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Help! How to turn a barn cat into a...yard cat...

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So I mentioned that Mom has been wanting a new cat, since our last yard cat passed. Our setup is pretty simple, we have our house and garage (with doggy door) on about 8 acres total, including a barn that has horse stalls separated from the main inside area. That big inner area is mostly my dad's domain, where he keeps his tools and 4wheelers and whatnots. He builds things, haha. Our house is pretty set off from the road, no neighbors beside us, just pasture and woods behind and around us. We have 3 med/large dogs outside, all very friendly and generally good with cats. One of them (the only indoor/outdoor dog) can get playful, but the other two could care less. So, at the dairy there is this kitten that my friend snatched for me, since the kittens don't tend to last very long out there. It's really cute, no clue how old, but we are taking it now because there's no telling how much longer it will last there. Now my question is.... How do I get it acclimated to the new situation? It's gonna be an hour away from the dairy, so it's not like it can tell that its close and try to run back. I don't want it to freak out, it's used to cows but I don't know if they let dogs out there or not. I don't want it to freak out and run off. We'll put it in the house for now but that is not where it is going to stay. It can come inside from time to time, but probably live mostly outside. Would it be better to put it in the barn and lock it up? What should we do? also, picture!!! [img]http://i31.tinypic.com/1zb7yq0.jpg[/img]

Heidi Mon, 07/12/2010 - 21:40

You keep it where you want it to live until it learns that this new place is HOME because that is where its' food is and where the people who give it attention live. When kitten is comfortable with the new arrangement and you want to help transition it to being outside, you open the door and offer to go outside and exploring WITH it. Short trips in the beginning, helping kitty to explore and learn how to get back to its' safe-zone. If anything frightens it, help it get quickly and safely back to the safe-zone, trying to avoid situations where the kitty could get frightened and run in the wrong direction and become lost. Frequent short trips outside, getting longer and longer until kitty appears comfortable and knows how to get back to the safe-zone.

Krickette Tue, 07/27/2010 - 08:09

Well, "Cotton" has been spoiled rotten. S/He has been living inside so far, and is not sure what to think of Brooks, our GSP. But it's really really cute!!! We don't know what gender it is yet...
It's adorable though.
I took some pics last week, I want Mom to take a pic of it in its new favorite spot, on top of the axis hide that's draped across one of the couches.

tiny kitten asleep on my dad, who used to hate cats
[img]http://i32.tinypic.com/wu4bip.jpg[/img]

dun kitty! lol
[img]http://i32.tinypic.com/6hpcah.jpg[/img]

it looks like a koala
[img]http://i25.tinypic.com/dpkccl.jpg[/img]