Most of you guys know that we are having to sell our barn where I've kept my two horses, 5 barn cats, and my 50+ chickens. I sold Siggy and all my chickens last September...it was heartbreaking, but had to be done.
The first cat we got from a crazy lady that lived next door to us here in the neighborhood where our home is (about 2 miles from the barn). One day she flipped out a little more than normal, was Baker-Acted (forced into a 72 hour mental health observation). At the end of her 72 hour observation, she was arrested and put in jail for robbery (she was breaking into neighboring homes and stealing things she wanted for her house, stealing power from neighbors via extension cords, and stealing from department stores). She got three years....she is now living in some kind of group home. Anyway, when she was taken away, a little 6 six week old kitten was left in her garage....he was sick and had stuff coming out of every orifice.
$300 vet visit later, and we had a new kitten that we named Baker (what else!)....but he couldn't live in our home due to a likelihood that he had FHV (Feline Herpes Virus - http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/cat-care-herpes.aspx ) and would infect our house-cats. So we took him over to the house on the barn property we had just purchased, and set him up there...
In the meantime, we found that the seller of the property had left behind two older kittens in one of the sheds behind the house. When we called her, she told us she didn't have room for them & we could take them to the Humane Society. They were both sick (same upper respiratory symptoms as Baker)....and we knew they'd be euthed at the H.S. - so two days later we spend another $400 at the vet. These two kittens (calico sisters) joined Baker inside the house to be kept safe and recuperate. We named them Gracie and Olivia.
We had them all neutered/spayed....and when Baker was 6 months old (girls were older - but I don't know how old), they all got transitioned to the barn....and they've been fantastic barn cats!
The other two cats were accrued un-intentionally (they seemed to have wandered in or were dropped off by someone)....but all are friendly with people & everyone got along well.
But here we are 5 years later and faced with having to sell the barn. Re-homing barn cats is next to impossible...but my neighbor has asked if she could keep her daughter's two favorites. She's already been letting them come inside her house on "cold" nights and feeding them canned food....I'm delighted to have them go to someone who loves them and wants them.
The Humane Society (or anything like it) was not an option we wanted to consider...we know the reality.
Our house is not possible considering the barn cats all likely carry FHV.
Making them "outdoor" house-cats here at our house seemed risky due to the pretty high traffic volume....and we didn't want to annoy our neighbors with cats wandering on to their property, scratching their cars, pooping, etc. Most people here in our neighborhood do not have "outdoor" cats. If they do...they don't seem to last all that long (stolen? run over? animal control?) You get the picture.
So our nextdoor neighbor suggested an outdoor cat enclosure....an entire "habitat" for them. He built one for his mother so she could keep her cats after developing allergies/asthma to them.
At first we didn't think it was a great idea, but he brought us pictures....and we are sold! It beats any of the other alternatives........and it's just for a year and a half (or so) until we make the move to N.C. after our youngest graduates high school.
Yesterday, we started by removing landscape in the area where the enclosure is going and trimming up the trees. We are using a 6' tall dog kennel that has five panels that are each 5' long - and we will attach that to our 6' privacy fence - expanding the area available to them.
Next weekend we will be covering an 8'x8' section with a roof, and the rest will be covered with hardware cloth (of course to keep them in). We will be running electric out there (for a light and box fan to be hung from the "ceiling") as well as water so they can have an automatic waterer.
We have plans to add "cat walks" and shelves at many levels....and hubby is considering putting a "water feature" in there (we'll see about that - sure sound like a shit-ton of work!). We will be putting up a lot of bird feeders outside the enclosure to entertain the cats. And will be building a large "litter box" filled with children's play sand - should be easy for me to scoop). I'm going to plant catnip in there for them (don't know if it will grow in the shade - thoughts?).
Anyway.....I am interested to hear if you have any other ideas about how we can make this more comfortable for the cats. Any ideas to keep them as happy as possible out there? Any ideas to keep it easy to maintain?
Here is a picture of what we've gotten done as of yesterday....which isn't all that much! We will be working on it again next weekend....


