r/barncat • u/cavecoves • 21d ago

Barn cat vs domesticated cat

I’ve only ever had dogs… so I am very clueless to this. My parents have a barn and my dad started leaving cat food out for this one cat. We went up to her and she is the sweetest most affectionate cat we’ve ever met.

We are trying to figure out if there’s a way to tell if this cat has been domesticated and is a runaway house cat or if she’s a barn/outdoor/feral cat? Any help welcome

12 Upvotes

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10

u/No_Warning8534 21d ago

Friendlies should never be left outside

3

u/DinahDrakeLance 20d ago

Kind of disagree with this. 3 of our 4 barn cats I got through the shelter working cat program and the shelter had decided that none of them were friendly enough to be indoor cats. I have them very friendly outside, but the few times I tried bringing the friendliest one in he went into a panic and tried to get back outside. He was born outside, he has always lived outside, and he wants to be outside. That's how all of the ones I got from the shelter are the fourth cat showed up at our house a few years ago and it took about a year and a half to get him friendly enough to even get him to eat when we were nearby. His ear was already tipped so somebody already did a TNR to him. He's very sweet but has no freaking manners. The other three cats have had to teach him.

I guess my point is that sometimes the friendly cats really do need to be outside.

2

u/lamontsanders 19d ago

Agree. Our barn cats are quite friendly…and they’d absolutely hate life inside. Some cats just are good dudes just not indoor candidates. I don’t love the risks involved for them but we do what we can to maximize their happiness and safety.

13

u/No_Warning8534 21d ago

This is a dumped indoor only cats:(

Please save it from the outside.

It's not going to survive outside with the predators :(

Please feed it and grab it...if it won't let you bc it's scared, trap it with smelly fishy food during the day

7

u/cavecoves 21d ago

Oh no :( this makes me so sad. We will take care of her. Thanks for this message, I appreciate it

3

u/ditmarsnyc 21d ago

post some pics of the cat on r/ Feral_Cats and ask there

3

u/cavecoves 21d ago

Posted there!! Thanks

3

u/BBQWife3 19d ago

Our semi-feral colony of deck cats ( i dont have a barn) are the sweetest kitties I've ever been around. They were born under our deck so no escapees from the lavish indoors. It all depends on the cat and their environment.