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Cold Weather and Feral Cat

post #1 of 6
12/6/09 at 2:39pm
Thread Starter 
We have been feeding a feral cat in my back yard. It does not trust us yet but has gone from skinny to fat and healthy looking.

We have tried many different types of shelter but he is scared and won't come near any of them. The most he has trusted from my family is a blanket and a piece of plywood that kinda covers the blanket.

Tonight is suppose to rain & freeze and we are very worried about him. We did create a metal shelter with a tarp around it and put a bed in there but he won't use it. Is there anything we can do to ensure he is ok through the cold nights?

We live in central California so luckily we don't have a lot of freezing nights.

Worried
Menou Lover
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post #2 of 6
12/6/09 at 3:00pm
Thread Starter 
I was looking at the picture of the feral housing that someone made in the forum and showed it to my husband.

We have another problem we are contending with here, some neighbors are not so nice to feral cats and have been known to capture them and either kill them or take them to the country and drop them off. We have reported this but have been told there is nothing anyone can or would do to stop it. I know it is bs but it is what we have to deal with.

So we don't want to make a box that he might feel is safe and end up being his doom.

Menou Lover
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post #3 of 6
12/6/09 at 4:07pm
Feral cats feel safest in a shelter where there is an entrance and an exit. Other than building him a shed or something that would be difficult for a neighbor to move, I think most of the feral cat shelter ideas are basically box-like and portable.

Have you had the kitty neutered?
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post #4 of 6
12/6/09 at 6:24pm
Did you see this idea?
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=208898

If you could do this kind of thing, maybe using a bigger container so you can have an entrance & and exit?

Usually, two containers are used, one larger than the other. The smaller container fits into the larger leaving room around the smaller one for some sort of insulation.

I saw another website describing how to build this: http://www.urbancatleague.org/SheltersMike.html

From what you've posted it sounds like you may not be able to do this, but, just thought I'd share.

Sounds like you just need to trap him - if you could get him neutered, then maybe you could socialize and adopt him?
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post #5 of 6
12/18/09 at 5:48pm
One of our caretakers has a large colony and uses five or six of the shelters I build. She has one old Tom (neutered) who refuses to use them. She ended up putting a piece of plywood against her house to form a low triangle. She put straw on the ground inside and he loves it - it is HIS house. The other cats know not to trespass.

The ends are open, so he can see, and the plywood shelters him. She's got it near where there's an addition to her house, so one wall of her house blocks the wind but he can still have an "escape route." She used cement blocks to keep it from sliding down.

She plans to cover the plywood with roofing shingles, so it will last a little longer but for now, he's happy and relatively safe and warm.

Another option might be to put straw under a porch or deck if you have one. It will at least keep him out of the weather.


Bless you for helping him
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post #6 of 6
12/24/09 at 7:50am
something you could try, that our group loves is to get a couple bales of hay, stray( whatever is cheapest), and stack 2 on the bottom with a space between them, then put a 3 or 4th over the top so they are blocked from the wind. I would put a blanket inside the middle, then put some loose hay over it. It makes a wonderful, warm, protected area and as long as the long bales are placed to block any wind blowing, they are as happy as anything in it. and if it snows, it makes it even better as it will start to act as an igloo.

Mary
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