How Cold is Cutoff for Barn Cats Needing to Come Inside House?

[fordtraktor]

My barn cat has an incredible winter coat. He’s like an orange puffball! If they are used to being outside, they definitely can grow coats.

He also is a total spitfire and badass. I can’t put him in the house. Last time I tried he swatted at me and yelled kitty profanities at my head until I opened the door and he could go out again. I dare not cross Orange Cat’s wishes. Also, he attacks the indoor kitties.

I think it is not cruel to provide him a home, shelter, food and water. I didn’t ask for this cat, he just showed up and declared this to be his farm. What I can give is way better than what the animal shelter would give him, almost certainly euthanasia. He adores being a barn cat and loves to snuggle – outside. Inside cat he is not and will never be. He panics if he even goes into the tack room and I shut the door.

[halt]

@fordtraktor

My barn cat has an incredible winter coat. He’s like an orange puffball! If they are used to being outside, they definitely can grow coats.

He also is a total spitfire and badass. I can’t put him in the house. Last time I tried he swatted at me and yelled kitty profanities at my head until I opened the door and he could go out again. I dare not cross Orange Cat’s wishes.

They may grow fluffier versions of their standard pelt but they do not have the guard hairs or waterproof capabilities that wild cats that evolved in cold weather have… domestic cats do not have the same defenses to cold that their wild counterparts do, period.

I’m sure your cats are fine, IIRC you live in a fairly temperate area… but thats not to say your average domestic cat can suddenly defy hundreds of thousands of generations of selective breeding and suddenly sprout thick undercoat and guard hairs their wild cousins have.

Real cold kills cats. Most places don’t get as cold as where I live, but there is still risk a perfectly healthy animal can die of exposure in the colder months here.

[HungarianHippo]

Have multiple boxes with warming trays, wrapped in old horse blankets, inside the barn and chicken coop, enough for all cats to have their own space. They absolutely do grow thick winter coats (The full handfulls of hair that come off them in the spring certainly attest to the fact, even if it’s not specifically undercoat or guard hairs. ). that When I see them playing happily with a twig in the snow, laying comfortably in a sunny spot where I’ve piled some hay for insulation, I know they’re absolutely fine.

That said, it’s case by case. With this recent cold snap (never got above zero for a week, nights were negative 20s) I brought two inside who seemed miserable. One had a sore leg from a goat head-butt, and other is <1yr old, was the runt (and stayed small/thin) and just not as adapted to the cold. They got to live in our mudroom for 4 days, which I kept quite cool so as not to shock their systems.

Just as with blanketing horses, there are lots of philosophies on what is proper care for farm animals.

[fordtraktor]

@halt, it’s colder here than what you describe. Not sure where you live but the last month has been a steady diet of subzero to 10 degrees F here in very northern Indiana. It’s 23 right now and it’s a veritable heat wave, I didn’t even wear gloves to feed it feels so “warm.”

I treat the outside cat like the horses…access to lots of food, shelter when he wants it, and water. My horses have been out the whole time too and look fabulous. I think feral cats die when they don’t have food/water/decent shelter but 10 degrees F should not be deadly to a healthy barn cat who can snuggle in the hay, has all the food he wants and water twice a day. Mine is still active and purring with delight every time I go out there, and I know plenty of other people have barn cats that are fine too.

The indoor cats have much thinner coats and they are not interested in going outside at all for the last 2 months…

It’s great you can offer your more but it’s not like leaving a dog chained up outside or anything, when they have a nice barn to live in.

[halt]

@fordtraktor

@halt, it’s colder here than what you describe. Not sure where you live but the last month has been a steady diet of subzero to 10 degrees F here in very northern Indiana. It’s 23 right now and it’s a veritable heat wave, I didn’t even wear gloves to feed it feels so “warm.”

I treat the outside cat like the horses…access to lots of food, shelter when he wants it, and water. My horses have been out the whole time too and look fabulous. I think feral cats die when they don’t have food/water/decent shelter but 10 degrees F should not be deadly to a healthy barn cat who can snuggle in the hay, has all the food he wants and water twice a day. Mine is still active and purring with delight every time I go out there, and I know plenty of other people have barn cats that are fine too.

The indoor cats have much thinner coats and they are not interested in going outside at all for the last 2 months…

I think we are effectively saying the same thing, but there’s a disconnect in the delivery.

Your cats have shelter. They have something they can hide from the elements from. Meaning they don’t die from hypothermia, because their coats never get wet, because they are not exposed to the elements. So the outer limit of their body’s resistance to cold is never tested.

That is my point. Feral cats without shelter (aka truly feral, non-human supplied cats), outside 24/7, don’t necessarily have shelter - and rarely have shelter that’s waterproof or storm proof. If there’s an extreme cold-snap or a sudden change in weather they can get in trouble. If they’re caught outside in a snowstorm, they can get very cold quick, because they don’t have shelter, they don’t have real winter fur coats, they don’t have a coat that is dense and waterproof. Hypothermia sets in, they go into shock, and they die.

Just like cattle die (more frequently than farmers would like to admit) from exposure.

The domestic cat, as far as scientists know, never descended from a cat evolved for the tundra or cold – domestic cats evolved from plains/savannah felines which did not need waterproof/protective qualities or an extremely dense undercoat/guard hairs to protect them from severe cold… think about that and it might be easier to understand where I’m coming from.

[trubandloki]

@halt But this thread is about barn cats, that have shelter…

That might be why people were confuse about you saying they needed to be brought in.

[fordtraktor]

@halt yes, totally agree. It’s been a hard winter for the wildlife. I saw a coyote yesterday and he looked pretty rough, though obviously I can’t offer him a home!

[trubandloki]

On the topic of hard winter for wildlife - I am surprised by the lack of bird traffic at my feeders. We usually have quite a bit more traffic than we have had this year.
Though the other day a young deer was trying to figure out how to reach the bird feeder - not the type of traffic I was looking for.

[halt]

@trubandloki

@halt But this thread is about barn cats, that have shelter…

That might be why people were confuse about you saying they needed to be brought in.

Well that’s mea culpa, as I went off tangent when someone said “cats don’t die from the cold unless they’re already sick”. I did address the original question first, pointing out our own cat definitely starts to slow down once it hits 10F.

[beau159]

@ytr45

Our barn cats have a “heated” house… one of those things with a heat pad (warm pad) on bottom. They snuggle in the house together. Granted, the warm pad doesn’t get very hot, I guess thats how they are supposed to work. So what about the teens, or single digits?. I don’t look at windchill temps since the b.cats are inside. thanks!

PS - the neighborhood feral cat is out in all degrees - i don’t know if he minds it?

Never. That’s why they are barn cats.

It seems like the farm cats have their own little personal preferances on where they like to go. Most of them like being in the barn, cuddled together in their little “house” we built them (no heat source inside). Others like hunkering down in the straw in one of the pole barns. One cat we used to have would go snuggle with the calves by herself to stay warm! They have their preferences.

Monday morning this week, the air temp was about -30*F. I don’t currently have any cats, but my parents still do. And the cats were in their usual places - either in the barn or outside where they like to be.

@halt

Just like cattle die (more frequently than farmers would like to admit) from exposure.

Curious what exactly you mean with this comment???

Yes, blizzards can get nasty and be hard on the livestock. My parents farm and ranch. We are a small family farm and have just under 200 cows. I don’t ever recall losing a cow from “exposure”. From other things yes, but not “exposure”.

Calving season is a different story, if you can’t get a calf warmed up in the hot box after it’s born in nasty weather – but it’s not like everything possible is done to try to save them.

[Scarlet_Gilia]

@beau159

Yes, blizzards can get nasty and be hard on the livestock. My parents farm and ranch. We are a small family farm and have just under 200 cows. I don’t ever recall losing a cow from “exposure”. From other things yes, but not “exposure”.

Yes - last spring, a blizzard in Colorado killed thousands of cattle.
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2017/05/04/dead-livestock-blizzard/

[allons-y]

I’m in the deep South where we usually die from heat stroke. This winter has really been bad, down in the teens with wind chills in single digits.

I have 3 barn kitties, all started as ferals that I got from a local rescue lady. One is still skittish but loves my Pitbull and lets me pet her. She sleeps in the tackroom on a pile of fluffy pads and halfpads I put down for her. She’s doing fine.

The most feral kittie I just see rarely. She is now a giant orange fluffball. She comes in to eat when no one human is around. I don’t know if she sleeps in the barn or not, but I suspect she does. She also has all the Shop buildings to go in, one or two doors are always open. I see her skulking about the fencelines but I have to be careful about eye contact - that makes her vanish. I always talk nice to her in case she hears, but I was informed she is a “true feral” and to just let her be. I have 3 bowls of kittie food in the horse barn in different areas.

The third kittie is my Demon Cat - bent on ruling the world. She has beat all the neighboring dogs in to submission, including my Pitbull. She has attacked my boot-covered legs as well. (So I punted her like a football) She is a giant (beautiful) fluffy calico with lovely black eyeliner around her green eyes. In the very worst weather she was out with me, fixing pipes, hauling water, and she purred constantly while I nearly died of exposure. She sleeps in the full wind of the barn aisle, curled up in a cushioned lawn chair, where she can survey her kingdom. She gallops out to meet me in the frigid temps through snow, frozen mud or puddles. I was not greeted by her this am, nowhere in sight. I was devastated. Then here she came, trotting from the far corner of the property with some poor little bird in her mouth.

I bring heated water out to the barn at least twice a day this winter, that’s what they really need. I have towels and quilted horse blankets bunched up in the hay if they choose also. Usually I see 'nests" in the leftover hay piles in the stalls.

[Palm_Beach]

@trubandloki

@halt But this thread is about barn cats, that have shelter…

That might be why people were confuse about you saying they needed to be brought in.

^^ This. Mine stay outside as well. They have access to the hayloft and each has a kitty hut in the tackroom and there is a heated water bowl. I have some livestock that stays outside as well. They don’t do well in the house.

[amm2cd]

Wow, i guess my cats are pansies.
we dropped into the teens a few days ago and I corrlled both barn kitties into a (saddle free) heated tack room. They are not house cats, so there was some yelling, but i couldn’t leave them out to freeze. They coped, I had peace of mind.
of course our regular winter temps are usually in the 60-40 range, so a 16 degree night is rare and startling here in Texas. Three days later, and it was 55 degrees last night. Kitty night patrol has resumed.

[Jackie_amp_Starlette]

I was amazed that of my four barn cats (ferals from a rescue group I got this fall and a surprise show up), my tiger “feral” (I can now pick her up) follows me out to the pasture with my two dogs in singe digit temps and plays while I spread hay. She’s a short-hair, ,too. Her calico buddy comes out to the pastures when the temps are in the teens. My show-up kitty stays in the barn, but he is still gaining weight. I do have a fourth, but I have not seen her for two weeks since I released her and I assume she is still around (she is very, very feral and never warmed up to me like the other two did). I will say it depends on the cats!

[SLW]

I have one barn cat and when it hits 10F and lower we bring in the house for the night. We let her decide what she wants to do during the day. Her barn bed has a heated pad and there is heated water for her but darn it, we went to -12F last week and I was happy having her inside.

[enjoytheride]

My barn heats the tack room to thaw buckets and keep the hose thawed when it drops below freezing. During our subzero span the barn cat could not be seen outside of the tackroom for at least a week. If you went in he would prance out for five minutes then go back in through the cat flap.

[moving_to_dc]

@Scarlet Gilia

Yes - last spring, a blizzard in Colorado killed thousands of cattle.
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2017/05/04/dead-livestock-blizzard/

I know it is a bit off topic, but… just a little info some might find interesting.

It wasn’t just Colorado that lost cattle… It sucked for a lot of ranchers all over the upper midwest. Those herds were out on pasture, generally 100’s to 1000’s of acres of pasture. Many were grazing winter wheat, in pastures with no shelter. No windbreak, nothing. Maybe a low spot or gully to get down in if they were lucky. It is not an annual occurrence to loose herds to a blizzard, it only happens in the absolute worst of conditions. Many, if not all, of those ranchers rely on those open unprotected pastures to sustain their cattle over the winter, with round bales of fodder and/or hay and range cubes as needed. Most have been using the same pastures for generations without issue. There are generally no shelter options for herds that number in the 100’s. Where would you put them??? Cattle are amazingly hardy - even our pampered “show” cattle get bathed daily, even when it is well below freezing, in temps when I would NEVER wet a horse down. The cattle LOVE it. Bounce around like goobers when we turn them back out (no they don’t live in stalls!). Yes, I have a force-air drier. No, I do not blow them out until they are dry, just enough to train the hair.

Like Scarlet Gilia, I am also from a family that raises cattle - we have had a cow-calf operation in the family for 5 generations (more on some sides of the family!), disbursed among multiple family members. Some of us have wonderful terrain in our pastures that we can rely on to provide shelter, either thick cedar trees or gullies. Some of us have simple windbreaks for shelter. NONE of us have indoor shelter sufficient for more than a handful of cows/heifers that need it when they have difficulty calving.

Any time a farmer/rancher looses a cow or calf, we take it HARD. It is not easy emotionally or financially. You feel like you failed the animal, and your profits and income suffer, too. I know a lot of the current general public view farmers as callous animal abusers, but I can assure you that 99% of us are not. The ones that are should not own animals or have human kids, because they definitely have a screw loose if they are okay with neglecting anything relying on them for survival.

[onthebit]

@halt

Just like cattle die (more frequently than farmers would like to admit) from exposure.

I couldn’t ignore this statement. My husband is from Canada, grew up on a multi-generation, large farm. They had lots of cattle, dairy and beef. They didn’t lose any animals, ever, to “exposure.” When I showed him your quote he just sighed and shook his head in exasperation. Losing a cow is a big deal, and only super wealthy farmers who don’t need a farm could afford to let their animals, even one, die from “exposure.”

[halt]

@onthebit

I couldn’t ignore this statement. My husband is from Canada, grew up on a multi-generation, large farm. They had lots of cattle, dairy and beef. They didn’t lose any animals, ever, to “exposure.” When I showed him your quote he just sighed and shook his head in exasperation. Losing a cow is a big deal, and only super wealthy farmers who don’t need a farm could afford to let their animals, even one, die from “exposure.”

Canada is a huge place with some parts not being very cold at all…

I’m sure your husband has a perfect record for never losing cattle to exposure. That’s commendable. If he lived in a truly cold climate, he would understand it does happen in the colder parts of the country (Colorado, Minnesota, Wyoming, etc). It happens here much more frequently than I imagine you or your husband would like to admit.

It doesn’t have much to do with them being super wealthy so much as them having different ways of life and housing cows than others. In Minnesota and Wyoming it is really not uncommon for cattle to be out 24/7 in the “back 140” and not housed in large structures ever. You see some of them that have lost almost all of their ears to frostbite.

Why don’t you show your husband the links above?