KatKabin for feral cats in my neighborhood?

Greetings all!

I've recently discovered a family of feral cats living around both my house and my neighbors. I'm uncertain as to how they got there, but I've taken a liking to them.

Long story short, it gets extremely cold where I live, and there's no conceivable shelter in my neighborhood. So, my aunt recommended that I buy what she has for her cats- a KatKabin.

It looks warm and safe, and I was curious if anyone had purchased and/or seen one in use before?
http://katkabin.net/

I'll likely purchase one in the near future. Your thoughts are most welcome!

Are they all fixed? If not I would concentrate on tnr(trap neuter return) otherwise you will be overrun in a short while.

This looks cool but they do have plans to make your own shelter-either using Styrofoam coolers or Styrofoam insulation between to Rubbermaid totes.

I have 2 ferals that came with house(few others have been tnr and moved on) and they have a Rubbermaid tote when real cold I open up the garage door and plug in a heated blanket in the storage area of the garage, up on a table so cold drafts/snow don't affect them/blanket.

I've never used a kat kabin but if I had the money to buy one I would love to try it. They are supposed to be good.
I would recommend that you provide the cats with a few different alternatives for shelter as you never know what they prefer. You can make fairly simple home made cat shelters yourself. I'd get a couple of different kinds in different sizes. If you have a garage you can open up for them that would be great too. You can leave the garage door open just a few inches. Put some food right by the opening for a while to lure them in. In the garage you can put some plastic totes or boxes with a heated cat bed in them. If there are several cats you can make a little larger shelter or use a dog house and put an outdoor heated dog bed in it. Both the cat or dog bed should be a Lectro heated bed of the hard variety. You can also put these heated dog or cat bed in some sort of shelter outside.
Whatever shelter you have make sure that it's insulated and sealed not to let out any hot air. Once the cats have gotten used to going in to the shelter you can put a flap over the opening to keep the heat inside.
If you have a porch or something where the cats can go underneath it would also be a good idea to make up a little nest there. You never know where the cats will choose to sleep during winter. They may not choose to sleep where you think they should. Who knows what's going on in those little heads of theirs .

Here is a great site with ideas for cat shelters and instructions on how to make your own (some are really easy to make while others require some skill): http://www.indyferal.org/index.php?page=shelters

Another thing you should think about over winter is the water issue. You have to provide the water for them as they can't find it anywhere but of course putting water outside in the winter will soon leave you with ice. So the best thing is to buy a heated water bowl. They are about $25. You can get an outdoors extension cable if needed. You can buy the bowl in most well stocked pet stores or online.

Also keep in mind that cats need more food during winter.

Are you doing TNR with the cats? If not you really have to start or find someone else who can do it. Otherwise you will soon have twice as many cats or more.

Thanks for caring about the kitties

never used them -

cats aren't necessarily predicable about their nest preferences - you might be spending a lot of $$ on something they may not be interested in

here is a link that shows you how to make your own - and at a reasonable cost

http://www.urbancatleague.org/SheltersMike.html,
another one: http://www.indyferal.org/index.php?page=shelters

here's an interesting video on another idea, and how-to: http://www.ehow.com/video_4908663_bu...t-shelter.html

(using a clear plastic tub ? much harder to cut than a solid color - also, they may not like the exposure that a clear plastic tub has - the cat can't hide in the nest of a clear tub)

along with thecatsite.com, there are many other resources, like the link I shared, that give practical advice

probably the best advice is what you've already received from catsallaround - you should get them altered or else you will find yourself asking "What have I done?!!"

Welcome to TCS Scout! Such a wonderful thing, wanting to help these cats!

As the others have said, there's more to caring for them than just providing shelter. And even that can be really hit or miss. Here is another thread in this forum with a LOT of ideas for how to care for cats in the cold: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=220795

This news article may help you find a low-cost option for having the cats spayed and neutered in the Las Vegas area. http://network.bestfriends.org/5489/news.aspx

I don't know your location, but I searched a Vegas zip code - here are more (potential) low-cost spay/neuter options: http://www.pets911.com/services/spay...81&search-zip=

Traps don't cost a lot, but many vets or shelters will lend or rent them.

If you'd like to know more about "TNR" (Trap-Neuter-Return), you can learn about it here: http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/non-lethal_control.html

So it gets "extremely cold" in Vegas, huh?

The KatKabin is cute. But expensive. I built my own cat houses with plywood and fiberglass insulation (from the instructions from Alley Cat Allies) for half of that.

Originally Posted by Willowy

So it gets "extremely cold" in Vegas, huh?

The KatKabin is cute. But expensive. I built my own cat houses with plywood and fiberglass insulation (from the instructions from Alley Cat Allies) for half of that.

Click to expand...

Hey, Hey, Hey!! I live in the CA desert - and after you survive the 120 degree summer - when it gets down to the burrrr cold 60's burrr --- berry, berry cold!

After growing up in Missouri - which really does have cold weather - my husband and I laugh at each other for being so cold when the temp. gets in the lower 60's. Now don't even try to find us if it gets down to the 30's - we're inside with the temp on the heater turned up to 76 degrees, wearing our insulated underwear.

I imagine our outside cats feel the same way about our cold.