The Cats Came With The Farm
by Kay Zirkel/ Serenity Farm
(Benton City, WA. USA)
In 2006 We purchased a small farm (Serenity Farm) along with the farm were 6 ” barn ” cats. Wild as March hares they were and ready to fight any one or critter who wanted to displace them from the barn.
Before we could trap them there were kittens by three of the females. After much work and learning we finally trapped all the cats and had them spayed or neutered. Total: 20 Barn cats.
Two things I have noticed that might interest readers is this. First there is only one Queen and one king in the group. All the cats defer to them.
When I feed, the king and queen eat first. The others hang back to allow them to eat. The queen cat mothers all of the other cats and the king settles all disputes. I never tire of watching how the cats react to any situations.
The cats allow my four dogs free roam of the barn but will join forces to evict any other dog that happens to enter the barn. So we have had to warn our friends to not allow their dogs to enter our barn area. I am not sure if this behavior is normal or not but here in our farm this is normal. I have yet to see any other feral cats on our property.
As a matter of fact I have never seen any evidence of predators around the barn area either. Since these cats act as a “pride” of sorts we wonder if they might even join forces to protect their territory.
Any thoughts about this? I would welcome discussion from other Barn Cat owners on this subject.
Kay @ Serenity Farm – Benton City, WA. USA
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