Going all in...with barn cats

We are the type of family that tends to go all in when we want to try something new. This can be exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time. I mentioned in my previous blog entry that we had decided to get barn cats. My wife (Liz) came up with this idea shortly after we moved into the new place. Not a fan of small critters like mice and rats, she saw this as a great solution to keep them at bay in the area where we would eventually like to have chickens. Also, my kids had expressed that they might like to have a cat but I am allergic so we definitely would never have indoor cats. Perfect solution, right? It seemed like the local humane society had a window into Liz’s mind because shortly after this idea sprang up, they advertised a need for someone to adopt two barn cats. They have a great program where they will spay/neuter and vaccinate these feral cats and give them a chance at life with those that need barn cats. This time, it was us! More excitement in our house as we were about to venture into unknown territory. We prepared by researching how to get your barn cats to become familiar with their surroundings and once it was time to let them roam, how to get them to stick around. We also purchased some cat food, kitty litter, food/water bowls and used an old storage bin we had for a makeshift litter box. Liz brought them home and we released them into an outbuilding that has a garage door that closes onto loose gravel. Things seemed to be going great. The two cats were using the litter box, eating their food and were getting along. They were both very shy and would not let us come near them. After only a couple of days, we noticed that a door to the outbuilding had been left open. This was from our 4 year old son being curious and checked on the cats but forgot to close the door behind him. It happens…One cat gone, one cat stayed. We hoped the other would return but after a week, we knew that would not be the case. Of course, our kids named the cats. It was Rocky who busted out, and Midnight decided to stay. We thought retaining one out of two wasn’t bad and after a couple of weeks, it felt like Midnight was going to stay. We were getting close to the point where our research had told us it was time to let the cat roam and see if it would come back. One morning, I noticed under the garage door, there was a hole that had been dug out just large enough for a cat to squeeze under. Uh oh! Did we lose another one?! I went and inspected, sure enough, Midnight had run out of food and decided to take matters into his own hands digging a small pathway in the gravel, under the garage door. He was gone but not for long. Two days later, he returned! The kids were so happy. We decided to not fill the hole. Midnight could come and go as he pleased. I continued to fill the water and the food and changed the litter. After a while, there was no longer any reason to clean the litter box…this had me a little curious. The food was being eaten…Had Midnight decided to do his business outside now that he had free range? We couldn’t catch a glimpse of him for a couple of weeks and I noticed that the hole under the garage door had gotten a little bigger. I was becoming more suspicious until one night on our return home I received my answer. Close to the pathway that Midnight had created was a possum! Yes, I had been feeding a possum for weeks. It is still unknown where Midnight ran off to. We can only hope that he has found a better life and maybe someday will return. I know that possums are great for eating ticks and are considered nature’s pest control but he can do that outside of my building and eat ticks instead of cat food. The hole is now filled, the food and water dishes put away. Things don’t always turn out as you expect them to but you have to at least give it a try. We will try again when the weather is a bit warmer and we will continue to go all in. It might not turn out as we think but the experience will help us along the way.