Can someone please explain what exactly a barn cat is, its not a term I am familiar with in NZ.

We used to have a cat on the farm, to catch the mice etc, but she stayed in our home and was our pet, and we also fed her, so I guess a barn cat is different, is it a cat they keep just to catch mice, and fend for itself or what.

It looks like these kittens have it pretty good though, so will be taken care of real well, sure hope so.