Barn Cat

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the previous homeowners put out corn and sunflower seeds to attract wildlife.  They also encouraged a family of ground squirrels to build an underground complex right under the dining room window.

In this photo, you can see not only the family of deer hanging out where the feeders used to be, but in the lower right you can see one of the mounds of dirt from a ground squirrel burrow.



I tried to be nice about it and use "humane" methods to encourage the squirrels to move away.  I bought a couple of rubber snakes and also scattered used kitty litter from my indoor cats. 

 

It didn't phase the critters one bit. They just keep on digging and expanding their burrow. Do you think they're smart enough to know that cobras aren't a local species?

 

 

 

I don't want to poison them, since there's the risk of a neighborhood dog eating a poison-laden rodent.

 

Enter Jasper, barn cat extraordinaire (at least I hope he's extraordinary!)



 

I got Jasper from the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. He was in their Barn Cat program. They developed that program as a way to find homes for cats who are, for various reasons, not suitable as pets. Before this program came about, these cats would have been euthanized since they were considered "not adoptable".

Jasper was in the Barn Cat program because his former owner hadn't neutered him. He surrendered Jasper to the Humane Society because the cat was spraying all over the house. Gosh...an intact male cat was spraying...go figure! Jasper was neutered at the Humane Society, but he will always have the habit of spraying.

When I brought Jasper home, he was very shy and immediately found a spot in the barn to hide in. Now that he's been here for two weeks, he's come out of his shell.  Happily, he's very friendly and lovable considering he was a "tom" cat until a month ago.

 

 

I've kept Jasper confined in the barn these past two weeks so that he learns to identify this as his new territory. The squirrels used to run wild through the barn. Not any more! I haven't seen evidence that Jasper has actually killed one, so apparently his presence alone is enough to convince the squirrels to go elsewhere.

 

Jasper's been protected against fleas and ticks as well as worms. No telling what he'll be exposed to in his duties as exterminator.  He can escape any coyotes through a small cat door in the hay room of the barn. And he has food, water and a "den" in the barn, too.

How do you control the rodent population around your place? Do you use cats or dogs? Traps? Poisons? Why did you choose a particular method?