Chicken Coop Cat

I really wish people would neuter/spay their pets. More than that, I wish people would clean up their own irresponsible mess instead of dumping it in my chicken coop. Ticks me off. OK, enough of the belly aching, besides ranting rarely helps anything (just ask Mel Gibson).

A couple of weeks ago I went into the coop and found this little guy asleep with the baby chickens. I have no idea how he'd get in there. Both people doors were closed, the only way in would be through the chicken door which would lead him to the main coop, not the baby chick area. And he would have had another door to contend with, not to mention a gate and fence to get to the area I found him in. Irregardless of how he got there, there he was. The chicks were perfectly fine with him there, not bothered at all.

While the kids and I were discussing what to do, he woke up. I went to reach for him and got attitude all wrapped up in hisses, teeth and claws. He was small and probably couldn't do much damage but wimpy me went and got yard gloves anyhow. When this little cat realized I was reaching for him, he tried to get away. He stood up, wavered, took a couple of unsteady steps and fell over. Picking him up was like picking up a small fur covered wire hanger, my hand swallowed him up. I made a little box for him on our front porch. I fed him wet cat food, I thought he was too young for it but I had nothing else. He ate it and had a nice long nap. For the next week or so he didn't do much but eat and sleep ... and hate me.

And hate me he did. Ran away every time and I had to catch him to feed him. He'd spit and hiss when I finally cornered him and I'm pretty sure he used swear words when I picked him up. After a few days, he would make himself known to me, meowing and coming out of hiding but would still run when I went to pick up. But he wouldn't run far and would allow himself to be picked up. I started petting him as he ate so he'd get used to it. He purrs now when I pick him up and likes to be petted. But I can still see him fight the urge to scamper away when he sees me coming and sometimes the urge still wins.

I can't have another indoor cat. Whisk hates all cats and has chased this one already. I am trying to find him a good home but that is not likely. I won't give him to anyone not willing to have him altered. He's obviously feral and is never going to be a cute and cuddly pet. So far, no-one would bother to have a barn cat altered. I'd be lucky to find someone who'd actually feed a barn cat on a regular basis. But I'll keep looking.

In the short while he's been here, he's improved immensely. He has a little kitty-cat round tummy now. He's doubled in size and barely fits into my cupped hands. He's learned the basics of keeping his face and paws (and hopefully other areas) clean. I thought he was about 2 weeks old when we found him but he might have been older; maybe he was just really small because he was starved.

Two days ago, I started feeding him in the chicken coop storage area. I left the door open so he could leave when he wanted to. But he didn't leave. He's very happy in the coop. Whisk won't go near the coop and that solves the dueling kitty problem. So that's where he'll live. If he's still around when he's older (and a lot tamer), I'll take him to the vets for shots and ultimately get him fixed. I really don't want another cat but it looks like I have one.