Protecting stray from cold.

We recently starting caring for a stray after failing to find its owner or anyone to adopt it. It's a very friendly cat, not at all feral. We give it food and water, and it has been sleeping in our woodshed. It's always trying to get inside our house, sometimes darting in through our legs. We immediately put it back out, as we don't want a house cat. Our concern is that while the woodshed protects somewhat from wind, it gets very cold. The forecast is for sub-zero weather, so the woodshed will probably be about 10 or 15 degrees.  I have an old styrofoam cooler for it, with rags and old blankets in and on top of it. It hasn't been using it. 

Should we just hope it'll use the cooler and that it'll be warm enough in it? The 2nd option is to put it in our basement during the cold snap. It'd be warm enough there, but unable to go outside. It's a large 19th century farmhouse basement, nothing there that it can hurt.

The third option is to take it to the local animal shelter, and we'd rather not do that.

Advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 If the cat is not using the cooler, it may have found another shelter.  However, the blankets may be a problem, as they wick moisture and are useless after a bit.  Use straw - not hay .  It will not mold or wick moisture and the cat can burrow down and get warm.

If I have a say, though, I vote for the basement, especially if it is warm.  A box with straw or the cooler will make the cat feel right at home.  You can feed him there and provide a litter box for him.

Before you do anything else, though, please have the cat checked by a vet.  He will need vaccines and treatments for fleas and worms.  And, if it hasn't been done already, neutering (or spaying).  The absolute last thing you need is kittens!

We are going through the same thing.  We gave in and went and bought two x-small insulated doghouses and put behind a nook on the open garage when was going to get down to 19 F the other night.  They love the little doghouses!  We turned the small opening away from the wind and I used 3 of those cheap, Walmart $5 fleece blankets inside each one.  We had a bad experience trying straw, they wouldn't get near it for some reason.  We have it in the shed too, but they won't get near it (I have boxes and blankets in there too).  I'm keeping a close monitoring on the blankets, if they get damp feeling I throw them in the dryer, or wash and dry them.  One younger one, I'd say he is about 4 months old, will burrow between them and I find him completely covered in a ball in the little doghouse sound asleep.  We have about 5 that either hang out in our shed, where it really is warm and out of the wind, but 2 are determined to stay on the porch.  They are the ones that primarily use the doghouses.

I had heard that some cats don't care for straw.  Good idea to keep an eye on the blankets and wash/dry them when needed.

Ondine, at first we thought it was something wrong with the straw, like maybe it had some mold in the middle of it or something, so we bought more.  I still can't figure out their reasoning.  I grew up with various cats living in our barn, and they loved hay and straw.  They would sleep in the feed troughs full of straw.  Apparently my little colony is getting spoiled and demanding!  I'm just checking their blankies daily, and at least I have some spare ones to change out so I can wash and dry them.  I am such a sucker for them all, I make sure their blankies are clean, soft, and smell good haha!  I see their little faces and I'm like "Oh, here baby, let me make that all better for you" 

It's still hilarious to me to open the door and see a cat pop out of a doghouse!!

My first 3 feral cats did not like straw at all.  It was as though it was itchy.  One of them it made sneeze.  You can also try the Snuggle safe microwave heat discs.  I used these for awhile.  They do help to keep the chill off.

ShadowsRescue said:

 
My first 3 feral cats did not like straw at all.  It was as though it was itchy.  One of them it made sneeze.  You can also try the Snuggle safe microwave heat discs.  I used these for awhile.  They do help to keep the chill off.

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Thanks for this!  I am going to order two of the Snuggle safe microwave heat discs for them.  January will bring some really cold nights.