We plan to let Zip out of his crate this coming Thursday, yesterday, and today; we let him leave the crate and walk around the barn a little bit. He made no effort to run away or go farther, proving that he sees the crate and the barn as his home.

We’re pretty sure he is pleased here and knows it’s home. Maria took her Monday morning video and captured Zip’s first walk-a-about. You can see the video here.

But we’ve decided to be cautious and patient. Two weeks is the recommended acclimation time for barn cats; we’ll go at least that far.

His re-acclimation has gone well, and this morning, Maria and I went over the best possibilities to set up some blankets for him outside of the crate.

We found a great spot on the hay bale (below). We have fed him by hand, touched, scratched, and visited him several times a day.

He’ll be free to sleep anywhere he wants, and we’ll leave the crate door open on Thursday. He will explore the farm at his own pace, sleep in the crate longer if he wishes, or curl up on a blanket on the hay bale, a favored spot of our barn cats.

(Building a secure resting spot for Zip on a hay bale.)

Maria found a perfect spot for Zip on top of the hay bales. We won’t use that many until the end of winter, and we can always leave one or two for him to sleep on, as the other barn cats did. The barn is an excellent place for a barn cat for apparent reasons – shelter, mice, and warmth.

There are other good spots in the barn for a barn cat; we can always put blankets and cat beds there once we see where he is going. This kind of cat almost always shows him or herself when he sees us, especially in the daytime.