A Second Chance for Cats, and a Welcome Hand for Farms
A barn can be a place to belong for a cat who would struggle in a traditional home. In Crossville, Tennessee, the Helping Animals Rescue Team (HART Rescue) has made that possibility real for 634 cats placed with local farmers since Jennifer Cabral and Deb Mathews founded the organization in 2015.
“Our program has ended euthanasia for feral and semi-feral cats at our local shelter entirely,” Cabral told Good Good Good. The program works with the Cumberland County animal shelter, directed by Andrea Henshaw, to find homes for cats unlikely to be adopted as house pets.
Each placement begins with care. HART arranges for cats to be spayed or neutered and vaccinated, then learns what it can about their personalities. The team shares listings on Facebook and PetFinder and works to match each cat with a suitable barn. Some farmers welcome cats that prefer to keep their distance; others are looking for cats that might grow comfortable around people.
“Some of the antisocial cats come around to be at least pet-able after settling into their barn placements,” Cabral said.
The arrangement can benefit farms, too. In one study conducted between December 2017 and May 2018, researchers observed a rat colony and five feral cats over 79 days. They documented 20 stalking events and three attempts to catch rats, two of which succeeded. Rats also changed their movements and spent more time in burrows when cats were present. The researchers cautioned that cats should be only one part of a broader approach to managing active rodent nesting sites.
Cabral hears encouraging reports from farmers, including some who return to HART for more cats. She also emphasizes that barn cats need regular meals and care. The program is not a source of free kittens: its cats are adolescents or adults who are not suited to domestic adoption.
Sometimes finding the right home means understanding what companionship looks like for a particular cat. One farmer likes her barn cats to have a buddy, so HART placed cats that already knew each other together. She has welcomed four so far.
Another placement remains especially meaningful to Cabral. A 12-year-old cat arrived at the shelter with kittens and health problems that made adoption difficult. A farmer offered her a home where she did not need to hunt. Her role was simply to rest in the sunshine and enjoy her meals. Her coat grew back, she gained weight, and she spent three more years there before passing away in her sleep.
“Barn life is a good life,” Cabral said, “and better than euthanasia.”
