how do you keep an outside cat warm?

Question

There are a couple outside cats that stay around our house, when it gets cold like below freezing, how can I make sure they stay warm?

Sorry cant bring them in, my kids have allergies to cats. they are not my cats, they belong to a lady up the road but they are always here and she never lets them inside, she says they are barn cats.

Answer 1

I put a doghouse out - try to raise it up off the ground, cats like to be up high - I put mine on a small plastic end table about 2 feet high. Then the oppossums can't get in it, and I put plastic around the bottom to protect the food from the weather. I also found plastic heated pet mats that are for garages that I bought online that I put under or in the doghouse. They have them at Petco also, but they are more expensive. There are heated pet bowls you could put food or water in - Walmart has some, or Farm Fleet, or probably online also. You are very kind to want to help them be more comfortable in the cold weather. Feed them too if they look thin, and give them water.

Answer 2

We had a couple of cats that hung around our house that we fed when I was a kid.
We built a small cat house insulated with Styrofoam and lined with blankets, and we made a flap out of clear vinyl to keep out the wind but that the cats could push past to get in and out with no problem.
It worked great and the cats were fine.

Also, on nights when it gets below freezing, remember to make sure they have plenty of unfrozen drinking water.

Answer 3

One way you could keep them warm is by making something like a small doghouse with a relatively small opening for them and then put a low wattage light bulb inside to provide warmth. The biggest thing that will get them cold is the wind, so if you provide them a space out of the wind where they feel safe it will help keep them warm.

Answer 4

We have an outdoor cat (due to potty problems - on the stove on less) and we have found the best solution to keep her warm in the garage was a reptile lamp (ceramic lamp I think - purchased at Petco). They produce heat, but no light, which can be hard on the cat. She loves being under that "lamp".

Answer 5

Get a dogloo and line it with blankets. Or, if you're on a budget, build a relatively small box out of wood and make/put a cat door on it. Their body heat will fill either option and keep them pretty toasty for the winter.

Answer 6

They probably go home to the barn at night. They will survive as long as they have at least a barn to sleep in. Since they have been outdoor kitties probably for their whole life it wouldn't be wise to bring them into your home anyway. I don't know where you live but it is supposed to remain a mild winter this year.

Answer 7

My girlfriends mum and brother were allergic to cats untill I got her 2. After a couple of weeks they got used to them and cats have never bothered them since.

Answer 8

if you can take them in your house or get a little dog house or some kind of shelter and throw some blankets and sweat shirts in the dryer until there warm and put them in the dog house/shelter and maybe some warm milk if there young or dry food if there older and warm water to. kept these cats alive please!

Answer 9

Cats love to go under cover, like a box with nesting in it, or entrance to the cellar crawl space.

Answer 10

build a simple little enclosure with a very small door and heat it with either a light or a heated pad on the bottom. they sell small heat boxes you can mount inside of your enclosure usually heated by a incandescent light bulb, thats the easiest cheapest way to go about it.