Seeking barn cat advice

Seeking any and all advice for a barn cat.  We got a cat about a month ago from the animal shelter.  He is a little over a year old and we believe he has spent his entire life outside.  He seems to be a pretty good hunter.  I don't know a lot about caring for cats, and have done some research online.  But I'm looking for more info that is permies based.  How to sustainably take care of him.  Do I really need to take him to the vet once a year?  What is the best food to supplement his hunting that is healthy for him?  I'm guessing kibble is basically junk food....  Do cats really drink water??  (I've never once seen him drink from his water bowl).  What do I do about his pooping in the winter (he doesn't ever do this when I'm around.  I've put kitty litter in 2 places in the yard but he hasn't used it.  Maybe he doesn't know what it is?)   We've got a cat door into our shed for protection from the elements during the winter.  Do I need to worry about him going in there?  Other advice?  We live at 6200 feet in the mountains of Idaho.

Cats have allowed me to live with them for most of my life.   The following  is what they have taught me.

An outside cat does not need a litter pan.   I would keep one indoors even for an outside cat.  This can head off accidents should 5he cat get in the house.  If you really want to increase the odds of the cat using the pan, bury a sample of their poop in the pan.

Yes, cats need water.  Now, the cat may have found it’s own source of water. But, I would leave a dish of fresh water for it to be safe.

I leave food out for our outside cats. Even our excellent hunters can have a bad day hunting.   I take the food in at night.  Otherwise I find I have many fat opossums and raccoons.

If you got the pet from a shelter it has probably already been fixed.  There are opposing views to this, but I don’t want to add to the number of stray cats.

If I expect  the cat to hunt outdoors for any if it’s food, I make sure it’s rabies shots are current.

With cats that live outside I am a believer of getting their rabies shot every year.

Otherwise our cat only visits the vet when she is injured.  Now that she is not longer a kitten she can take care of herself and has learned to stay away from thing that can hurt her though one never knows.

She spends the day roaming the woods and comes home about 9:30 to sleep in her bed (aka pet carrier).  

We feed her when she show up doing the day and she like treats.

Our cat prefers to drink from the water we have outside for the wildlife.

Looks like you already succeeded in accomplishing my suggestion. Good for you! Here it is for future readers...

Get your barn cat used to being handled. This is necessary so you can treat any injuries, with herbals, ot a vet visit.

Gorgeous kitty! He looks like a Maine Coon.

We feed our 2 barn cats about every other day. I buy cheap kibble that doesn't have food coloring (that's my best, low bar). When there's not rain every couple days we will give them raw milk or water. My goal is to let them go for the plentiful ground squirrels as their first choice, and I try to feed them enough to not get them tempted to go after birds. Once in a while they get birds but rarely, especially rare for these two. I do try to feed them lots in the spring during migration and hatching seasons.

No need to do anything with poo/pee unless they start making a habit out of using a space you don't want them to. They will figure it out.

We have one barn cat that is about 7-8 years old and the other nearly 13. They have never been to a vet and have never had anything more than a tick bite. I'm not much of a fan of vaccines, but we also don't have a lot of rabid animals around here. For parasites, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin and raw garlic can all help (note if they start looking skinny and tired). There are also cottage businesses like Land of Havilah that make multi-species herbal dewormers. We give them good table scraps- soup bones, questionable eggs, let them lick a bacon sheet clean, etc. Ours will find food in any guests' cars if they leave windows open (yesterday, fried chicken bones).

I found the cutest little cedar dog house on the curb 10+ years ago and put used bubble mailers and an old worn sweater in the bottom. They also find warmth in the barn/hay when needed. We'll leave our attached garage door cracked on the bitter cold winter nights and they snuggle on the wood stairs against the house.

We name all of our cats after treats...Licorice, Jello, Truffles, Jelly Bean (RIP, beloved), Ginger, Shortcake, Half-pint... Barn cats are SO useful. I just found a rodent nest in my woodshop this week and took care of it so easily and cleanly. We also have fewer ground nesting bees close to the house, which I appreciate,

Obviously main Coon genetics if not pure bred.

Long life goal, here we have to do distemper vaccinations.  Untreated cats average about 4 years while treated cats can run 12 to 20 years and any cat mostly hunting needs at least yearly worming too.  And of course rabies for your own protection.  Wormer the vet will sell you and the vaccinations after the first 2 can be every 3 years.

Yes they must have water.  Ideally steady but once or twice a day will work too.  Not getting enough fluids causes kidney damage which leads urinary calculi which can be painful for the cat.

As for supplements one article suggested a mouse every 2 weeks was enough nutrients.  Cats outdoors will eat grass and other stuff as their instinct suggest if they need other nutrients so you rarely need to supplement if they are getting enough to eat.   Exceptions are starvation and bad cases of worms.

As for bathroom kitties like to have soft dry dirt outside.  So I have a south facing hill I clear the snow off from and when it is dry I break the crust up so it is soft to dig that serves as most of the spot.  Be sure this is not near where you garden as worm problems and a couple of other diseases can be passed from the poop.  Like anyone else when the weather is bad he won't want to go outside and cats tend to be creatures of habit so once he starts in a shed he will keep it up.  Give him an inside potty box and lock him out when the weather is good to reset him to outdoor bathroom habits.

Town cats rarely learn to survive as barn cats because they are not raised from birth being careful.  So if this one is successful great.  Till he gets older just expect him to disappear one day becoming dog, coyote, fox, eagle etc food.  

Since you are getting shelter kitties they need to be considered disposable.  Good barn cats have mother's that teach major skills.(only about half of kittens survive to learn)  But shelter cats have only what they learn from instinct and survival. Female cats who have had at least one batch of kittens will be better hunters.  Males are typically lazy and only catch what they need to eat.  A mommy always hunts excess even after being spayed having gotten in the habit of it with kittens.    A smart mommy who raises smart hunters is a valuable cat.  But this is a rare cat.  Second best is a cat who hunts excess but doesn't do a good job of teaching it.

The cat you have will need major combing in the spring as the undercoat on Maine coons often gets tangled and matted.  If you can stay ahead of the matting it will be more pleasant for both of you.  If he is in the brush, bushes etc enough he may get by without any help but that is semi rare with this breed.  Historically we tried to provide a shelter that stayed just near freezing for barn cats.(middles of haystacks, insulated cat boxes, old root cellars(stink will drive you out by spring) etc and the cats seemed to do fine.)

How do folks keep the peace between barn cats and poultry? I'm contemplating getting a couple mousers, but worried it will make raising young chickens and ducklings more difficult.

I would be surprised if the mother hens didn't protect their babies.

Our daughter has chickens that free range with babies and she has cats also.

Unfortunately, I am usually the mother hen. I like to let the little birds out to forage while I'm about, generally paying half attention. A cat lurking in the barn shadows could make that difficult. Can barn cats be acclimated so that they treat young domestic birds as off limits? Probably easier to do if I get kittens and give them a lot of early exposure.

I find my cats have zero interest in chickens.