House cat plus yard cats?

[diddy]

Hello everyone. We have a rodent issue in our stables. I have tried various rat traps but the horrid animals are clearly smarter than me and my attempts are not working! We also have lots of owls, badgers etc. living nearby and I worry that if I manage to kill the rats/mice, I might kill them also. Annoyingly, we have a house cat who is a great mouser but she doesn’t go to the stables much because they’re about 100m from the house and outside her comfort zone! She is a rescue, doesn’t like other cats/people and is a real homebody.

Having looked at various threads on here, I am coming round to the idea of trying to find a couple of yard cats to deal with the problem for me. We have a feed/tack room to shut them in initially etc. We are also not close to main roads so would be safe for them. All my neighbours have ferals so I think my stables have become a sanctuary of sorts for all the local rats and mice!

My main worry is our house cat. As I said above, she doesn’t go to the stables much herself but would she be upset if two new cats moved in close by? Or would they all get used to each other soon enough? Might it be better to get kittens if I can find any, so they can’t boss her about from the start? Any ideas about how all your home/yard cats get along would be very helpful! Thanks D. x

 

[Equi]

Have you tried putting her litter box litter around your stables? The smell may drive off the pests.

 

[Scotsbadboy]

Its a tricky one and you wont know until you try it. Cats are pretty solitary and rarely like each others company (obviously there are exceptions but they are not the norm) I always think its sad when people get there resident cat a kitten for company and wonder why fur flies! They aren't particularly designed to get on you see!

Not much help but as much as i love my two cats if i'd known then what i knew now i wouldn't have got a second one! I would try it but ensure you dont encourage the ferals to become tame and visit the house!

 

[Equi]

My current “feral”

 

[JoannaC]

I got two feral farm kittens to be barn cats, already had their older brother from the previous year's litter who lived in the house but did roam far and wide. Problem with that is I ended up with this Sadly lost big bro on the road so now the other two live permanently in the house and we have cat fencing so they can only go in the garden and not to the barn!

 

[Archangel]

I would go for kittens, then your resident cat can be in charge from the start. Feral cats seem to be more tolerant of other cats than domestic cats though. I had a tom turn up here and stay for a couple of weeks, ate with my ferals and slept in their bed. My lot didn't even hiss at him.

Feral cats do have a habit of ending up in the house though and they are always on the computer.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Current cat count here is -

pet cats x 3
ex ferals that have moved into the conservatory x 2
ferals that live in the barn x 1

The intricacies of which cat likes or dislikes another cat is a complicated web but no-one has moved out, in fact I'm half expecting another feral to turn up one day to join the crazy cat party.

I think you'll be fine with barn cats.

 

[Marnie]

I have 2 house cats. I used to keep my horses at a friends farm where she had 3 farm cats. My friend got the tenancy on a new farm and I rented out my house and moved into a cottage on the farm with my 2 house cats. All the cats have settled in remarkably well - so well in fact that that I came home to this one day.... note that the cat on the right is my house cat, the one on the left is supposed to be a feral farm cat...! Please excuse the unmade bed

 

[CMcC]

I had house cats and one stable cat. Stables were nearer house than sounds like yours are. On the whole they ignored each, occasionally house cats would wander on to the yard, stable cat would spit and house cat would wander off again.

 

[SlinkyMinxy]

I have a house cat and three ex-feral barn cats. They have learned to live with each other and, other than the odd spat, tolerate each other pretty well. The barn cats are actually quite social and would probably make friends with the house cat, but she hates other cats and is having none of it. I think it helped that the barn cats turned up as kittens (they were abandoned here by their mum) so the house cat was able to get used to them when they were tiny.

 

[Cloball]

Isn't it funny how the 'feral' barn cats seem to be much more cat social. I wonder what is behind it. They do seem to be more comfortable in bigger groups. My old ginger rescue cat adopted himself a feral cat, who he liked to clean and play with, a few years after we lost his sister. He was weirdly terrified of all other cats particularly kittens. But he was an oddball.

It would be my dream to have a small cat army with different battalions for house and barn..... ?

 

[diddy]

Thanks so much for your replies. Sounds like it might work then... I was already quite up for it, even before you all shared your lovely photos - I now have no choice but to go ahead

 

[Scotsbadboy]

I share a driveway with the neighbour (our land is a minutes drive from home) and she has ferals and i will often find one in my spare stable or darting away as i approach my yard. I dont have any rodent issues and i dont have any yard cats to worry about so its a win win 'using' her ones, lol!

Do it OP, I think you will be fine just know they might not get on but it sounds like if that happens your house cat just wont venture to the yard which it doesnt sound like they do much anyway

 

[EventingMum]

I have one remaining house cat who is approaching 17 and 3 yard cats, two are 3 years old and one is nearly 16. My house cat doesn't go out for long these days but when he did he seemed to avoid the yard cats, there was a bit of hissing and spitting but no real fighting more of a standoff watching each other from a distance.