Charleston Animal Society Barn Cat Program 

What is a Barn Cat? 

A barn cat is a cat who needs to be outside to live a happy, healthy life, but who also needs the support of a designated caregiver in order to thrive. Some barn cats may eventually learn to enjoy some human interaction while others prefer to have no human contact at all. A barn cat may be a community cat who can no longer remain in their outdoor location due to medical or safety concerns. These cats thrive best in situations like farms, factories, outbuildings or warehouses where they have space to roam. Individuals interested in adopting barn cats must be able to provide the cats with food, water, shelter and veterinary care, but in general, these cats enjoy being on their own. 

What to expect: 

During the acclimation period you will need to confine the cat to an enclosure to allow for adjustment to the environment, typically about 2-3 weeks. During this time you will need to provide food (wet cat food is a high value item for cats that may help with establishing a positive interaction with the cat encouraging it to stay or return to be fed), water, appropriate shelter and a litter box. A number of things can be used for an enclosure such as a large dog crate, a covered x-pen, an enclosed barn stall, etc. 

According to, The Guide to Trap-Neuter-Return for the Feral Cat Caretaker 2nd Edition, to reduce the chances of running away, they have to be taught their food source has changed and the only way to do this is to confine them in their new territory for two to three weeks 

The hope is the acclimation period will teach the cat where their food source is; however, the cat may still run off after being set free. If the cat does take off after acclimation and does not return they have likely moved on to another food source. In some cases the cat will run off after being released but will return after a few days when the shock of being released has lessened. 

How to Adopt?

If you are looking to adopt a barn cat please fill out the attached survey below:

If you are interested in learning more information about barn cats please contact our Director of Animal Pathways, Ashley Greaves at 843-329-1557 or our Senior Director of Adoptions, Courtney Gumienny at 843-329-1577.