Working cats for barns, warehouses or businesses
Our Working Cat program allows cats an opportunity to find a home, preferably outside, where they can thrive. Adopting a working cat can be incredibly beneficial for both the cat and the adopter, especially in certain environments and situations. Working cats are typically those who may not be suitable for traditional indoor pet living due to their independent and self-reliant nature.
Working cats are not house cats
Thanks to their natural instincts, cats can provide a free and natural form of pest control for warehouses, stables, barns, farms and ranches. HSVB often has less-socialized cats come into care year-round looking for a different kind of “forever home,” in terms of warehouses, stables and barns, where they can live out their lives while also helping keep the rodent and insect population under control. Similar programs across the country have found success with this practice, and local barn owners praise the results of this program. For many of these cats, it provides an alternative to unnecessary euthanasia.
adopt working cats
Click below to see adoption listings for working cats. If you have questions about our Working Cat program or post-adoption care, please call our adoption center at 772-388-3331.
Adoption fees are waived for working cats.
Barn and business cat adoption details
- All Working Cats will be sterilized and ear tipped. Ear tipping — a procedure wherein the last ¼ inch of the left ear is removed with a straight-line surgical cut — is the universal sign that a cat who does not live in a home has been sterilized. This is performed during the spay/neuter surgery while the cat is under anesthesia.
- The nature of these cats’ behavior does not allow for visitation in our shelters. Adopters will not be allowed to visit or handle these cats prior to adoption.
- Barns and other large spaces can often successfully house more than one cat at a time. Multiple-cat adoptions are encouraged, but not required.
- Working Cat adopters must agree to provide:
- Consistent access to warm, safe shelter like a barn or shop to provide protection from the elements
- Food and clean water every day
- Future medical care
- A room or space to keep the cat confined for 2-3 weeks with a litterbox and soft places to lie down, hide, and sleep, in order to acclimate to new surroundings