Welcome to the Barn Cat Lady! In the effort to save both you and me some time, here’s a list of the most common questions or requests I get.
If I don’t answer your question here, feel free to contact me here or by email.
I’m Rochelle, the Barn Cat Lady! I am a cat caretaker that takes in locally displaced feral and community cats in emergencies. Founder of the Barn Cat Network. I also participate in TNR. I advocate for barn cat adoptions. I foster abandoned kittens and cats left by careless humans at the barns. And whatever else comes up! I work to educate fellow barn owners, farmers, and cat people that working cats do not need to breed to keep a barn in cats. Barn cat adoption IS a thing. My full story can be found here.
I am located in rural Louisiana. Specifically, central Lousisiana.
I’m sorry, but I cannot take in every feral cat that needs a new barn home. There are just too many cats and we are already quite full. If I could, I would take in any feral or stray cat who needs a new barn home, but unfortunately, that wouldn’t be healthy for the cats OR me.
If you need to relocate a feral cat to a barn, there are a couple of options available to you.
1. Contact your local TNR group, feral cat rescue, or shelters. They are sometimes contacted by barns, farms, or warehouses who are looking for working cats.
2. Join the Barn Cat Network Facebook Group! You can post the cat looking for ’employment’, be sure to include a picture, the city and state you’re located in, and an email address someone can contact you with. Barn Cat Network posts will be reposted to the Barn Cat Network social media accounts.
3. Join the Barn Cat Network database, where you will be contacted via email if I become aware of any barn in your area looking for a cat. If social media is not your thing.
4. Follow Barn Cat Network on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Thank you for choosing to adopt a barn cat instead of breeding them!
1. Ask your local TNR group, feral cat rescue, or municipal shelter if they have any cats available as barn cats. You’d be surprised at how often you’ll find them!
2. Please join the Barn Cat Network Facebook Group! You can post requesting barn cats for ’employment’, be sure to include the city and state you’re located in, and an email address someone can contact you with. Barn Cat Network posts will be reposted to the Barn Cat Network social media accounts.
3. Join the Barn Cat Network database, where you will be contacted via email if I become aware of any cat in your area looking for a barn. If social media is not your thing.
4. Follow Barn Cat Network on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
I understand how frustrating having animals all over your yard that could be upsetting your dog or indoor cats or your garden. However, relocating feral and community cats is usually NOT in the best interest of the cat (or the neighborhood), to be honest. Relocation should be the last resort because their lives are in danger by property owners euthanizing or requiring animal control to remove the cats. For cats upsetting your yard, there are humane deterrents available. Learn more about humane deterrants here.
And of course, one of the biggest ways to solve feral cat problems is to TNR the cats! No more babies, reduced stinky urine spraying, reduced fighting and yowling, and calmer cats!
If anyone is threatening to poison a cat, feral or not, be aware that it is illegal in all 50 states. No domestic animal can be poisoned legally. Including feral cats, which are still domestic cats. Find out more about Poisoning in Cats here.
Please be aware that finding working cat placement for feral cats is actually quite difficult. There are millions of unowned cats in the United States alone and it can NEVER be done quickly.
If the cat is in immediate danger, please contact the police department. Most feral cats are covered under animal cruelty laws directed at ALL domestic animals. Only a very few allow the hunting of feral cats, and that’s with a gun (and thus a quick death), NEVER ever poison (a slow, agonizing death).
You cannot tell me the police don’t care unless you’ve actually tried. If you get one police officer ignorant of the law, inform them. If he still doesn’t care, call back and speak to a different one. It doesn’t matter, be persistent, the law is on your side with this. Moving the cats is not always safer and it can never be done fast enough to prevent intentional poisoning.
Unfortunately, I am not going to be familiar with your area. Please call or Google local rescues or shelters near you first and see if you can’t find someone locally that could tell you how to help this cat. If they can’t help, they likely can direct you to a local resource that can.
Another option is to trap that cat for TNR as most TNR groups will give veterinary care to cats trapped to be fixed. Spay and neuter clinics that do feral cats usually can handle most issues a cat has from living outside, unfixed: upper respiratory infections, catfight injuries, abscesses wounds, and more. It is a part of TNR in most cases.
If you absolutely cannot find anyone locally, you can contact me and I MAY be able to help find one by posting on my Facebook Page or Instagram. This is a long-shot though and you’re better off Googling your local resources.
Yes, I do! I have some guidelines to follow (these are subject to change without notice):
1. Must be unique, well-written and edited.
2. Must be about cats, although I will not accept posts advocating breeding or anything else against the goal of the Barn Cat Lady.
3. No affiliate links.
4. I retain the right to edit the post submitted, although you definitely get credit.
5. Must be over 500 worlds long.
6. No keyword stuffing, no copyrighted images, plagiarism, or stolen content. If using quotes, all quotes must be credited to its source.
7. One link back to your website/social media account is acceptable in the author bio.
