Need help keeping feral cat warm in MN in my outbuilding

iluvcats3

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
91
Purraise
17
I've had this feral cat for several months, and had to keep her confined much of that time because she was pregnant right before I caught her, which I discovered only well into her pregnancy when i brought her in for a spay.   I kept her second kitten with her for weeks afterwards (my brother has that friendly kitten, along with his tamed older brother who was trapped along with mama.  She seems to have been a single kitten mama).  I've tamed her up a bit. I can usually pet her on the head without a swat. that's after months of work, though.

I finally could get her spayed, and let her out of her cage. Since it's so close to winter, I created a room for her in my unheated granary rather than risk her running away.  I have been covering her former cage (it's open now) with many blankets and sleeping bags and have a couple of lightbulbs in there for heat, but this morning she was shivering and the temp was like 30F in there according to my remote thermometer. She has a heated pet pad and a cushion in there.  

My husband and I made her a heavy duty foam cooler cubby and put straw in, about 3 weeks ago, but she has no interest in going in there.  I put catnip in there, which I know she likes because I also put some on her scratch pad. I know she's been inside before, but she doesn't like it.

I am going to duct tape rigid foam insulation all over her cage cubby if I can't think of anything else, but I dunno if that will be good enough, because the cage is pretty big (around 4 feet by 2 feet by 3 feet). 

Maybe she never got cold tolerance due to my having to confine her in a cage until around Halloween, with her kitten?  It was cold and I didn't want her kitten to be cold.

I don't know what to do now. It was +12 F last night, and we will get some 35 below nights eventually.  Should I build her a wood cubby and dog house heater (porcelain fixture with coffee can cover over a lightbulb)?  The granary room is really nice, with big windows, but a bit drafty since it's uninsulated right now. There looks to be a warm up for now, so I have a little time. TX!!!
 
Last edited:

-_aj_-

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 24, 2008
Messages
10,487
Purraise
61
Location
North East England
the doghouse sounds good.  Ive never had to make shelters for cats, I know cats seek out somewhere warm.

I know we have a few members on here that have dealt with this a lot more than me so hopefully they will be along soon to give you better advice on what to do :)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

iluvcats3

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
91
Purraise
17
I found some scrap rigid foam insulation in the fallen down barn today, and duct taped it all over the kitty cage and sealed the cracks with duct tape, then covered the whole thing with a sheet of plastic that I taped to stop any drafts. I suppose It's about R5 insulation and I put 2 layers on.  The stuff is old and chalky and hopefully the duct tape will stick good enough. Otherwise, I have to go buy some big head nails to hold it to the wood of the homemade kitty cage.  It looks rather silly, but the whole thing makes a nice spot for Connie to sleep on when it's a warm, sunny day. I put a folded up blanket on there for that purpose, right by a window.  

I'm guessing Connie has impaired cold tolerance because of all that time when I gave her heat, (she had that late kitten, then recovering from a spay) so should I back off on the heat somewhat until it gets colder? How warm does a short haired kitty need? This has  been an amazingly warm December for MN so far.
 

feralvr

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
18,474
Purraise
689
Location
Northwest Indiana
Honestly, unless it gets into the single digits, feral cats do extremely well adjusting to the environment. Unbelievable so. Here is a link on suggestions for making winter cat shelters for feral cats. The 1 1/2" foam insulation is superb for interior walls and when a cat sleeps inside, it will warm up quite nicely for them just from their own body heat. I used to put in an outdoor heating pad, when I had feral kittens to care for, but I do not use it now for adults. It actually makes shelters way too warm and then when they come out for the day, they actually get colder because they were too hot over night. Any shelter you make for them will be used in time. Try putting cat treats like, Temptations, inside the shelter. Sometimes the cat nip is not enough to get them inspecting these wonderful shelters we provide for them. Usually, though, they are smart enough to know WHEN they need the shelter and when not. :nod: I also supply more than one shelter when I have a few cats that do not get along. Surprisingly, they seem to know which shelter is theirs and which shelter is their adversary.

http://www.urbancatleague.org/WinterCatShelters
http://indyferal.org/index.php?page=shelters
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

iluvcats3

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
91
Purraise
17
The upgraded shelter is doing better than my former setup, but I'm really worried about the 30 below nights coming up. She looks cold sometimes when I check in on her, but she might be shaking intermittently because she's still afraid of me.  Not sure, because she looks happy as a clam on warmer days. I will put some food in the foam shelter also, so at least she knows there's another option. Her fur seems so scrawny so I am amazed short haired kitties do well thru the winter. Tx!
 
Top