Are you ready to meet the cats? After all, I can’t be the Barn Cat Lady without my loyal companions, can I?
I have two personal cats that I adopted as older kittens (4-5 months old) and tried ( and failed) to make an indoor pet out of them. They are fully vaccinated and fixed, have microchips and collars (break-away) as if they were beloved family pets. They just don’t like being confined much. It’s a hard balance between health and happiness when you’re dealing with community and barn cat adoption, unfortunately. But more on that later.
I also have a two (actually three) foster fails that I was forced to end up keeping. These include one former feral cat I tamed who dislikes all other people and his brother (who is currently missing but we’re still looking!). This also includes a special needs cat that I bottle fed as a baby.
I have 4 other barn cats in my barn I feed. I also have a half dozen fosters I am adopting out. The fosters are all either rescued bottle-fed kittens or dumped pets that aren’t barn cat material, or they’re just too friendly and would make a good indoor cat. I also have a few furry friends in other barns on the property that I’ll introduce as well because, as we all know, cats are hilarious and so freaking photogenic.
This page will also link to any success stories and memorials I have. Unfortunately, outdoor life is often dangerous for our feline friends and they can and do disappear from your colony with no explanation. It’s a sad fact of life if you care for a colony of cats, barn or otherwise. It also breaks my heart every time. I’ve also lost some neonatal kittens along the way and this is my way of remembering them.
My Boy Buddy
Little Miss Daisy
Tweety, Alpha-Hole
Marbles, MIA
Wobbly Kitten Oreo
Handsome – Jerk Cat
Echo – One Lucky Cat
Old Man of the Barn
Killer Tom
Mimi
Lover Girl Daughter
Peabody
Precious, Former Feral
Chips
Granny/Gracie
Mama Cat
Coco
Big Al
Wily
Thumbelina
Marbles
Phoenix
Ninja Girl
The Evangeline Training Center Barn Cat Relocation Project
Mr. Kitty and Smoky
Luke and Leia
Stubby
Dolores & Tabitha
Nix
Bella
Skinny Boy
Nutter
The Evangeline Training Center Missing
I’m not including any kittens that I immediately passed off to my local nonprofit feral cat group. I’m only including any cat I’ve personally taken care of or made friends with. Kittens I only held onto for a couple of hours or a couple of days did not make this list as I don’t know the end outcome on some of these.
I’m not personally built to rescue long-term. It takes a huge emotional toll on people. I give huge kudos to those who can do this for years. I don’t often foster except in emergencies or those resulting directly from working with the cats. Any kitten friendly enough to be adopted almost immediately because of someone dumping them on the property I try to get to my local feral cat group and adopted as soon as I can.
Lovies!
This post was last modified on August 24, 2020 4:08 pm
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Wow! That is a lot of cats!
It is amazing you help so many even though it is not your "job". I understand that it must be very difficult to foster cats. I have not done it myself. The one I took in as a stray (was around and then ended up blind in one eye) I kept. He ended up with my ex-boyfriend who loves him.
We don't have as many strays/barn cats here in Alaska. There are plenty of cats in need of rescue however. All 4 of my current cats were rescues either from a local rescue group or straight from the pound. We have a kill shelter here and older cats often don't get adopted. My husband and I try to adopt older cats for this reason.
Thank you for the amazing amount of work and love you put into taking care of SO many cats. It is truly amazing!
I know, it's crazy! I'll be making a little information post with pictures (and video) of each of the cats. Daisy, my personal cat, is up first. People love meeting cats and watching cat videos. LOL!
It's truly amazing that you and your husband rescue the older cats. They need homes and love even more than the kittens that often get adopted. We have a high kill shelter here because it's open intake and so many people don't understand why they should fix their animals. Sigh.
No matter the type of rescue you do, any type of rescue is awesome and life-changing for the animals and I applaud you for it. Older cats don't live as long as the one you'd get as a kitten so it's an amazing thing you do by giving the elderly cats homes!
I don't foster full-time usually because I can't take losing kittens that are sick. It's happened and it sucks bad. My heart can't take it. I do TNR more, but for some reason, it's just I keep getting cats to foster! LOL
Thank you! I agree. We need all the rescuers we can get.
I hope to share my cat's stories far and wide so people can see that older cats can be just as "young" and healthy as you would expect with a younger cat. Our most recent addition is now over 15 years old! She is still more spry than all the others! She is truly amazing. She is a little, polydactile tortie with white (I thought she was a calico until I was corrected). She is amazing. You would really think she was a young cat if you didn't know. She is thin, agile, springy, playful, flexible, spunky, affectionate, just everything good about a cat.
Here is my post about her. She now rules the roost a few months later! https://thrivingcat.com/my-sweet-spunky-tortoiseshell-with-white-cat
Awwww! She's gorgeous! You and your husband have such kind hearts to give homes to the older cats. Most people don't want them, so it's a beautiful thing you're doing. I love it! She is surely happy where she's at now. I can't believe someone would give her up after having her fourteen years. Fourteen years with one owner. So sad. Poor girl. She's truly blessed to have found a home with you guys.