Too cold for cat?

Hi, all. I'm new to the site, so I think this is the right place to post this one.

Anyways, my neighbor's have an adult indoor/outdoor cat that they don't really take care of. No food or water is left out for her. No shelter. No nothing.
They brought in her during the hot, hot summer months, but they haven't brought her inside during the cold, which is surprising to me because they have another indoor/outdoor (mostly indoor) that they call in, but they don't call this one in.
 

Right now, it is below freezing and the wind chill isn't helping. And there is 3 inches of snow on the ground. She is outside, I saw her. She runs up to our door and meows. 
I feel bad because we can't have pets where we rent. I worry about her getting really cold. I've read cats can get hypothermia or even frost bite if left out in the bitter cold. 

She really is a sweet cat, which is why I worry.

Should I bring her in at least for the night? Or do you guys think she'll be okay and will find somewhere to go because she's outside 80% of the time?

How cold is too cold for a cat?   

I think you should bring the cat in for the night, and then take it back to your neighbors tomorrow morning and explain to them that it's too cold and snowy for a cat to be left outside. If they balk, you can always offer to take the cat to a no-kill shelter if they don't want it anymore.

Welcome to the Cat Site, too! You've come to the right place.

Hi @Alliee

I've moved your question to this forum where our regular posters are people who take care of outdoor cats.

Poor little thing! Have you spoken to your neighbors and asked if they can let her into the house? She really shouldn't be out at night. Cats can survive outdoors, but they need proper shelters. We can give you some tips on building an outdoor shelter if you need to, but I think the best thing to do would be talk to your neighbors and ask them to let her in first.

Thank you for caring about her. Nice to have you on TCS.

Definitely bring her in.

Poor cat.

Thanks for doing right by her.

Thanks for moving it to the correct forum. I appreciate it!

However, my neighbor's aren't very approachable about it. Which is why I haven't asked them to take her indoors. It just makes me sad that they don't care!

Update: I brought her inside for the night. She curled up under the Christmas tree and then joined me in bed for a couple hours.
Since we can't have pets, we don't have litter, so I let her back out this morning, as she needed to go to the bathroom. She seemed like one happy kitty, thankful to be let inside for the night.

Thanks everyone who replied!

I would go get a small litter box and a bit of food.  Bring her in each night.  Poor sweet kitty.  Thank you for helping her.

I went through that no pet thing when I was younger and rescued a small dog. I did the same thing, let him in after dark and out during the day. Eventually it worked out since I moved and took him with me. We were great friends for 13 years till he passed away.

Keep doing what your doing...I predict a solution will present itself.

Everybody needs someone who cares.

Thanks for being willing to "step up"

Alliee:  Thanks for sharing.  Agree with the responses of bringing

your kitty in for the night and releasing in the morning.  Had a 

similar situation with the Special Rescue that is now part of 

my family.  May I suggest the following before you have a major

problem since your landlord does not allow pets.  Check for 

fleas otherwise your house will be infested with fleas jumping

on you.  Not to scare you, but it was a reality for me personally

when I was bringing in a stray at night and releasing in the

morning like at 4 AM when the kitty would wake me up to be

released.  Wanted to help this kitty so badly, because of the 

cold snowy weather we were having that I completely forgot to check

for fleas so it could be treated if it did have fleas.  Well, I learned

the hard way when the fleas started jumping on me then I realized

the house was infested.  Took two weeks to evict the fleas

and live in peace again.  Long Story Short, that homeless 

friendly stray is my Special Tuxedo who I believe is a Maine Coon

and I believe these Maine Coons like the cold weather.

He is now mind and brought back to health with the vet.

Had worms, fleas.  All taking care of with being chipped even

though he is now a indoor kitty.  Also vaccinated.  Thanks for

joining TCS.  P.S:  Special Tuxedo also has Health Insurance.


Special Tuxedo Wishes Everyone Online a

Happy Healthy Blessed Christmas, Holiday, NewYear 2017

and thanks for everyone who was so kind 

to help during the year 

Second update: Tonight, the kitty is inside of her own home. I double checked both doors because she will come to either.

I can sleep easy knowing this little fur baby is safe and warm, instead of freezing outside.
I'll probably pick up some litter just in case it happens again, but I just hope and pray they keep her in like they did over the summer. Poor thing.

Thank you to everyone who replied.

P.S.: we checked for fleas and she is a-okay! [emoji]10084[/emoji]️

That's great news @Alliee  I'm glad to hear she has somewhere warm to sleep at night. Thank you for helping her.

Alliee said:

Second update: Tonight, the kitty is inside of her own home. I double checked both doors because she will come to either.

I can sleep easy knowing this little fur baby is safe and warm, instead of freezing outside.
I'll probably pick up some litter just in case it happens again, but I just hope and pray they keep her in like they did over the summer. Poor thing.

Thank you to everyone who replied.

P.S.: we checked for fleas and she is a-okay! [emoji]10084[/emoji]️

Click to expand...

Alliee:  That's excellent news.  No fleas is also good.  Would you 

know if she's being treated monthly just to make sure.  Reason:

When I took my Tuxedo for his annual, the vet examined for

fleas and found flea eggs and a live flea, so I had to give him

a treatment of Advantage II which works well for me and evicts

the fleas, eggs, larvae.  Hope all continues to go well on your 

end.

Fleas don't survive freezing temperatures, so you have a bit of time to get some Frontline for her. I suggest ordering it on ebay or Amazon, which is so much less expensive than anywhere else.

I hope you can get a litter box and continue to bring her in at night. Cats can survive in frigid temperatures, but only if they find a warm shelter--and there are lots of threads on this forum about shelter options. I wouldn't assume that your neighbor took her in last night--she could have wandered off--is there any way you can have a brief conversation with this neighbor to understand what is going on, even if it's an uncomfortable conversation? I've been in that situation a few times, and have found that it's better to attempt to communicate.

Is kitty spayed? Your other option is to take her to the vet to have her spayed and vaccinated, then take her into your home temporarily and try to find her a forever home for the holidays. Your landlord likely won't be coming by to check your apartment during the holidays, will he? The law in most states is that if you have vet records, the cat is legally your cats. From what you've described of your neighbor, this cat hasn't been cared for properly or likely has not been seen by a vet. So if the cat is legally yours, you can find her another home. I can almost guarantee your neighbor won't care that she disappeared.

In situations such as what you are describing, I put the welfare of the cat FIRST, above any concerns about negligent so-called pet "owners." That is why I made the suggestion that I did.