Yesterday afternoon, after locking up around the premises, our eyes were drawn to the feed store window. Marmalade the ginger and white cat must have slipped in and hidden. Several of the cats are in the habit of doing this. After a while, they appear in the window, patiently waiting to be rescued.
The feed store has a metal floor and plastered walls, so it is relatively rodent free. Occasionally a mouse might fall in through the ceiling, however it is a while since I've seen any sign of rodent activity. But maybe the smell lingers in a way that attracts cats?
I liberated Marmalade by removing the window, which is secured by two hooks. It is designed to be taken out easily for ventilation. We try to buy properly dried maize, however the store can benefit from ventilation in warm summer weather.
This place really is the perfect feline playground, with barns and stables for the cats to explore, play and sleep. They appear in all sorts of locations: up in the rafters, in the hay, in the mangers or beneath them, or on the balcony outside our front door. In the winter, they burrow into the hay to sleep. In summer, they climb onto the lower roofs to sun themselves. In the rain, they sit under cover staring out. It is a good place for cats.