Barn cats serve a purpose on our farm--keeping the pest population somewhat under control. We don't let the cats fend for themselves, though. They're provided dry cat food daily. This keeps them healthy and strong so they can hunt better.
We've also taken care to spay and neuter them all. So why do we have so many?
Because the food we put out attracts feral cats. And because there are folks in this world who think, "A farm! My unwanted cat can live there," and dump him/her off. No, I'm not kidding.
So every couple of years we have to catch a few new additions and bring them in for the procedure, if we're low on kitties. Or to the animal shelter if we have enough already.
If we didn't do this, we'd be seriously overrun.
Pretty kitties!
ReplyDeleteThat's just odd that people would think it's okay to dump a cat off because you have a farm. :(
ReplyDeleteYour black cat is beautiful.
You're good to your barn cats - they're blessed to have a good home, and the ones you take to the shelter hopefully get loving homes too. My parents adopted two barn kittens last summer - another case of a farm where people think it's okay to dump unwanted cats. Daisy and Ziva fell into the lap of luxury and loving home with my parents; most other barn kittens aren't so lucky.
ReplyDelete