Does dry food become inedible when it gets down near 0?

I've been leaving food in the cat house and the stray hasn't been around in about 36 hours.  It's been at or below zero during this time.  I tried putting heating up some wet food the night before and leaving it under the string lights and it still froze solid.  Does dry food turn into little ice chips you leave it out there?  This is the second time since I started feeding him that it's gotten this below zero and it's odd that he doesn't show up on the coldest nights.  Or perhaps that means he has a home - hope so.

I store my dry food in the freezer and my cats eat it right out of the bag after I pour it. I thought it was frozen but it makes sense that it's not since its dry.

Thanks, that's great news.  Right after I posted that he showed up and was eating.   I wish he would stay in the cat house though, he was and then I scared him one day and I haven't seen him stay in it since.

In cold weather/bad storms (snow storms in particular), our feral group (and alot of others) seem to "disappear." The thinking it they must hunker down - perhaps even together, although ours don't really hang "in a pack." Because when the temp dips really low (or it snows like crazy) ours tend to disappear for 24 hours all the way up to almost a week. So don't panic too quickly if you don't see him. Ours even disappear from their heated cat shelters when the weather does those things!

But dry food is fine out there - unless it gets wet, then it freezes and isn't too good for the little thing. Is it somewhere where it's covered? And is there water? We use a heated outdoor dog bowl. People often forget they need unfrozen water (they can't eat snow). 

Glad to hear your guy is back!!!

I can see tracks leading up to where you can get under my deck, still it would be incredibly cold under there.  I really don't know how they survive this weather.

Today I put seed starter mat with a thermostat in the cat house so there's a source of heat in there (amazing the ideas you get off the reviews on Amazon.)  I cut up what was left of an old fur coat and put it over the mat so if he wants to he should have a nice warm house to stay in.  Then again like you pointed out, perhaps the severity of the weather makes him hunker down. 

Right now the house is on my ground-level porch, but I'd like to move it onto the deck, but we've had so much snow and if it snows more he won't be able to reach it.   The last two times I've scared him he made a bee-line for the street.  Not good! 

Oh and yes I have a have a heated outdoor water bowl.  Damn if those things don't actually work.   The food is in the cat house so it's out of the weather.

Sounds like you're doing it all right! (which I know doesn't always means the outcome works to best end....but sounds like you're doing all you can). Did you put any straw inside around the edges of the cat house? I just finished packing even more straw in mine - they like being able to hunker down into the straw (but I always leave an un-covered part of the heating pad exposed so they know the heat's down there).

The seed starter mat is a new one for me?!?!? I'm going to have to look that up. It even has a thermostat? Did you get it on Amazon? Wow - going to have to find more out about that!

I had straw in there (and he marked on it, smells wonderful in there now), but I took it out and put an old piece of a (unfortunately) real fur coat that I inherited.  It was full length and I cut it up for cat mats - I hope my Aunt forgives me.

I tried to take a picture of the thermostat sitting on top of the cat house, but it's too dark.   You just tape the thermostat's sensor onto the seed mat with a small piece of duct tape and then plug it into the thermostat.   Here's what I used:

Seed Starter Mat: 
Thermostat: 
I also bought some things to keep the cords dry where they plug into one another.

I also decided I'm going to do a modified, non-heated version of the cat house and put it under the deck where I think he is staying.  Those lid-top coolers are expensive, but I got a nice one at Walmart and a big rubbermaid container for less than $40. 

I think I found a "mini" solution finally to this problem.  As I prepared for this last cold spell I wondered what to do.  I settled on something to put the food in.  Finally I've decided to use the Tidy Cat empty bucket containers.  It recycles them and gives me something to put the dry food in, wet too if needed and the cats a safe place to gather to eat.  The food is protected and it disappears quickly, doesn't just sit there in the cold like it did before.  Maybe it's the shelter that makes the cats feel safe, I don't know.  It's not frozen to the bowl in the mornings anymore.  The bowl is empty.  The water is outside as the cats gather inside this thing.  If I set it in there they will spill it so I can't do much about the water.  I'm also going to use these for a quick shelter.  Will put straw in them and if necessary cover them with the car windshield reflectors that one can purchase at the $ store for a few $s to add warmth.  The cats seem to love them as they can sit inside and watch what is going on outside and still be protected from cold and snow.  I am putting mine close to buildings so the cats have other choices and don't consider these anything but emergency shelter in this very cold weather.  But the food shelter idea is what I've found most useful.

Great ideas.  Not exactly sure how you are using the windshield reflectors, can you describe more?

I found the easiest thing form me is to buy a large rubber plastic tub and use a soldering iron to melt the doorway.  I just lay a template from a cat door and trace it onto the side of the tote.  Got a bale of straw at Tractor Supply and I was good to go for just a non-insulated shelter.  I plan on using a cooler inside one of those so it's more insulated but I have to use a jig saw to cut the door out on that.  You can't just leave the drop-top coolers out because for some reason water gets in them even though you have the lid closed.  I suppose I could just calk it closed, but I like being able to open the top and clean it out.

Kitty came and ate last night and there are tracks up to the water bowl so at least that much.  I don't think he's stayng in there though, which is unfortunate beacuse it's heated.  The problem is going to come if he gets more friendly this summer and then what to do next winter.  He's a stray, so the question is whether to trap him and release him or trap him and put him up for adoption.  The Inn is full here so I can't turn him into a house cat as much as I would like to. 

Your idea is one of the best and I used a variation of it in the fall as I prepared for winter.  But winter went smoothly then hit hard and fast and my helpers had their own family problems to tend too.  I fell on the ice caring for the ferals and the birds so it's been trial and error.  Rather than spend more money on the big tubs since I'd already done some of that or in my case I learned to check the trash bins, people throw away the most useful things if one cleans them up well, I figured all these tubs are here that I haven't tossed yet, why not use them?  I have a few of the windshield liners that are flexible and reflective.  I got them last year to line the cat shelter with inside for winter like blankets.  They are sturdy and I can wash them.  But they are not cardboard.  I took one and put it on the ground then put the container for the food on top of it to help keep the food from freezing so quickly.  Seems to work.  Don't know if it's so but it seems to be.  And of course the cats will sit on top of it also.  Then if I decide to wrap one around the box, that's all I'll do, nothing fancy.  I'll just wrap it and probably use good old reliable duck tape to hold it all together.  Like I said, these are my emergency ideas as the colder weather took over.  My ferals are spoiled and for some reason, I think the cold, didn't want to go up to the porch of their house where their food was.  It was exposed there and did freeze quickly.  There must be something about the corner where I put it.  It's between their house and another and may be protected from the wind and cold more so than the porch.  The cats prefer I put the wet food there as well.  It's also half the walk to the front porch from their crawl hole to the basement in the house.  The porch is also filled with little homemade shelters which served them in the past but they are not happy with this year.  I don't know what's changed but I take my cues from them.  This is a spoiled feral colony and they do have their way of telling me what they want.  I hope that all makes some sense.  This winter has been a think as I go project.  I've been looking at those cat litter tubs for some time thinking they have to have a good use.  It's a shame to fill the landfill with them.  I'm wondering if there's a styrofoam cooler these would fit into.  Glue or tape the cooler top on and cut a hole in the side for the opening and it might work as well as purchasing a container.  I will save more of these this year and see what I can come up with for next winter.  We can get them off the ground easily too with a couple of cement blocks.  They might need something inside to weigh them down.  Sometimes I find a piece of a brick or if it's a bigger box then a whole brick.  I've been know to walk the streets looking for bricks also!

The streets here are paved with them and they come loose.  Ok, just ideas that came to mind as I tried to piece things together for my kids as winter did what winter does and that's the unexpected.

Thanks.

I didn't put straw in the feeder box as that will cloud the issue that the area is for eating.  But I put straw in the containers that are out for keeping warm.  And I will in the litter tubs I put out.  I'll put it way in the back of the tubs as that's where I see the cats going unless they try to fit several in at a time.  I'll give this more thought if it works and I decide to make it a permanent thing next winter.  Like putting them off the ground.  Cement blocks are not expensive and will work great for the size of these plus they will need a bit of weight so if empty they don't blow away.  If I don't want something hard like a brick, maybe I'll make some sort of weather proof bean bag this summer.  Or something that I can put in a zip lock bag. 

The food area was really bothering me because I found if it froze they wouldn't eat it and that's the dry food.  So that's when I decided to give it a picnic like pavillion cover.  It sounds silly but it does seem to have worked.  Food doesn't freeze and is gone now so much waste has been cut down and that makes me happy.  And I hope the cats happy as they are eating.  And that's good for everyone.