Part of the Original Plan...
When we moved here, four years ago, our plan to start a hobby farm for our grandkids, included getting some farm animals.
Of course we didn’t know the first thing about raising livestock, since we lived in a subdivision for 40 years, prior to moving to this farm, lol!
Taking Advise...
Reading many articles, watching lots of videos and learning from other hobby farm owners, our first livestock animals were chickens.
You can read more about that post here: https://sweetteayankeefarm.com/?p=2483
…but to raise chickens, you have to store feed. And when you have feed, you get MICE!
Remedies...
So back to the class room we go…(youtube, lol) to learn how to raise, care and house barn cats.
I have never really been a “cat person” but we needed them and the grandkids would love them so much.
On order...
My daughter, Emily, is a middle school math teacher. She has a friend at school that lives on a farm.
Emily visits her quite often and takes my granddaughter, Lucy to ride horses there.
She happened to have a new litter of kittens, just born a few weeks ago.
The mother cat was an excellent mouser. She would take each kitten out individually and teach them to hunt…
And so we wait...
We told our daughter to pick one out and when they were ready to leave the mother cat, she could bring it over to the farm.
Emily’s friend told us we should wait until they were 12 weeks old, giving the mother cat time to train them to hunt.
So as we waited, we prepared…
The Broody House...
After reading on raising barn cats, we learned how to train them to stay on the property.
Suggestions to keep them in a large cage for several weeks, so they will know they live here now.
This seemed so MEAN… but we understood the premise.
Then I remembered the small chicken coop we had bought off of fb marketplace!
We could modify it to hold the kitties, it would be safe and fun for them too.
I had painted it red and white, using my Pennsylvanian Dutch Signs to cheer it up!
We had bought it for a “broody house” for the chickens.
A place to put a “BROODY” hen, that thinks she wants to sit on a nest and hatch chicks….even though we don’t have a rooster, hence, no fertilized eggs…there fore, no chicks, lol!
But if you let her have her way, she will sit in the nesting box for “21” days…hissing and growling at the other chickens, while they are laying their eggs.
Sometimes she will steal the other hens eggs to lay on and sometimes she won’t let the other hens in the nesting box at all, lol!
So broody hens are put in the broody house for a few days and they usually snap out of it.
They're Home...
Lucy couldn’t decide which kitty to bring home…she said there were two kittens left.
They were brothers, you CAN’T separate brothers, right?
One cat, two cats, oh well, bring them both home.
So in they came, with an arm full of kittens…oh my heart!
Lucy named them “Sun” and “Moon”
They’re names came from the little collars.
Lucy spent her own money and bought food and water bowls, a cozy bed, kitten food and their collars.
She loved those little kitties so much, the other kids were delighted…but my grandson Aiden is the cat person in the family. He simply couldn’t get enough of them.
Those little cats really grew on me…I guess now your can say, I’m a cat person, lol!
The Catio...
The broody house was now the new kitten house.
We placed the “Catio” in the shade, just outside the chicken coop…so they could make friends.
Placing a ladder for climbing into the “loft”, the kittens had endless hours of climbing in and out of the upper level.
In the evening, we would put them inside on the upper level and close the red door for the evening.
There was plenty of room below for the kitty litter box in the front corner and the food and water in the back.
When the grandkids came over, they would climb inside the “catio” to play with the kittens.
After a few weeks, we let the kittens have supervised play in the grass.
Preparing for winter...
In Northern Illinois, winter can sneak in, in October. We needed to prepare the kittens permanent home and build somekind of a shelter to sleep in.
Using an old pet carrier, we lined it with straw. Covering the whole thing with old carpet padding with a layer of insulation….held down with some old rugs.
During the mild weather, we left the bed inside. But, because cloth draws heat from the body, we replaced it with a thick layer of straw during the winter months.
We placed the whole thing, up on a work bench, making a food and water area beside it.
Not very pretty, lol. But they loved it and it worked for the first winter.
Update...
This last year we built a new and improved shelter.
They outgrew their old one.
Using a giant 2 x 4 foot plastic container, we lined it with straw, followed by sheet foam insulation.
Filled the interior with straw and placed insulation under the lid.
Cutting a hole in the side for an entrance, worked out great. The cats love to get inside and snuggle.
Vet care...
We called our local humane society to check on a program for outdoor cats.
The county offered a fantastic program for feral and outdoor cats.
Both of our kitties were neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, tattooed, microchipped and ear tipped…FOR FREE!
The reason for ear tipping was to identify cats that were “being taken care of” if county workers saw them and thought they were a stray.
After a day of stress we promised them a fun evening, lol.
Moving to the Barn...
The whole reason for getting the kittens…is to protect the feed from other critters, lol.
Here is how we transitioned them from the “Catio” to the barn.
Each evening at sunset, we would close the chickens in their coop and bring the kittens in the big barn.
Closing the doors to the barn, the kittens had the run of the barn each evening, until morning.
In the morning, we would put the kittens back in the “catio” and repeat the procedure in the evening.
Here is how the timeline went:
4 weeks in the “catio” (age 12 weeks to 16 weeks)
3 weeks in the “catio during the day, closed in barn at night. (age 16 weeks to 19 weeks)
Training to come home...
Sun and Moon are let outside every morning.
Each evening they are either waiting by the barn door, or come when we call them…yup, just like little dogs.
They get there canned cat food and are closed in the barn each evening.
From the first time we put the kitties in the barn at sunset, we fed them canned cat food.
It has been proven that barn cats are better hunters if they are fed on a regular basis.
During the daytime, we keep a bowl of dry food, and a bowl of water by their bed.
They come home faithfully everynight!
Brothers...
Both cats are very loving. We made an effort to hold them and give them attention when they were little.
They follow us were ever we are working on the farm.
We have a litter box in the barn that we clean daily. They never make a mess anywhere else.
In the winter, they grow thick coats of fur and love to play outside.
We feel they are living their best lives. The only mice we’ve found in the barn….are dead ones, lol!
Switching places...
The cats are good friends, wrestling and hunting and playing all day.
I have a fence around my garden with a white picket gate….I can’t believe I caught them on camera, changing places on the gate!
One went over the top and the other climbed under…never missing a step, it was crazy fun to watch.
It was so cute! I love those cats so much!
So I’ll close for now…I need to get my greenhouse put up outside. It will be time for my plant sale before you know it.
Join us next time for more adventures on the farm.
Fondly, Sandy
Sandy,
Thank you for giving me smiles to begin my day! I love your fun filled descriptions and I think Sun and Moon should thank their lucky stars that Lucy chose them! 🙂
Those kitties are the sweetest! They lay in the grass right by me when I’m in the garden.
So glad to make you smile Linda
Always Friends! S.
This is so charming, thank you for developing your projects and sharing! See you at the plant sale! Ann.
Thank you so much Ann! I appreciate your kindness and encouragement ♥️
Fondly, Sandy
Hi we gave a farm in poplar grove n every year we experiment with new things to plant n grow. I am a photographer so I also have a photo studio on the property. Maybe we can get together n exchange notes. Thnks
How nice to hear from you Gale! We are practically neighbors, lol.
Maybe we can meet for coffee and brain storm.
My fb page is Sandy Dossey Brewer (Sweet Tea Yankee Farm)
If we can connect on fb, then we could message via messenger and get to know each other.
Thanks for reaching out.
Fondly, Sandy