help a stray cat outside in the winter...?

Question

i have a stray cat that i believe lives in the field behind my house. it is beginning to get extremely cold here, any suggestions on how to make it a shelter or somewhere it can go? it already knows where my back porch is because we feed it. any help would be great because i feel sooooo bad for it =(

Answer 1

Listen to the people suggesting the cardboard box and blanket. Make it a soft blanket or two - something the cat can snuggle down into. Just keep it away from the wind and "human" activity and noise so that it doesn't get startled when it settles down to sleep.

We did the same thing with a stray who after several weeks in the box decided we were good enough to "adopt".

I would suggest that you keep the box away from the food you put out.

Our stray got very scared one day when one of the other feral cats poked it's nose in her "bed" and scared her after it came by for a bite to eat.

Bless you for looking out for the cat.

Answer 2

I agree that the box with a small entry hole on the porch and out of the wind would be a great place for the cat to shelter.

Straw is an excellent insulator and if you can put some on the floor and put the soft bedding on top that will help keep heat in too.

I recently purchase a pad at the pet store which has something in the middle supposedly to reflect the kitty's body heat back to him. The discs that you put in the microwave as pretty pricey at $40. They say they will stay heated for twelve hours in one place on the blurb and then in another they say a few hours.

At one time I looked at small dog-loos because they are waterproof and heavily insulated - moreso than cardboard would be. I think the small ones were around $60. If I purchased a dog-loo I would put straw at the bottom of that too.

Answer 3

if you have a slightly larger tupperware they are pretty waterproof and if your porch has an overhang or roof that would be good and just put an old towel inside of the tupperware and they will snuggle up inside and believe me they will greatly appreciate this i used to have strays come onto my porch and what i did was i wrapped an old table cloth around a picnic table to shelter from the wind and rain and then put old towels on the bottom and one night i went out and there were like 5 or 6 cats under there snuggled nice and warm

Answer 4

We once had two stray cats that would come around our house, and in the winter it got very cold for them, we lived in new england. Anyway, my dad got a card board box sealed the bottom up and cut a small opening on one of the sides. He then, covered the entire box with duct tape (except for the small opening, of course :-)I guess this helped insulate the box and to waterproof it? We then put a blanket inside the box for them and we set the box away from the wind against the house. They survived many winters with us. On top of that, my mom feed them very well and always gave them fresh water everyday so they were very happy cats. Good luck.

Answer 5

Totally agree with the guy who suggested the cardboard box.

Cats seem to prefer to sleep inside a box to just about anything else.

Also, keep it some food, for winter, find a good high nutrient dry food. It doesn't have to be really expensive to be good. Your local vet will likely be happy to suggest a good food for you to feed it.

Also keep fresh water available and thawed, seeing as how winter is coming quickly.

If you are going to let the cat stay around, be prepared to have some little ones because it might be a female some heartless person didn't care to have around. If it is a female, and you can catch it without getting torn to shreds, the aspca usually will provide assistance with getting one spayed so as not to further the problem of strays.

God bless you for wanting to take care of one of his creatures. It is good to hear that someone still has a heart.

Answer 6

Even a lean-to sort shield a cat will use exterior in undesirable climate in the event that they are able to and it extremely is unoccupied. in case you prefer a brilliant superb one made a shed like shield cat sized, with a door hollow sufficiently small for a cat to easily squeeze by yet not something greater, she will in all probability use it, make it a ways sufficient away which you dont get an unwelcome neighbor if some thing else unearths it first which includes a raccoon. choose for dry and windbreaking above something, cabinets could make a dryer spot than the floor, yet despite works. in case you prefer her to discover it, once you have considered her these days interior that hour attempt to get some food close to the shield so she will see it and prefer to check out what it extremely is, you do not prefer the food at your doorstep. stable success!

Answer 7

How kind of you. There are not many people that would do this. The cheapest would be a large cardboard box with some blankets. Put it on your porch were it will stay dry. Good Luck and thank you from all the animals.

Answer 8

i think u should buy a cat house for it or put up posters saying stray cat needs good home and then put ur #
PS u should have the cat house near the porch and if u want to adopt the cat then you should take it to the vet thenbye things for the cat and dont forget about the name

Answer 9

See if you can find a Dogloo(tm) for a small dog. Put an old blanket or a couple old towels inside. Also, keep fresh water nearby and change it frequently lest it freeze.

If you can catch the cat, have him/her neutered/spayed. Some vets know how to deal with feral cats.

Answer 10

find a large cardboard box and make it a "house" with a closed top, to keep out rain and hold in some heat maybe. Place the box in a quiet, place on your porch, since it knows where you feed it.good luck