HOW to help feral and stray cats survive in this freezing weather

[G_j]

HOW TO HELP STRAY CATS IN THE FREEZING COLD WEATHER

Date: Jan 16, 2009 9:53 AM


These following links give great advice on how to help feral and stray cats survive in this freezing weather. They will also show you step by step on how to make a warming box for them. It is very simple and cheap to do. Please forward this information to others too.
Also if you see anyone leaving their pet outside for long periods of time without proper shelter when it is freezing please contact your local authorities before it's to late!


http://www.spayandstay.org/wintershelter.htm


http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/info/wintershelter.htm

edit to add one more link:
http://www.indyferal.org/index.php?page=shelters

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. God knows there aren't enough of them already

:sarcasm:

[PearliePoo2]

13. trap, spay and neuter is essential.

I'll never forget watching in horror as our neighbor's huge, well-fed cat would leap into the air from our flower beds..snag hummingbirds...toy with them...bite their heads off and then stalk another.
Sport killing.
Too many fucking cats eating too many song birds.

[Merlot]

37. And to many humans eating cows

Although humans have a choice, cats are born predators. And if you owned a barn full of grain, you'd be more than happy to have a few cats around.

That's what they do and they're very useful.

[deaniac21]

41. They are very good at reproducing!

[davsand]

43. You may find cats' hunting objectionable, but you might also read up on the Black Death.

There are more than few scholars who have mentioned the decrease in the feline population as having played a role in the INCREASE of infection carrying rodents during the Middle Ages.

Cats were originally domesticated, in part, to help control rodent populations in places where humans live and store food products. Unlike dogs, cats were selectively bred for hunting skills rather than companionship. Blaming a cat for hunting is rather like blaming a dog for barking or blaming a human baby for looking cute.




Laura

[bdamomma]

2. kick

[mike_c]

3. kicking and recommending!

Excellent resources! Thank you for posting them!

[Hawkowl]

4. Poor Kitties

Off to the greatest for kitty.

[chill_wind]

5. Thank you for this post. k & R.

[formercia]

6. My cat would not go out this Morning

It was -22 Deg. F when I opened the door and the cold air froze the moisture in the air and caused an ice fog. That fog hit her and she spun around and split.

[notadmblnd]

14. I think mine is in cahoots with the gas company

I've told her repeatedly that she's not going out. However, she keeps going to the door and when I open it, she stands there and shrinks back from the cold.

I've come to the conclusion that she's just trying to run the gas bill up.

[formercia]

15. Mine does the same thing

and comes back a few minutes later hoping that I adjusted the outside thermostat.

[notadmblnd]

16. yeah, it's a cat conspiracy, I tell you.

[formercia]

18. I wonder if Darth had a kitty lobbyist at his energy meetings?

My cat is an economic hit kitty.

Global warming is revenge for putting them out on cold Mornings.

[earthboundmisfit]

23. I had a cat once that held me responsible for the weather

I'd open the door for him, and if the weather was not to his liking he would jump back in, hiss and slap me on the leg! He also had the idea that the weather might be different at each opening of the door. We were in Oklahoma, so that was sort of true, heh...

[FirstLight]

7. Thanks...bookmarking for my mom

she felt bad for one of the .neighborhood cats that she thinks was abandoned fron the apt complex behind her house...now there are 4 coming and beggin for food! poor things...maybe her and my dad can help by putting one of these in the alley behind the house

[Warpy]

8. Any shelter will do, actually, without a source of warmth

Cats who brawl during their waking hours will cuddle together to share warmth and sleep. They'll stay quite warm if they're dry and protected from the wind.

Just be careful when you start your car in the morning if you've come home after dark. Cats love to cuddle up to warm engine blocks, too.

[AndrewP]

9. Thanks for posting this

[Contrary1]

10. The plastic tote shelter is interesting...

I may try to place one under my deck for a feral kitty that has been coming to my back door for years. I already have a wooden one for her, but she seems to prefer being under the deck.

The feral cat group here told me that it was important to have two doors, so that the cat would not feel trapped. If you decide to go with two, make sure that they are on opposite diagonal ends from each other.

Here's what mine looks like:



Instructions:
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=36

[stuntcat]

12. that looks great!

good job! :headbang:

[stuntcat]

11. thank you

There's been a lonely feral kitty living in the hill behind my house. I'm ordering a humane trap and then hopefully I can find some T-N-R people to help me get him fixed.

Since it got cold I made a shelter for it under our back porch but I think I need to insulate it better, I'll look these over!

[chat_noir]

17. simple and cheap

An adequate shelter for one cat can be made from a simple Styrofoam cooler available at any hardware store for about $6. Glue the lid onto the cooler, turn it upside down and cut a hole in one side (anywhere but in the middle of one of the long sides).



Insulation
The cats' shelter will be warmer and cozier if you put loose insulating material inside. The material must be dry and loose, so that the cats can burrow into and underneath it. Straw is the best, while shredded newspaper will also work. The worst are blankets, towels or folded newspaper. Because the cats can only lie on top of these materials, they actually draw out body heat and defeat the purpose.

Extreme Cold
Claudia Allen of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, lines the interior walls of her styrofoam shelters with a Mylar reflective blanket, which can be bought at survival stores as thermal safety blankets for people (in case your car gets stuck in the cold.) The Mylar reflects the cat's body heat back onto him and can make the difference in extreme temperatures, particularly in the more northern states and Canada.

Amazon has them for $1.25

http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/info/wintershelter.htm


I use a couple of heating lamps for the ferals and the strays. The heating lamp that is on the ground facing two small shelters also keeps the water in a dish in front of it from freezing.

[AngryAmish]

19. Darwin disapproves

[readmoreoften]

20. How cold is too cold? A stray who hangs out on my porch cries to come in but she can't at night.

I'm in Texas. The lowest lows are about 36 degrees at night. The days are 60.

[freeplessinseattle]

21. Awesome links, and one note of caution about putting food inside

These shelters are wonderful, have one for the feral "mother of my children", but best to leave food outside if there are raccoons in the area otherwise they will invade the shelter. It would be ideal if there was a way to keep the raccoons out, and I flirted with that idea, but even with a small enough door they'll scrabble at the entrance and scare the cats inside. The second door is a great idea for general safety but with food smell involved there'd probably be a another raccoon trying to get in at that entrance. Talk about PTSD for life!

Her feeding area is nearby, but not too near, and though I try to put out just enough food for her to last until the raccoons come by, it is hard for me to judge,
and they will smell the food dishes anyway-and even worse, mess with the water dish. They are drawn to water, so I bring her clean dishes regularly (the raccoons don't come by every day, just on their own schedule) and can tell the raccoons have been there bc the dishes are knocked around.

When we had the extreme (for us) cold spell last month when I could get down to her I put one of those 8 hour disposable hand warmer things underneath her water dish to help keep it unfrozen for at least a little while, not sure if it worked though, but worth a try. I also have used a microwave gel pack (one specially made for cats) in her bed that gives about 8-12 hours of heat, but it hardens up as it cools so it is better to be able to come by in the morning to take it out.



I save those microwave dinner plates (I eat Lean Cusine and such way too often) which are perfect for her situation, out of the wind and being a solo cat now, but when there were more cats I used a bundt pan with a stick stuck through the middle into the ground. Prevented it from being knocked around by excited cats and they naturally gave each other space to drink at the same time.

[G_j]

22. good advice!

thank you

[freeplessinseattle]

27. Thank you so much for putting up this info!!

It was a fantastic idea to make this post, and Duers are the perfect (tempted to pun here) audience. I am sure there will be many kitties across the country benefiting from this post, and I am excited to learn about the rubbermaid shelter, something I can make myself.

Thanks again!

[G_j]

28. I wish I had found this earlier

before all those record breaking cold temps.

[Sandrine for you]

24. A question for all of you...

What about the human ? I really think that this shelter for cat are really a good thing, but their is something scratching inside of me: some people doesn't have shelter now in my city, and it"s now -32 Celsius. Should I expense and work for the cat or the human, or both ?

[G_j]

25. why not both? n/t

[Sandrine for you]

29. OK but...

Suppose that I dispose 100 $ So I could help 1 cat and one human. But I can also help 2 humans and no cat...

[G_j]

31. the cost is very little,

basically a 'box' and some straw

[freeplessinseattle]

32. get yer butt off DU and volunteer:) n/t

[Sandrine for you]

33. Yes sir ! Get-up fucking asshole !!!!

[sammythecat]

46. You can help a cat for next to nothing and you know it.

I think you're being deliberately obtuse.

[freeplessinseattle]

30. both. what's stopping you?

you can volunteer at a mission and help that way, try to eat cheaply for awhile to relate to them, and set aside some money to make a rubbermaid cat shelter now and then, and for the homeless buy blankets and such at thrift stores, or a bunch of those mylar blankets for $1.49 would be even better.

or as suggested in the links, even a cardboard box with straw is better than nothing, and that's free and quick. This is something even the homeless people appreciate-and large appliance boxes are like gold to them.

I don't see much of a dilemma here, honestly. Feral and semi-feral cats often live around homeless camps as a matter of fact so that saves even more time, and the homeless guys might be happy to help, in my experience with TNRing a homeless area.

If you don't have time to volunteer, maybe just call the local Gospel Mission if you notice any homeless camps around-they may not be aware of them. I rode with our local mission before the "big freeze" here to show them that camp, so they could bring blankets and give a ride to a shelter if they wanted. The mission people were glad to know about that camp so they could come out regularly with help (I do bring the guys food regularly but can only afford so much myself).

[Sandrine for you]

34. Thank"s for your advices !! nt.

[bobmorr1]

26. feral cats

Years ago I built a free standing greenhouse from a kit. It has a gas furnice. I was into growing orchids. Still growing them, except the greenhouse is now more of a cathouse. They have beds on all the benches. There's an entrance door for them. I do get opossums and racoons occasionaly. I chase them out when I see them. I do have an igloo and dog house with heaters in them outside too. There are also heated water dishes outside. I think I'm running a pads for cats. I also get the neighbor cats staying on cold nights. It was 17 below zero with wind chills about 35 below last night. Going to hate to see my heating bill this month.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

35. You are wonderful.

[G_j]

36. that is awesome

there are some caring folks on this thread, that's for sure!

thank you

:yourock:

[Critters2]

42. Thanks for doing this! And I knew you were from Illinois when I saw "pads".

I'm volunteering at our local PADS tomorrow night...the one for humans.

I don't really run a PADS for ferals, but I do run a food pantry for them.

Welcome to DU!!

[bobmorr1]

45. My Pads program

[sammythecat]

47. Boy, what a softie you are!

I wish there was some kind of free spay 'n' neuter program for humans as well as stray animals. I'd be in charge and I'd let the softies breed and neuter the hard-hearted. That would solve a hell of a lot of problems I think, including homelessness and neglect of both humans and animals.

[Cetacea]

38. I maintained a colony of six during the winter.

They did ok. We got them dog domes and just made sure they had lots of food and water. They were still alive when spring broke. Wooden boxes are good, too.

[G_j]

39. I'm amazed

at the number of people here who have helped these animals.
compassion is a beautiful thing

[Iwillnevergiveup]

40. Very compassionate people here

Thanks for posting those links.

K&R

[Carni]

44. Or you could do what I did...

Take the rotten so and so's in the house and end up with four fat and spoiled house cats lol

Good tips about the warming boxes...I hope to God I will not be dealing with any more ferals anytime soon however -- there is definitely no more room at the Inn!

[ihavenobias]

48. K & R