# Any issues with cats and goats sharing space?



## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

I'm trying to remember if there's anything I need to watch out for, health wise, if I keep cats and goats together. Also looking for input on our plans here -- problems we might be overlooking. 

We live in an area with one of the highest mountain lion densities in the US, plus bears, coyotes, and bobcats, and the occasional loose dog. We've seen lions in our yard -- mountain lions are my biggest concern. They are a real threat. Elk jumping into the goat corral in winter, after goat feed, could also be an issue. Elk are surprisingly aggressive towards smaller animals. 

Soooo ... we're building 'goat knox' for my Nigerians -- they will have a metal barn and attached corral. The corral will be covered with heavy gauge cattle panels (the kind with 2X4 squares) and completely enclosed -- we're setting it up so that it will be as secure as possible. Since the corral will be covered, the goats can come and go as they please from the barn and we won't have to lock them in at night. Everything will be really tight, since bobcats are a real threat. (My dad is a very skilled welder so fabbing up gates and making everything tight is well within his abilities.)

I currently have three cats living in my office. Once the barn and covered corral are finished, we are considering moving the cats to the "goat compound." These are pampered pets, not barn cats, though I suspect all three will LOVE living in a barn. 

The cats would have access to a feed room via a kitty door, so they could get away from the goats if they needed to. They'll also help keep down the rodent population -- all three of them are dedicated mousers and will eliminate any rodent that gets inside in a hurry. 

We're thinking we'll make them a heated plywood box a couple feet high, which will double as a platform to keep the hay and straw off the damp ground. (Probably heat it with small electric heater or a pet heating pad if I can find one that is actually decent and safe.) The kitties all get along -- they're three females who routinely sleep together in a pile -- so I think they'll share a heated box happily. 

One cat has VERY short hair but she's a pudgy little butterball, so I'm not too worried about her being cold. (She's actually not fixed because I can't get her to lose enough weight to do so safely.) It does snow here and freezes for a couple months out of the year. If we get really nasty weather I can bring them inside, but for average winter weather, I'd plan on them being in the barn. 

My goats are fed all the alfalfa pellets they can eat, have a salt block, get replamin once a week, and NO grain, so there shouldn't be any problems with the cats eating the goat food. (The goats are allowed out for an hour or two several times a week to browse.)

The cat food will be behind a cat flap in the feed room.

Everybody's vaccinated, cats and goats, for common/plausible illnesses.

So ... anything I'm overlooking, or diseases I need to be aware of? Thoughts? Comments? 

Oh, I've lived my entire life in the low desert. This will be my first year dealing with snow and constant freezing temperatures. My father is a plumber and welder, so I think we've got the plumbing issues covered, but input on keeping cats in a metal barn in cold weather would be appreciated.


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

The only thing I can think of would be toxoplasmosis. Both can have/get that. That said, I've got barn cats and goats and we're still alive to tell. My goats don't like cats and will often go for them, but the cats seem to have no problem avoiding them and come and go through the goat pen all the time.

As far as cold, long as the cats are outside long enough before it get very cold to get acclimated, they'll be fine. They'll probably LOVE the box. Mine won't use boxes, they like haystacks. Basically, as long as they can get out of the weather, they'll do fine.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Cats shed toxo in their feces for just a short while after they themselves are infected. Unfortunately, cats think they can poop indoors in a barn in the winter because the ground is frozen and they don't want to get their feet wet in the snow... Because most goats are pregnant during the winter, this is when it becomes an issue. Toxo almost never causes a problem in non-pregnant humans or animals, but if infected during pregnancy it can cause abortion/complications. Once infected, it's a lifetime infection that doesn't cause future complications. Aside from maybe personality changes, which is rather fascinating. 

Introduce cats to the barn in the spring after kidding season and I bet you'd have no problems.

Always be sure to have grain bins/mineral buckets with LIDS, otherwise cats will think it's their own litterbox. If your cats start pooing in the goat bedding - either deep bed the goats or supply the barn cats with a litter box or several depending on how many cats you have.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

Our barn cats have litter boxes year around & so far we haven't had a problem with them going potty in the goats bedding or anywhere they aren't supposed to.


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