How can I keep a feral cat safe and warm living outside in the winter???

Question

There is a cat that lives in the area surrounding my house. She is feral and a completely unsocialized adult. It is impossible to catch her. I have been feeding her since August. Now it is winter time in PA and it's been absolutely freezing. Is there anything I can do to provide a warm place for her so she doesnt freeze to death? I cannot even leave water outside for her because it freezes right away. I am open to any suggestions! And please dont tell me to bring her to the SPCA b/c they told me they would put her down b/c she is feral. :(

Answer 1

Let me thank you for your loving heart. DO you have a yard? Maybe put a box outside, with a blanket in it.....Where DO they go to sleep? I've often wondered that. Sorry I don't have a better answer for you. I think it's wnderful that you feed her, and won't take her to the ASCPA. I'm a cat lover, I've got 3 of my own.

Answer 2

You can make them an inexpensive shelter and feed them.
Just providing them with food and water once a day will help a lot.

Humanly trapping them and if you have a no kill shelter that would take them would be idea. However there aren't a lot of no kills around that have space left. Most animal control department will put them down.

Shelters can be anything from a plastic covered box that is not sitting directly on the ground( put a piece of wood under it) , disposable ice chests a wooden crate, a milk crate that has been covered with carpet on the inside and plastic to water proof it on the outside. You can put an old rug or blanket in it, hay will also work to insulate it. Make sure the opening in not facing into the wind. You can also tack up a towel to make a door for it, just leave it hanging from the top to keep out the wind.

I have added some links to more instructions for you. Good luck and thanks for caring about the cats.



www.feralcat.com/shelter.html
www.all-creatures.org/ak/feral...

Answer 3

We have been able to help many feral cats that come to our house. You can put out a cardboard box or a small wooden house with a small doorway but be sure it is up on blocks or a pallet to keep the cold from the ground from getting inside. We are fortunate in that we live in a mobile home and we leave a small opening where our cats can go underneath and stay near the furnace. Put out dry food protecting it from wetness and at least once a day (always at the same time) put out water and some wet food. The cat will learn when it is coming and show up then. Don't give up! We have a couple of previously feral cats coming inside now. But we made sure they had rabies shots before bringing them inside. Eventually you could catch her with a hav-a-hart trap and get her her shots and get her spayed. Good luck!

Answer 4

The outdoor cats here (Milwaukee WI) press close to the walls of houses, under bushes, and stay out of the wind there to sleep. If you put some hay/straw down under your bushes in a protected area the cat would use that before he'd use the house you made. They don't sleep for 5 hours at a time, just a few here and there. Get a heated dog water bowl and plug that in outside, cats don't eat snow, the only way they get water is if they find it melted already. Don't put out canned food, it freezes solid. Use dry food.

Answer 5

I'm having this same issue. I have a totally feral cat outside and I'd love nothing more than to catch her and have her spayed, but it's just not possible. I did take in one of her kittens though ;)

We have a heated water bowl. It has an electrical plug in, and it keeps the water from freezing in the winter. Got it from a tractor supply store.

Answer 6

A cheap way is to get 2 boxes, one a little bit smaller than the other one and line the big one with foam and put the smaller one inside it. Cover it with a tarp or some plastic and put hay inside.
Put the box on some wood or bricks to keep it off the ground. Cut a small hole in it for the entrance so that other big animals cannot get inside. Throw some catnip or treats inside to make it enticing to the cat. Put it near where you feed.
You can do the same thing with plastic bins which is more sturdy and will last longer. Hay is the best for it doesn't collect the moisture like cloth does.

Answer 7

thank you for taking care of the feral cat and wanting to help keep her warm!! You are a sweetheart!!

here are a couple of sites that show how to make a shelter out of styrofoam boxes

http://www.all-creatures.org/ak/feral-shelter.html

http://www.caws.org/temp-shelter.html

if you cannot do this and you want to put something like a box out for her, please know that just a blanket or towel will actually not help her keep warm... something about pulling the body heat away... straw, hay, or even torn up newspaper are better...

if you want to do the towel or blanket, to keep it from pulling away her body heat, you could add some heat underneath...you could get the Snuggle Safe disc that you heat in the microwave and it stays warm for up to 12 hours... probably more like 8-9 but it will keep her warm!! Here is a link to it

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=e53aaf66-347a-4789-afcc-5d6fa77ed8b6

I have one and it does keep warm!!

Answer 8

My aunt and uncle provide for several feral cats. They consider them theirs (and actually even managed to catch them once so they could get them neutered/spayed), but no one cat pet them and they hide from people, so trying to bring them inside just wouldn't be practical. Their solution is some warm cat accomodations. They have a little cat 'house' for each one that is enclosed saved for a smallish whole into which the cats can climb with lots of warm comfy things on which the cats like to lay. Put it where you usually feed her. As for the water, I suggest putting warm water out (it will take longer to freeze) and changing it as often as you need to so it won't freeze.

I also want to encourage you to work on trying to catch her so you can get her spayed. You do not want to end up with a whole litter of feral cats. If you sit very still on the porch or wherever she's fed for a while...just reading or whatever..overtime she might start to come nearer to you. Be sure to avoid sudden movements or loud noises. This might not be practical in the winter obviously, but it's important that we try to get these poor things 'fixed' so their offspring doesn't end up freezing to death or getting put down because they're feral and unwanted. Good luck!

The link will provide a whole website of resources for a situation just like yours.

Answer 9

Make a shelter out of a rubbermaid bin. Make the cat entrance at 6 inches around. Insulate the inside with foam sheets and put straw in it NOT blankets. When blankets get wet and freeze the cats are laying on frozen blankets which defeats the purpose. ALSO, when making the entrance make sure it is on the longer side of the bin - toward one side - not in the middle. This way the cat can stay to one side inside and avoid the wind coming in.

Answer 10

Create a warm place for her to sleep and rest in that is near your house. Keep the food nearby it or in it. And for the water, try maybe using a way bigger bowl so that it takes longer to freeze so the cat has a better chance to drink. If they are adult than they most likely know how to survive outside, but it helps when people give food, water, and shelter to stray cats.