Читать книгу Cats For Dummies - Gina Spadafori - Страница 78

One place where community cats can find a really good home is in a barn or stable, or an industrial building such as a warehouse. These cats are called “barn cats” since seemingly every agricultural shelter since the beginning of time has welcomed the rodent-killing ability of a cat.

Not all barn cats are born wild, we need to note. Some are cats who have ended up at the shelter because they could not live successfully as indoor cats, perhaps because they were chronic urine sprayers, wouldn’t use a litter box despite all efforts to retrain them, or perhaps didn’t get along with another cat in the home.

Gina has lived on acreage for a few years now, with chickens, goats, and horses.

She has had barn cats pretty regularly, including her beloved Mr. Grovesnor, who ended up at her home after he rebounded three or four times from home placements for his intractable potty problems. He was so sweet, though, that the shelter staff would not give up on him, and worked to find him a barn cat home.

Mr. G did pretty well for a while, and many barn cats live long lives. But the risks are higher for outdoor cats and include poisons (intentional or accidental), cars, and even coyotes. Mr. G just disappeared one day, and despite his microchip, lots of “Lost Cat” posters, and many trips to the shelter, he never came home again. Still, he had a decent life for a decent amount of time and was loved and cared for. At the time of this writing, Gina is just about ready to give a home to a new barn cat!