What Kind Of Shelter Do You Have, If Any?

Im curious as to what kind of shelter if any do those of you who care for ferrals provide? Have you made or purchased anything to keep them out of the weather, the rain or in winter the cold?

Mine just basically go under the trailer next door, or sometimes we can here them walking in what I call the loft of our place (a vacated Church building made out of three single wide trailers attached to each other). We had two days of rain and about half of them spent a good bit of time hanging out on the covered porch next door. I have a box there which is used basically by Midnight and his girlfriend (she was recently spayed).

Ive seen at tractor supply this thing that looks like an igloo and it got me wondering just what kind of shelter you all have.

Thanks!

I bought some small doghouses made of a type of plastic, similar to the igloos you mentioned. My husband made the openings smaller and cat-sized by attaching a heavy, rubber-like, waterproof material to it. I put a thick layer of straw inside for bedding - it's insulating and holds heat, plus the cats can "nest" in it.

The doghouses I bought were about $30 each. You can also make homemade shelters pretty inexpensively. There's information at this site: www.neighborhoodcats.org/info/wintershelter.htm

Shelters are a necessity in any area of the country. The cats need to be able to get out of the wind and rain, even in warmer climates. I find my ferals curled up sleeping soundly in their shelters.

Some people advise making two entrances, so the cats have an "escape hatch", not a bad idea. My shelters only have one entrance and the cats have been fine with that for the past few years.

I cut a hole under my front porch deck so that they can come and go under the house - if they get under the porch, they can get under the house. I also have the garage door propped open so they can come and go, and an underground storm cellar door propped open for them to use. Plus I have 2 barns. There are plenty of choices for the cats and if there is contention between them, they just go to a different shelter.

In the event that one of the ferals has kittens by my house, I always build a wooden shelter over them - basically a wood box with a removal lid and a long twisting doorway/passageway to keep large predators out. Thank heavens I haven't had to use that in a few years now.

Wow,that was a VERY informative website, with simple, very inexpensive easy to make shelters. Thank you so much....I cant wait to get started !

Originally Posted by KTLynn

I bought some small doghouses made of a type of plastic, similar to the igloos you mentioned. My husband made the openings smaller and cat-sized by attaching a heavy, rubber-like, waterproof material to it. I put a thick layer of straw inside for bedding - it's insulating and holds heat, plus the cats can "nest" in it.

The doghouses I bought were about $30 each. You can also make homemade shelters pretty inexpensively. There's information at this site: www.neighborhoodcats.org/info/wintershelter.htm

Shelters are a necessity in any area of the country. The cats need to be able to get out of the wind and rain, even in warmer climates. I find my ferals curled up sleeping soundly in their shelters.

Some people advise making two entrances, so the cats have an "escape hatch", not a bad idea. My shelters only have one entrance and the cats have been fine with that for the past few years.

Click to expand...

Glad that website helped! Here's another that TNR1 had posted this past winter:
www.all-creatures.org/ak/feral-shelter.html

Good luck with your shelters..there are many kinds you can either build or buy..actually it's easier than I thought We built wooden boxes, insulated them and put straw on the floor..some of the cats still sleep under a porch, cars, etc though..but surely they can always use them.

We are in the process of building an enclosure- if Mother Nature will ever cooperate! Hopefully tomorrow the rain will stop and we can get back and get it finished. You can see the start of it here:

Enclosure

Okay, well Ive looked at the one site in one persons post as how to build a winter shelter....the one created out of styrofoam board. I also read that I could make one out of a stryofoam cooler etc. However, they dont seem real sturdy. Of course I want to make something wonderful my cats would love on an extremely limited budget. Well Ive just made a discovery.....

My husband informed me that he has an old dog house at his other home in Arkansas (which is up for sale) that he made awhile back (its long and low to the ground, as opposed to one for a big dog). It even has a singled roof ! He also has one of those fences you use to keep your dogs kenneled in the yard. His daughter bought these when she came to stay with him a few years back. Since we havent been married very long Ive just became aware of this.
I feel like Ive fallen into a treasure chest, but dont know what to do with all the loot !

I know there are some really creative minds out there that can tell me how I can fix up that dog house to make it a living quarters for the cats (we have 11), and if there are any ideas about how to work with the fenced in kennel.

We have two dogs on the property that seem to get along with the cats fairly well except for giving them a chase now and then, and we have a visiting oppossum and another stray tom that I would like to keep out of the food if possible. I want the cats to have a "safe" area to go, but at the same time want them to be able to leave the fenced in area if desired.

Also, Midnight, my favorite Tom (who is so gorgeous and used to me a very loving and affectionate cat)....was on the prowl every so often, for days at a time and came back with an injured leg. His tail looked like it had been caught in something and his left back hind area crushed in. My mind thinking he looked like something had grabbed his tail and he was dragged underneath a door or something similar.

I took him to the local vet (who saw me as a charity case and only charged me $20). Vet said that he would get better but would always be lame. Well, Midnight now kind of hops when he runs and stays mainly on the front porch. I caught one of my other Toms, cat fighting with Midnight in the mud the other day. I quickly broke it up. Midnight was covered head to foot in mud. He has been terrified of this particular Tom, even before this incident and whenever the other gets even close by Midnight retreats to his carrier on the porch. He was so afraid that he was even doing his business on the porch. Its gotten so, Ive had to place a litter pan out there just for him.

All this is say that I plan to make another shelter in addition to the dog house just for Midnight and his "girlfriend" Scaridy Cat. She loves on him and is in fact the only other cat he lets get so close. Any ideas as to what to do to help Midnight also appreciated.

Sorry, I know this is an extremely long post.....Thanks guys!