"Karen Chuplis" wrote in message
...
in article , TBird at
wrote on 7/10/04 10:16AM:
Just now, I went to bring the horses in and was pleasantly surprised to
find... *a barn cat*!!! WAHOOOO! A gorgeous calico medium hair feral.
S/he was terrified of me, did not respond to trills at all, and ran at
the
earliest opportunity. I put out a bowl of water - it's going to be 98F
here
today. I'm so excited! Another cat, and a mouse catcher! I'm so
excited!
I'm gonna work on stealing this cat, wherever s/he came from. Gonna
lure
the cat with fresh water and maybe a cozy nest.
I should be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. Because I know that A) cats
pick their own humans, and B) I take really good care of the cats in my
life. So there. I confess. And you can't stop me.
TBird --- cat thief
You could put out a leeetle bit of catfood for the extra nutrients, but
not
enough to keep from catching mice, eh? I don't know nothin' about barn
cats,
Miz Scarlett. Maybe that's a nono. Still, I hope kitty takes up barn
residence and is not coyoteized. Can't you put lion dung around or
something
to reduce the possibility of coyotes?
Yes, barn cats *need* to be well fed. This will not interfere with their
mousing habits at all. Cats don't chase mice just for food. For example,
have you ever seen a pampered indoor cat take off like a shot if a mouse
gets inside? My grandfather was a farmer. He always had barn cats, always
fed them just as if they were indoor cats (which farmers in "those days"
never kept), and they were great mousers.
MaryL