Cat shelter issue

I'm back again.

I'm the person who has been caring for a mini-colony of ferals in my wooded ravine.  All three adults have been fixed and given shots, then re-released.  After that point, they showed up with kittens *sigh*  We trapped them, neutered all four brothers, socialized them, and got them permanent homes.

Now, we're planning for winter care of the ferals. Three are left - Brighton and Esther, likely siblings and the parents of our kittens, and Simon, an older male.  Brighton is a love beast; when we're out on the deck, he climbs on our laps, demands affection, and snuggles in happily.  He's our outdoor pet.  

We are building houses for them.  We've used large plastic tubs, lined them with styrofoam insulation and packed them with straw.  The first has been outside for several days, and although Brighton is happy to climb on it and go in it if we jiggle the straw enticingly, he doesn't stay inside and he has not slept there.  The other cats haven't gone near it.

How do we persuade ferals to use the houses?  Is there a trick to this?

I have read to try sprinkling some catnip on the straw.  I tried a few treats, but you have to make sure they get eaten and the treats don't attract other critters.  I never had luck with straws.  When I made the rubbermaid tubs as well as the feral villa, my guys refused to sleep in the straw.  Not sure why.  I tried the entire winter.  I was heartbroken.  They spent the winter under my neighbors screened porch.  When spring arrived, I threw out all of the straw and replaced the straw with thermal insulated blankets.  They went right inside.  Of course this meant I had to keep the blankets dry.  But since it was right on my deck, it worked best for me.  I then moved to microwavable heat discs.  They work awesome if you don't have electricity.  They will stay warm for 8-12 hours.  I then moved to outdoor electric heat pads since I have 2 outlets on my deck.  This has worked best for my boys.  THey love the heat pads and then snuggle together. 

I hope the straw works for you.  My guys just didn't care for it.  Unfortunately a large raccoon did love the straw!!

I have put a blanket on top of the straw, after removing some of it.  I put treats and cat nip in there.  Brighton, my very friendly feral, is interested and seems to know that I want him to go in the house, but he won't stay in there.  He is so willing to please, but doesn't understand.  

Thermal blankets, huh?  I can try to find some, but we have limited electricity in back.  

Here is an example of a thermal blanket.  It's basically a self heating pad.  I think you can find them cheaper than this one, but this gives you an idea of what to look for.


Here are the microwavable discs


And here is an outdoor heat pad


If you are interested in these products, they might be cheaper elsewhere.  I bought the heat pads 2 years ago and they were much cheaper as were the heat discs and thermal blanket. 

I ended up buying 3 outdoor heat pads for my ferals. They have them at farm supplies like Orcheln's or sometimes at building centers like Menards, for around 29.99. You can get them on 20% off days, or moonlight madness days, when everything is so much off, that's the time to buy! They never use them until it's really cold, then they stay in their 'huts' most of the day. I check them periodically to make sure they are not wet or the blankets cover them too much. I'm still using mine 3 years later.

Amazon has these pads on sale for $22.98 right now - not bad, considering the prices you all have quoted.  I have ordered two so far, hoping that the cats will share houses.  We only have three ferals, so perhaps this will work.  

I'll let you know if they start using them.

What about carpet? Cats love carpet and it insulates them well. You can easily find scrap carpet from people remodel. It can be brushed seasonally to remove their shedding.

Penelopess said:

 
What about carpet? Cats love carpet and it insulates them well. You can easily find scrap carpet from people remodel. It can be brushed seasonally to remove their shedding.

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Carpet will work as long as it doesn't get wet.  Once wet it would take a very long time to dry.  If let to sit, mold will grow and their will be no warmth due to the dampness.  I have used astroturf inside my feeding stations.  It dries very quickly if it gets wet.  I do have a roof over the feeding stations so only a bit of rain/snow gets in.  Yet when it does, it dries quite quickly.  It is very easy to clean.

Carpet's not a great choice - fr all the reasons listed about. I can definitely attest to the joys of the outdoor K&H (I"m sure there are others) heating pads....we have ours in two small dog houses, filled with stray, with the heating pads at the very bottom. The cats bury down through the straw to the pads (which give off a very low heat - just above their normal body temp - so it keeps them where they should be temp=wise, so that they don't chill. This serves two purposes - by burrowing dow, they have straw around them and enveloping them, and then they have a heat source at the very bottom. The cats all LOVE this.

I did just buy a new double rubbermaid tub with straw between the walls (I'm adding self warmth reflecting material this weekend and some insulation beyond the straw between the walls ---and soon as I can got a new outdoor rated heating pad, I'll add that. But until then - it cracked me up ==== I used catnip to lead up to the opening, and then put a catnip -iflled tube sock inside the new shelter. Voila - this morning the tube sock is gone and there are little cat shaped indents in the straw! So think we're well on our way to a new happy sleeping spot (now if I can just trap the last few buggers!!!!!).

I'd watch leaving treats inside - raccoons can smell food a mile away!!! Last thing you want is  a racoon surprising a sleeping cat in the middle of the night!