stray cat

Hi.  I am so happy i found this site.  I am hoping someone can help.  I have 2 inside only cats.  For the past 6 months or so I have been feeding this stray cat, right outside my townhouse.  I also have a small doghouse for him with a heated pad.  Straw outside the dog house.  My question is this:  Can a cat survive a cold winter with what I have provided for him?  I am in upstate NY so it gets quite cold and this Saturday windchills are supposed to be about 10 below zero.  The dog house is up against my townhouse and not facing the wind..   The cat wants no part of coming inside my house and I really cannot let him, with my 2 cats.  Can anyone advise?  Thanks

Hi Colleen,

What you are doing for this little cat is helpful and really improves the odds for its survival. Food and shelter really make a huge difference.

I'm not clear what you mean by "straw outside" - is it bales piled up against the outside of the small doghouse for extra insulation? Some people on TCS put a lot of straw into the house for their outdoor kitties to burrow down into.

Heated pad - is it electric and heated all the time? If yes, I don't know that piling straw on top of it is a good idea. There was a thread on just that question recently. If I find it, I'll come back and give you the link.

Food - wet food / dry food / both? Wet food can freeze if kitty doesn't come and chow down as soon as you put it out. It takes lots of calories to stay warm in bitterly cold weather.

You're sure it's a him? Is he / she neutered? Do you have a picture - all of us here love to see pictures.

You are really an angel, caring for this cat for months and months. Good job!

What I mean by straw outside his house is this.  Okay, I have a central air conditioning unit and it is about 2 feet from my outside wall.  That is where I have set up the dog house, so it is out of sight and kind of nestled up against my house.   Inside the doghouse I have an electric cat mat, so I cannot put straw on top of it.  The cat has about 7 feet of room behind the air conditioning unit..  So I have laid down straw leading up to his doghouse.  And I also have sheets of styrofoam and cardboard boxes covering the air conditiong unit, so that it keeps the area for the cat sheltered.  No snow gets in and hopefully not much wind.  he is a he for sure and not fixed.  I cannot imagine him letting me trap him or put him in a carrier as he is so skittish.  But he lets me pet him and talk to him.  I am just worried that he will be cold still..thanks for answering so quickly

Forgot to add that I give him both dry and wet food.  The wet food I add water to and he eats it before it freezes.  I have ordered heated bowls that should come tomorrow..

To your question. Yes, he should manage just fine, with a little luck, as he gets this splendid help from you. Also, The homeless are usually made of tough wood. If they are not, they perish before they get seasoned homeless.

That said, if you have any plans for taking him inside and complete his fostering, now is the time, when its getting rough outside.   It is often suprprising easy to get homeless into indoors only kittens. they do recognize the difference between the outside where it is often horrible, and inside, where it may be scary sometimes, but is never horrible.

And it is usually quite comfortable.

Last.  The need of neutering is not so desperate with a male than a female. But still, please do plan on it. In the long run its best for him and for you, and all others nearby, neighbours included.  The risk of him wandering and disappearing / got hurt in cat fights / getting Felv is much less if he is neutered.

It will also be easier the day you decide to take him inside: he will not be so eager to get out, and the risk of him beating up your residents will be much less, almost nil

Good luck!

You are his angel! It sounds like he is well cared for. I really would try and find a group that will helpmyountomget him trapped and fixed.nit will be so much better for him.

I volunteer with a group that does just that, I am sure someone in your area could help you. Your set up for him sounds great. Keeping it dry is very important and I am sure he lives the heated pad.

You will see that once he is neutered, he may change his mind about a life indoors.

Tonight is bitter cold and I have tried to coax him in, but he wants no part of it.  I am feeding him lots of extra food.  Thanks all for the advice.

It is bitter cold here tonight too and will be again early next week.  I am so worried about my ferals.  I know I am doing the very best I can for them, but some how feel it's not enough.  One of my ferals will come inside if he gets too cold and has even spent the night inside with me.  Of course I get no sleep as he is nervous and thinks he wants out every hour or so.  Today I went out and put one of my rubbermaid containers with a heat pad into their shelter.  THey have 2 tent houses and the rubbermaid container all connected.  I can see them them inside right now.  As of now they are not snuggling, but seem content.  It's 14 degrees with a wind chill below 0 and wind chill to be -15 tonight.  As long as he is in the shelter he should be ok.  I assume if it is too cold they will want to come inside.  I hate winter, just hate it.  I worry and worry with every cold spell and count the days til spring!

Thank you for caring for this guy.

Windchills to hit 20-25 below zero tonight and through tomorrow.   The cat did come in today and then freaked out and tried to climb up the door.  I make sure I go out 5-6 times during the day to just play with him and check on his food.  God, I hate this frigid weather...