Can a cat, specifically a young 5-month old kitten, live out in cold weather?

Question

Hi all,

We took in a stray kitten during the summertime around August. It has grown considerably colder since then because we live around the greater Boston area.

The kitten, about 5-6 months old, is now living in an outdoors porch that is completely walled and insulated but not heated. It maintains a temp of around 50 degrees these days.

Will the cat feel okay in that type of environment? Sometimes the temperature in the porch dips to around 45 degrees, but we have a very small heater next to his bed.

The kitten is so used to being out in nature that we put one of those small pet doors so he can go out to take care of business or just play around for a little bit before he gets cold and comes back in.

Any help will be much appreciated, thanks all

Answer 1

Just consider this:
Although it's not what most people would do with their own pets, many feral cats & kittens live outside despite the weather. Many make it through the winter, the most likely NOT to survive, are the newborn, very young, and the elderly.

Answer 2

I'm not positive that the lack of neutering is the root of the problem; or if it is even a problem. I have a 10 month old neutered male and a 1-1/2 year old spayed female. Both take turns tormenting the supreme shytte out of each other ......... and the dog. Now, these animals are active during the day so this does not happen at night. But it does happen at least once every 2-3 days. Along with this behaviour there is a lot of hissing, scratching and biting but blood is never drawn. We just consider it to be the redefinition of boundaries and pecking order in the household. And any question I have seen here regarding this is usually put down to normal cat behaviour. Neutering the little bugger will most likely diminish this behaviour but I seriously doubt that it will stop it altogether.

Answer 3

I would say that if the porch doesn't get any colder than that, your kitten will be fine, especially with the heater in place. Assuming it is well-fed, it will have plenty of "fuel" for its body to produce heat. If you know there's a real storm coming where the temp might REALLY drop, then I'd suggest bringing the cat indoors for a night or two, but 50-ish should be just fine for a healthy cat.

My one concern would be the heater; be sure it's the kind that will shut off if it is tipped over. If it's not, you might want to consider a warmed pet-bed instead of a stand-alone heater.

Answer 4

Yes, your cat at 5 months old can survive on the porch. Put straw down for the bed it keeps in the kitties body heat. Get rid of heater. It can start a fire.
On nights that the temp drops drastically bring the cat inside. Most cats are very smart. They know how to take care of themselves and can find shelter.

Answer 5

If the porch temp doesn't go down to freezing, he should be just fine since he has an insulated place out of the weather to go to, and a bed to snuggle into, and regular food and water. He'll put on a little extra weight and extra thick fur for the winter. But if it drops down to freezing, you might have to bring him inside (I wouldn't leave a space heater unattended ever). It's almost always in the 50s and 40s around my home at night and the feral cats are just fine as long as they don't get wet, have places to go to hide in, are not starving or malnutritioned or sick (baby cats would need a bit of extra protection but your closed porch is fine).

Answer 6

That is really not a good idea. You are depriving the little kitten of the warmth and nurturing of a mother cat. In the cold, he must feel alone. You must love him, he is so young. He needs the nurturing and love. Why can't you keep him in your house? That is the best. It doesn't matter if the little kitten lived out in nature. He needs to stay warm and have a little extra boost and help while he is young. You could put a small "doggy' door from your house to the outside....if he keeps staying out there, then he likes it. Just leave him inside for a while and see if he likes it. Also you might want to paper train him. Well, that's my advice. Just don't leave him out in the cold. Give him a lotta love <3(Sorry for being a little rough) :-]

Answer 7

If cats couldn't survive like that, you would never see any stray cats. It is a lot more dangerous though. He could easily catch a cold, but he's probably relatively warm, especially since you have a heater. It sounds like you're doing everything right, just watch that heater! My neighbor left a heater in the bed of his truck for his cats and they knocked it over and his truck got on fire, exploded and burned down half his house.

Answer 8

sounds like the cat was lucky to have found you to to give it a home. Yes 45 or 50 is okay for a cat as long as they have blankets to curl up on,etc. If the weather drops down into freezing it would probably a good idea to bring her in. the heater near her bed is a good idea. we had cats growing up that stayed out in 0 weather and always seemed to find a place to sleep!

Answer 9

That's a survivable temperature, especially since he is sheltered from wind and cold rain. I would put a litterbox on the porch for him to use - have you ever had to go to an outhouse in the cold of winter?

I hope he doesn't catch a cold. If he is well-fed and is getting some fat on his body he will be able to get through the winter.

Answer 10

All of our cats are outside (we live on a farm). If they happen to have kittens, they usually get sick, if not doctored they don't make it. If it is used to being outside in the temp changes so far and everything looks good, then I'm sure it will be okay. Just keep an eye on it, you'll know if it gets sick.