getting closer, I fear more my missing cat's well-being.  After I fed the neighbor feral this morning, I came back to our barn and called again for Garfield...low and behold...across the corn field I could hear him calling back (he is NOT the quietest cat when found!!!)  He soon showed up in the barn to eat with all the other cats.  I stayed over 2 hrs and watched the interaction to see if something was really "serious" that I've been missing.  ALL the young cats (including Garfield) have spent the last hour playing together, with the older cats following them along the edge of our woods.  Garfield is now sleeping on our front porch.  Your idea of a GPS tracker is a good one...but I know where he goes...it is a woods about a mile from here, with no buildings, etc.  I have a real respect for feral cats and their survival instincts...but we provide food all day and a warm place to sleep at night...that I don't understand why he and his sisters left.  When your cat showed up after being missing for 8 months, did you find it somewhere or did it just return?  How long did it stay when it came back? 

kcbtrish said:

 
Thanks for the information on your ferals.  As winter is getting closer, I fear more my missing cat's well-being.  After I fed the neighbor feral this morning, I came back to our barn and called again for Garfield...low and behold...across the corn field I could hear him calling back (he is NOT the quietest cat when found!!!)  He soon showed up in the barn to eat with all the other cats.  I stayed over 2 hrs and watched the interaction to see if something was really "serious" that I've been missing.  ALL the young cats (including Garfield) have spent the last hour playing together, with the older cats following them along the edge of our woods.  Garfield is now sleeping on our front porch.  Your idea of a GPS tracker is a good one...but I know where he goes...it is a woods about a mile from here, with no buildings, etc.  I have a real respect for feral cats and their survival instincts...but we provide food all day and a warm place to sleep at night...that I don't understand why he and his sisters left.  When your cat showed up after being missing for 8 months, did you find it somewhere or did it just return?  How long did it stay when it came back? 

Click to expand...

I think one of the hardest part of caring for ferals is the true lack of control we have over where they go and what they do.  I too provide food and heated shelters.  I have no idea why they choose to leave.  The one that was gone for 8 months, I have no idea where he went.  I have surveillance cameras on my property and can monitor the cats comings and goings as well as look for intruders.  He never once appeared.  I assumed he had either died or found a new home.  Yet he was completely feral.  I only could see him when he peeked his head out from under the deck to eat.  I had to place a camera under my deck to know if he was around or eating. 

He came back on his own.  No one ever responded to my signs or emails of a lost cat.  He just showed up on April 15 and has been here since.  Winter is approaching here in Ohio and our winter shelter will go up this weekend.  I have one heated house that is heated with a hound heater and my DH is building another one.

I wonder if he is out hunting and enjoying some time to himself.  At least he is coming back.  I also wonder that once it's truly cold if he will just stay put.

You are making me feel much better...THANKS!  I just started reading your Feral Cat Tails blog, and can't wait to read more.  Your experiences will help me understand this much better!

Do you post pictures of the winter enclosures you have had luck with?  Our's here at our barn are working well, but I need to have something more effective for the neighboring feral (no electricity for heated pad).

At the top of my blog there is a section called Tips and Techniques.  Under that tab there is a section on Shelters.  I do have pictures there as well as a tab on Helpful products.  There are also links to my flicker site that has lots and lots of pictures.

Thank you SO MUCH.  I will definitely be researching all of your information.  I really appreciate your help and hopefully Garfield will decide to "stay put"!

I had one like that and he'd occasionally bring new strays or young ones to me but always left, I haven't seen him in over 3 yrs. I don't know what ever became of him but he always was a traveling cat. I think some of them, never lose the need for adventure and to wander. I'm am glad Garfield knows his way home.