Generally speaking, the cats that Madison Cat Project places in rural or farm properties are independent cats that prefer to limit their interaction with people. With time, they may come around to be friendly, or they may stay independent or fearful of people.

Typically, MCP does not place cats younger than 4-5 months into rural placements. Very young cats are typically easily socialized to live with people and will be adopted through our Indoor Cats program. Also, very small kittens can be prey items for hawks, owls or other hunters. If you are looking for young cats, let us know – we often have older kittens (4-8 months) available for adoption to rural homes!

Cats are social animals who prefer some company, either of people or other cats. Because our cats are less social with people, having other cats can provide your new cat with a sense of security and a social connection. Cats placed independently onto properties are more likely to leave, seeking out other cats with which to interact. We have a higher success rate of cats staying on the property when placed in groups of two or more cats.

We get this question often! There is no evidence to suggest that female cats are any more or less likely to negatively interact with chickens. Certainly any cat can view a small chick as a prey item and chicks should be in a fully secure area, away from cats. Once the chickens are at their adult size, they are a very unlikely prey item for a cat, male or female. We have placed many cats in barns with chickens without incident.

A cat that knows where resources are is more likely to stay on your property. Giving your new barn cats time to adjust and acclimate to the sights and sounds of your property, along with giving the cats a chance to learn that your property provides food, shelter and safety gives you the best chance of the cats staying nearby. The acclimation area can be a tack room, a small milk room or even a large wire dog kennel. The room should be secure, with a roof and solid walls. If there are rafter spaces, secure those so the cats cannot climb the walls and escape through the beams. Providing a hiding spot and a perching spot (like a bale of hay/straw) will help the cats feel safe. The acclimation area should have a litter box (as appropriate) and food and water.

If you use a kennel, it should be large enough to house a litter box, food/water dishes and a hiding spot. We recommend one like this: http://www.midwestpetproducts.com/midwestdogcrates/icrate/icrate-double-door-all-sizes either 42″L x 28″W x 30″H or 48″L x 30″W x 33″H.

We do have crates that we can loan out intermittently. If you need one, please ask!

Each cat we place is sterilized (spayed/neutered), vaccinated for both feline distemper and rabies and has been found to be healthy by our veterinary team. We will give you all of the medical records we have for the cat and provide a supply of the dry cat food we feed at our shelter (Mounds Purrfectly Natural). If you need one, we can lend you a large wire dog crate for use during the acclimation (and ask that you return it to us when the acclimation is complete). For an added fee, we can microchip your cats as well, but please let us know ahead of time so we can plan for this.

Adopters should have a safe place to acclimate the cats and a safe barn or large shed where the cats can live during the winter. If the place where the cats will overwinter is not heated, you should provide a heated water bowl so the cats have access to fresh water. We also ask that the cats have access to dry food all year round. Please also ensure the cats have plenty of hiding spots like boxes or hay bales to hide in or around.

Your barn cats will likely hunt and eat prey items (rats, mice, ground squirrels, etc) but we can’t guarantee that the cats will be good hunters or that there will be an ongoing supply of prey. Keeping dry food available helps them to stay on your property and keeps them healthy to chase mice!

We almost always have cats available — fill out the application and we can get going right away on finding the right cats for your property!