Picked a barn cat over a working dog for my horse stable... best choice I made this year

I was torn between getting a terrier or a cat to keep the mice down at my barn in Brookfield. After talking to my neighbor who breeds Jack Russells, I went with a rescue barn cat named Mabel instead. She cost me $35 for the adoption fee and shots, way less than a trained dog would have been. In three months she has caught over 20 mice and even chased off a few rats from the feed room. She does her rounds every evening like clockwork and needs zero training from me. Has anyone else switched from a dog to a cat for pest control on a farm?

2 comments

2 Comments

tarajenkins19d ago

Wait but how does Mabel handle being around the horses though? My buddy tried a barn cat and it freaked out every time a horse moved, ended up hiding in the rafters all day and never caught a single mouse. Is she just naturally calm around big animals or did you have to do something special to get her used to them? Cause $35 sounds great but not if the cat's terrified of the whole setup.

amybarnes18d ago

Yeah that's totally valid, I've seen that happen too with some barn cats. Mabel must have a really steady temperament or maybe the owner introduced her slow, like keeping her in a crate near the horses at first so she could get used to the sounds and smells. It probably took some patience, not every cat is built for it.