When we got Zip, we knew he had always lived outdoors and that, like many Barn Cats, he developed a thick coat in the winter. He was comfortable living outside in the barn, which would be his home, sleeping place, and haven.

We talked to many Barn Cat people, some vets, and some experts on Barn Cats who had good ideas (sadly, no one in the Animal Rights movement).

Our two other barn cats, Flo and Minnie, also insisted on being outside year-round.

We got a heated cat house and put it in the basement as they got older. They still preferred to be outside, but as they got frail, we insisted. Both chose to die outside. Although we have moved the cat house to the porch, Flo died there. Minnie died under the front porch.

The cat people had some interesting and valuable ideas for us.

The animal rights people had none; their only idea was to call the police  (and send adolescent name-calling and death threats) and try to get me arrested for not letting him (they never blamed Maria; she’s nicer than me) sleep in the house in cold weather.

And then take him away from us. This inane argument went on for weeks; shame on me. Too many people on social media need to find gainful employment, and their work mainly involves other people’s business.

This didn’t strike me as good or thoughtful advice.

Even though the cat house was certified safe by an electrician and the fire department, I prefer to have as few electric things in the barn as possible (we have a line to the water tank for warmth). Every plug is connected to a breaker, which will shut down instantly if a line is damaged or warming too much, blocking lightning or outside fires.

We thought the best one was the one a farmer discovered, and cat lovers in the country with barns or outdoor cats have embraced. Nobody knows more about Barn Cats than farmers, and many offered to help and did.

We realized this was the warmest and safest option: to get a Styrofoam cooler, cut a small opening in the front, and put it in the barn in a quiet corner. Styrofoam is an insulator; it keeps the cooler warm in winter (and ice cold in the summer), especially if it has a warm animal body from which to draw heat.

Hay and straw often capture and generate heat.

The zip will be in the barn, on a shelf, or in some quiet corner. Like many barn cats, Zip hunts rats and mice in the rain or bitter cold.

Straw will also add warmth and absorb moisture if Zip gets wet, which he often does.

We heard stories of Barn cats loving to sleep in styrofoam coolers, especially if we put the straw in the bottom and kept refreshing it.

It stays warm even in the bitterest cold, although there are no signs that that bothers Zip. I only saw Zip in the cat house once.

So, in the next few weeks, we’ll cut an opening, stuff it with hay, put some treats and food in, and Zip will have a warm and dry place to go at night in the winter.

I’m sincerely sad to write this negatively about the animal rights movement; I get no pleasure in it; animals suffer for it. They’ve gone the way of the other zealots who are chewing up our democracy.

My work with the New York Carriage Horses and my experience with Zip and some other animals and farmers has removed any credibility for me with an organization that is supposed to be helping keep animals in the world, not harassing their owners and leading more and more domesticated animals to obscurity and often, to death.

I was shocked by their lies.

Animals deserve better than this extremist and too often greedy and dishonest movement.

In my dealings with them, they lie frequently and seem to know nothing about animals other than to hate the people who love and work with them.

Gullible animal lovers send them truckloads of money. There is little or no evidence that they do anything to protect animal rights.

While countless millions of animals—cows, rabbits, chickens—live in horrific animal concentration camps run by giant corporations all over the country, no one in the movement seems to notice for all the money they have.

I soon learned that the New York carriage horses are the luckiest in the world. Zip is doing well for an abandoned outdoor cat himself.

He’s living the life.

In any case, Zip will get an excellent new home in the winter, as he did last winter.  We spent much time ensuring he was happy, healthy, and warm.

I’ve noticed he sleeps in short chunks. He loves to explore and hunt.

He can come and go as he pleases and always has a space to be warm.

He will be a Barn Cat, not a fur baby. I’m lucky to have a cat like that and honored to give him a good life; Maria could not agree more.