#or the adult boy cat tux who lasted longer than almost any other of the boys

[absentlyabbie]

on the cat post: barn cat thoughts?

i understand the rationale and practical applications, and i grind my teeth about it less if they're at least spayed/neutered and given proper, regular vet care, but if that cat is just allowed/able to wander freely it's gonna have a shitty and likely very short life, on top of the negative impact it will have on the local environment beyond the barn's pest control issue.

i'm in no way an expert, but it's hard to imagine there's not some alternative that, while it may not seem cheaper, doesn't cost a life.

#call and response #Anonymous #when the situation in my post occurred that was very much 'barn cat' country #and if you think only the non 'working' cats on our property are the ones those horrors happened to think again #on top of the actual wild dog packs and coyotes #lots of rural folks like to let their dogs wander freely and they pack up and end up functioning as halfwild dog packs as well #cars on rural roads are still gonna hit those cats #barn cat is no match for a bigass bird of prey that looks down and sees lunch #barn cat even with vet care is at far greater risk of exposure to disease and infection than any indoor cat #let me tell you about how i'm haunted by the kitten who died on my lap in a towel in the bed of the truck outside #as i felt her last rattling wheeze of breath felt her go still #so tiny and utterly overrun by respiratory illness #how about the kitten who got snake bit and his neck swelled up horrifically and he had an awful slow death #or the adult boy cat tux who lasted longer than almost any other of the boys #but came home one day with a big old spider bite on his face and seemed fine really #but suddenly began declining sharply til he was weaving in staggering circles #unable to control his bladder #the cloying smell of rot and infection as i held him towel wrapped in my arms when we took him to the vet to be eased to his end #how about the kitten i mentioned where the visual haunts me horribly still #simon my little boy who made it half grown from kittenhood almost to an age to be fixed #who i planned to take with me once i'd saved up enough to move out and make him an indoor baby #i found his siblings and cousins all over the yard and drive shaken to death by dogs #but him i found the next day but only half #half #i'm sparing you further details but i fucking broke #you think barn cats are safe from any of that? they are not #tw animal death #animal death #pet death