How do I provide a little warmth for outside cats?

Question

I'm feeding 6 outside feral cats (Well, they used to be feral.) The winter here in the northeast U.S. seems hard on them. Does anyone know of enclosures with some sort of warming thingee? I'm thinking of something like a dog-house with a solar panel, or some heating device that's not dangerous, or even a small shed. Any other suggestions are welcome. (No, I'm not a "cat person," but it's not right to let them suffer because some idiot threw them out.)

FYI. I DID capture them and had them neutered. I've been feeding the same ones for 3 years & the population hasn't grown.

Answer 1

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 a few of 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 2

You sound like a great person to care for these outdoor cats so much. I do the same thing and the best insulator that I found was straw. I've even taken cat carriers and wrapped them with old blankets for insulation. Try to keep their bedding up off the ground.

I'm lucky (or my new token stray, Sam is) because with my new house I have an attached garage. It can still get cold in there. He's living in luxury compared to a lot of strays. Sam has his own wicker bed with lots of blankets, fresh food, water and a clean litter box. During the day the door is left open so he can come & go, but at night he gets shut in to keep the cold out. If it's quite cold out, I'll take his blankets and heat them in the dryer. This helps a bit. During the day, I run an electric heater. This one is safe because if it gets tipped the heater will automatically shut off.

The best thing for you to do is build them some kind of shelter. If you're real ambitous, insulate it with the stuff that they use to insulate houses with. That will work. Good Luck!

Answer 3

I commend you on taking care of these unfortunate cats. I don't know if you could buy dog houses with solar panels, you might call and check around at your nearest pet stores. All I can think of right now is a big plastic* or cardboard box with blankets on the outside held down by a tarp. And then more blankets on the inside and the walls and floor. Then you can put even more blankets for them to cuddle in. And you could have part of the top blanket hanging, say, 3/4 of the way down over the front to keep the wind out. And yes, I realize the cost of blankets, but you can get them very cheap at Goodwill. Hope that helps!

Answer 4

My neighbour has stray cats that she takes care of and what I did was buy them for 20 dollars a little kids tent.We filled it with old comforters and towels.The cats huddle in the blankets and are protected from the wind.They are very warm even when it's -20 outside.Another idea we did was at your basement where there is a drop at the windows make a little wood house around it we even roofed ours through an old comforter down there and they are blocked from wind and rain/snow whatever.

Answer 5

Build an insulated cat house (like a dog house). Or make a greenhouse that stays warm with the warmth of the sunlight. Or capture each cat and bring them to a local shelter, that would be best.

Answer 6

There is a lady that rescues cats near me, I got my last two kittens from her. She has a lot of outside cats that aren't exactly tame. She has one of those double-flood light fixtures on a large stand that she plugs up on cold nights and it puts out warm light and the cats can come and lay under it, etc. It's about 7 feet high or so, there they can't get too hot or anything. And they can all gather around and not get crowded or scared of each other.

Answer 7

You sound like a very caring person (I'm a cat softy myself), but it's really not a good idea to feed feral cats. All animals will regulate their breeding patterns & litter sizes depending on available food sources, so you make the problem worse.

The best thing you can do is get in touch with your local rescue centre. They will come and collect the cats, neuter/spay them and find them loving homes.

Best wishes.x

Answer 8

Short of building them a cat house, which they may or may not go for, try putting a plastic crate or sturdy box in some bushes and line it with old towels and blankets. Put some of the food you've been giving them and/or a pinch of catnip in there to attract them to it.

If at all possible, try to catch them and take them to a no-kill shelter. Bless you for taking care of them!

Answer 9

well, i have 7 outside cats and i know it is hard to watch them be cold during winter. that is why my dad built them a "cat box" it is on the side of our house and he cut 2 wholes in the top to put the feeding bowls in. it is about 4 and a half feet of the ground but the box is about a foot and a half high. they have a long board going slanted ways down with little indentions so they can climb up & down. they have an old cloth cover in there. you could make it a fun project with one of your friends or someone.

Answer 10

There are microwaveable discs (called the "Snuggle Safe Microdisc") that you can get that stay warm and you can put them under a blanket or bed to warm the cat's bed. I know you can get them from http://www.drsfostersmith.com