Preparing Feral Cat Houses for Winter

Take a tour of feral cat shelters made by my husband for our community cats. We fill the houses with straw to keep the cats warm all winter long. Straw has less moisture than hay, which keeps it from freezing in damp weather. Be sure to get your neighborhood cats spayed and neutered and provide them with regular food, water (in a heated bowl for winter), warm, dry shelter and vet care when needed. Please share this video and help keep feral cats warm this winter.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• feral cats
• community cats
• backyard cats
• neighborhood cats
• shelter Cat animal animals

[666wart]

If you use straw in a cat shelter please remember to add cedar chips ( available from a pet store or garden center) . Cedar chips will help discourage insects from living in the straw. Blankets are not advised as they retain moisture. wart

[sldahlia]

@666wart Cedar chips can be toxic to cats. From Alley Cat Allies: Straw resists the wet and keeps a shelter warm, and is the best choice for insulation and bedding. Do NOT use blankets, carpeting, fake sheepskin, or any material that holds moisture. You can use hardwood shavings (not cedar or pine), but keep in mind that softwood shavings are not suitable due to possible toxicity. Some caregivers in locations with long, cold winters use Mylar blankets as bedding.

[sldahlia]

rubber roofing with an adhesive back makes a great material for waterproofing a cat house. rolls of rubber roofing can be purchased at your local lumber yard. this material can also be used on the sides of your cat house to protect the walls from inclement weather. when constructing the roof, make sure there is an overhang to shield the walls from falling rain. also make sure the cat houses are raised to insure that water isn't seeping in from the bottom. good luck!

[justshootme2011]

what about kittens???

[sldahlia]

@justshootme2011 Hopefully, through spaying and neutering feral cats you will not have many kittens, however if you do find kittens, I suggest working with your local shelter or rescue group to help determine if the kittens are tame and can be altered and re-homed or if they are feral and should be altered and re-released to your colony. Good luck!

[chrisglazier]

these are awesome! do you have the building plans for these? I especially like the roof, the overhang and hinge is a great idea.

[sldahlia]

@chrisglazier Thank you! We do not have detailed building plans (aside from the video tour), but you can find plans for many different types of easy to make cat shelters on Alley Cat Allies' website (click on What We Do, Care for Cats, then Colony Care Guide - sorry, YouTube won't let me post the link)

[rrrina]

Fabulous shelters! Kudos!



[ksmit2]

Hi, Mr Bloghogg again, in response to the comment about "decimating" the local animal

population, I have the following observations. racoons, squirrels, and possums come into

the yard for the daily buffet, birds come in from all over to eat the cat food, and so on. We

used to say "pick up some cat food" now it's "pick up some possum food". I have Havahart

type traps to catch Racoons and Possums, release them in a nature park, about 15 min

away. Possums fruit, p-butter, Coons, marshmellows.

[ksmit2]

This is a great idea. This design is based on how a feral cat actually "works". The above ground,

platform entrance, the escape "hatch" at the other end, and overall simplicity is really well

thought. I have been fixing up the 16-20 gal plastic tubs from the "Wally", hole at each end,

Alyshia hay on the inside. We don't get too much lower than the upper 20's here. I think

I'll try the straw, and elevate the tubs. Thanx for liking cats, and shelter ideas.

[lingbopper88]

@mryellow123 That is because Aussies like you have common sense. Here in the USA we have to deal with idiots like this guy. Like minded idiots see him as being virtuous instead of brain dead. He should let them all in his house if he is so concerned about filthy stray cats. Folks like him will be the downfall of civilization.

[mryellow123]

@confessa I wouldn't consider keeping a bunch of highly efficient feral predators to be "kind to animals"

[mryellow123]

Don't these cats decimate the local wildlife? or already all gone?

Here in Australia, harbouring ferals like this would be very much frowned upon.

[whiskerchild]

This is great. Thanks.

[GoldenNaturalNappy]

really nice video, hi-tech. i have 2 house cats but i've also taken on the responsiblity of feeding and paying vet bills for 3 abandoned cats. its going to be in the 20's here in florida so I had to bring them inside, unfortantly one of them is a sprayer even though he is fixed so I have to keep him in the rest room for the night :(

[cathouse54]

Excellent