Teaching her to be an outdoor kitty

[Black Cats Abundant]

I have a 21 acre farm in a quiet area, away from any roads that could be hazardous to a cat. I had a barn at who died two months ago. I was heartbroken and still am, but adopted a kitten to be my new mouser, a couple days ago. I love her to death but I don't know how to train her outside. (my previous cat required no training because she was born on this land)

I want to teach her,
The boundaries. Where she can go and where she shouldn't go.
To come in when she's called because she will be both indoor and outdoor.
To stay away from the chickens (my previous cat somehow just knew that they were off limits.)
To stay away from coming and going cars.

Anyone who has even a simple tip, your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Bubblesmom2014]

I’m sorry I don’t have any advice for you! I prefer my cats be strictly indoors

 

[ArtNJ]

For every cat that will gladly attack and maybe kill a fox, seems like there a ton that wont even try to mess with a full grown rabbit. It doesn't surprise me that an indoor/outdoor cat would stay away from chickens. That said, I've never raised chickens, so I can't say for sure.

If the cat is in range to hear, you can use a call noise that they know to associate with dinner or treats. You can make meal times regular. But those things will only work until they don't. The cat might be too far to hear, have eaten a mouse, be having too much fun, or had something bad happen, and you'll see the cat 18 hours after they went out, several days or never if you are unlucky. I had an indoor/outdoor that was pretty regular, but sometimes in the summer would sometimes do 18 hours or so and give us a lot of stress.

As far as boundaries, I think that is totally impossible unless you have a cat-proof fence or an electric fence. Most cats don't go that far, but they certainly go far enough that they won't hear you sometimes.

As far as cars, it tends to be a bigger problem if you are near busy streets, because the cats get over the fear. But there is no magic way to be train them or be sure. People on here have lost cats to cars.

 

[Talien]

If you want a barn Cat, you want an adult Cat that has been outside, a Kitten that has known nothing but being inside is probably not going to work out. You'd be better off going to a shelter, animal control, or a nearby farm and asking about barn Cats.

 

[Black Cats Abundant]

If you want a barn Cat, you want an adult Cat that has been outside, a Kitten that has known nothing but being inside is probably not going to work out. You'd be better off going to a shelter, animal control, or a nearby farm and asking about barn Cats.

I had assumed this would be the case. I don’t really mind though because I would like this kitten to stay indoors, considering the last outdoor cat I had died at four years old from a tick bite. I don’t want to get attached and loose her like I did before.

 

[LTS3]

Can you build a large catio in the yard next to the house and allow your access free access via a cat door or a window? The cat will be safe from cars, harmful curiosities, etc and won't be able to harm the chickens.

 

[Norachan]

If you have the space to take care of a barn cat you might consider adopting an older semi-feral cat that isn't suitable for living indoors as a pet.

BARNCATS Incorporated – Working to provide safe relocation sites for Feral Cats in Harms Way

There are a couple of organisations who try to relocate outdoor cats that are in need of a safe place to call home. Google Barn Cats in your area and see if there are any close by.

There seems to be quite a desperate need for safe locations for semi feral and farm cats, so you'll be saving a life if you do this.

Then you could keep your indoor cat safe indoors. Feral cats survive outside because they've learnt the life skills they need to survive out there. So many of them die before they reach their first birthday though. It's much safer to keep an indoor cat indoors.

 

[game misconduct]

its possible to train a cat to come to a dog whistle using bribery with treats same as you would to teach its name (i taught graycie kinda) being a mouser etc. i always thought the mother teaches the kittens to hunt and know mice/rats are food?the kitten will learn pretty fast to leave chickens alone i think they can be pretty mean.