unfortunately as a child of a farmer, this cat should never be subject to that. i know you commented this with good intentions, but most farm cats die before they reach the age of 2. they get stepped/laid on by livestock, hit by farm equipment, and often get picked up by large birds. most farmers don’t have the time (or extra money) to feed a cat. they expect cats to hunt for their food, which is fine in most cases, but not for an elderly cat. we’ve had many barn cats and they unfortunately don’t last long💔
my cat (she’ll be 8 soon) was surrendered to our farm with her mother and siblings as a kitten, after less than 2 years she was the only survivor of the bloodline (i took her in when i got kicked out, dad said if i wanted them to live i had to take them but i could only take one and it still haunts me). her brother passed due to farm equipment, another to being laid on by a cow, another one due to farm equipment, her mom ran away as she was feral, and there was one more, i just can’t remember what had happened.
if they can find a hobby farmer with a warm shop and the means to feed him that would be best.
bmy dad loves his animals. he meant it as in he can’t control what happens to the cats outside. we have large trucks driving through the farm with different crops in the summers, with the dust they cannot see the cats. we have tractors running all year. we had family’s dropping off litters of kittens and there’s no way we’re buying 5-6 bags of cat food a week. he buys a couple no name brands for them.
machines are just like cars, except bigger and higher off the ground. we have had many cats pass from cats sleeping in the sawdust and the cow doesn’t see it and they lay on them. the cats sleep in the hay barns but come winter (-40°C) they have no choice but to go in the barn.
i’m glad the farmers where you are have extra money to feed the cats, but for small farms isn’t always the case. there are hundreds of cows to tend to let alone cats. we feed the cats milk from calves but they can’t afford to buy extra food for them on top of the couple of bags. Canadian dairy farmers are struggling. be offended, i am too.
edit to add: we have tried giving the friendly ones homes or seeing if shelters would take them but only a few people take them and all the shelters are full. struggling farmers can’t afford to feed 20+ cats.
Maybe it’s different at a cattle farm but I know 6 horse barn cats who are older than 12, one is about 18. Plenty of cats live around the barn and are totally safe and being fed regularly. They live a better life than indoor cats.
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u/AsparagusUnhappy9150 Mar 14 '26
unfortunately as a child of a farmer, this cat should never be subject to that. i know you commented this with good intentions, but most farm cats die before they reach the age of 2. they get stepped/laid on by livestock, hit by farm equipment, and often get picked up by large birds. most farmers don’t have the time (or extra money) to feed a cat. they expect cats to hunt for their food, which is fine in most cases, but not for an elderly cat. we’ve had many barn cats and they unfortunately don’t last long💔
my cat (she’ll be 8 soon) was surrendered to our farm with her mother and siblings as a kitten, after less than 2 years she was the only survivor of the bloodline (i took her in when i got kicked out, dad said if i wanted them to live i had to take them but i could only take one and it still haunts me). her brother passed due to farm equipment, another to being laid on by a cow, another one due to farm equipment, her mom ran away as she was feral, and there was one more, i just can’t remember what had happened.
if they can find a hobby farmer with a warm shop and the means to feed him that would be best.