Rats! That’s what we had. Many many many of them. I hated to have to kill them but we did and most are gone. Some still hide in the barn. We didn’t put the poison boxes in there. The cats will take care of some and hopefully scare the other off.

Cats? We have them. They just came almost two weeks ago. Three of them. I was leery about getting a cat because our cat Mango was hit by a cat last November but then came the rats. And I decided we needed cats.

So they are here. Two are feral. Jet and Honey. We got them from the Humane Society of Carroll County – they have a barn cat program. Cats are free. We made a donation. They spay/neuter and give them their shots. Pretty good deal. But these guys are as feral as they come.

They are being acclimated now. They are living In crates half covered with towels so they feel safer. After about two weeks we can let them out and hope they stay around and hunt. They won’t ever be friendly – this I am fairly certain of.

Jet will allow you to touch him without clawing you. But he’s sort of in a trance and this is almost two weeks in. He has a bed that’s like a ball and he’s all hidden in there. He comes out at night to use his litter box and eat. He’s gorgeous – all black with huge beautiful eyes.

Honey is striped with honey color. She’s pretty but get your hand near her and she hisses. She stays hunkered down in her crate behind the bed. Eats and potties when we are away. It doesn’t help that her next door neighbor -Ziggy- hissed at her on her first day here. She arrived a bit later than than Jet and Ziggy because she was getting spayed. So her acclimation will be a bit longer. Sometimes I look at these ferals and wonder if acclimating will make a difference. Will they stay? At least I’m teaching them where they can get some good food. I do worry that the males will fight. We will see. I think Ziggy will be the king here. He’s bigger and bolder.

Ziggy came to us from a friend of my neighbors. The family was moving to a rental while they built a new home and cats were not allowed not even indoor/outdoor ones which is what Ziggy is. Except now he’s indoor in a barn and outdoor whenever he wants. Ziggy is very friendly. He seemed to know right away that this was his new home. We have acclimated him for almost two weeks but it just felt ok today to let him out of his crate at his dinner time. He ate some then stretched out then began exploring the hay loft of our barn. He was dirty in minutes. I left his bed outside his crate and we put an extra bed in the loft but he seemed to like the hay. Tonight we left the small “cat” door – which was a goat door years ago- closed so he can’t really get out of the barn unless he jumps out of the loft. Which he didn’t seem in any hurry to do.

Ziggy is laid back I think. Though I’m still getting to know him. Funny thing is that I am allergic to cats but I’ve been close to him and petted him and allegies haven’t bothered me too much. Doesn’t matter though we need cats and it’s nice to have a friendly cat. I feel bad for the ferals but it’s just how they are. We will take care of them and hope they stay.

I think Ziggy will stay. He reminds me of a cat I had as a kid -Mittens- but he’s much bigger. He seems smart. So we will see. I’ve enjoyed taking photos of him. I missed that after Mango died.

Barn cats are workers and they do a job for us but they are also our pets. They will get a good home and we will love them and enjoy them (If we ever see the ferals). But if they choose to leave I won’t go looking for them. Well maybe Ziggy as he’s tame and less elusive then I think the other two will be. So in a way it’s really their choice to stay or not. I hope they do.

So stay tuned for more pictures and tales ( pun intended) of our new barn cats. Well at least one!

Update- Ziggy was still in the loft this AM. He seemed happy to be out and about. Kevin gave him some love and off he went again. He still has to get used to the sounds and the horses and chickens running around as I have some escapees from the enclosure daily. It’s a whole new world for Ziggy.

Ziggy exploring the loft.