Santa Fe Shelter Offers ‘Barn Cats’ For Adoption

The Animal Rescue Site ^

[Slings and Arrows]

Animal shelters often place domesticated cats and dogs in homes. Now, Santa Fe Animal Shelter based in New Mexico, is working to give feral felines a second chance at life as well. According to the Santa Fe CBS affiliate KRQE, 30 semi-feral and feral cats were seized from the home of an elderly woman when she contacted Animal Control for help. Some of the younger felines were able to be socialized and adopted out. Ten feral cats described as being unfriendly and unsocialized were slated for adoption as well.

These animals are part of the shelter's barn cat program. Some people are in need of animals to combat their pest control problems and felines present a nontoxic solution.

"The barn cat program offers feral, semi-feral and some non-feral cats a second chance," Savannah Sweatt, organizer of the barn cat program at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, told the source. "It's better than just letting a cat loose in the wild."

The barn cats will receive shelter, veterinary care, food and water, yet will get more freedom to roam around then their indoor cat counterparts.

Barn Cats, Inc. out of Lewisville, Texas, runs a similar program, which strives to help feral cats while providing a safe pest control solution.

[patriot08]

You haven’t lived until you’ve tried to stay ln a house with a Siamese queen in heat. O.M.G!

[jimsin]

UMMMM ....BARN KITTY....SKIN ‘EM OUT....ROLL ‘EM IN SMOKEHOUSE MAPLE RUB AND DUST EM UP WITH FLOUR....THEN FRY EM UP IN HOT PEANUT OIL. ADD PICKLES AND A COLD BEER AND YOU’VE GOT YOURSELF A NICE LUNCH...THE BEST..

[Slings and Arrows]

My cats range from 7 to 11. They’re still my kittens.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

I'm not totally sure on this, but I think Patch might be part Siamese. As you can surmise from the photo, she doesn't have the appropriate markings but she does have a similar build. And of the litters I know of, just about every one included a colorpoint kitten, although they were usually some variant of "tabby-point" rather than solid point.

Including this one, who now owns one of my friends.

[patriot08]

Looks of Siamese ancestry alright.

[Veto!]

My neighbor adopted a beautiful barn cat kitten who now terrorizes the other cats in the neighborhood. She’s made my cat’s life pure hell, to the extent that he doesn’t want to go outside any more. Some people say that barn cats can never be fully domesticated.

So please, keep your barn cats inside.