Question about the cold weather

We always keep our kitties inside only, so I cannot answer this question, but I know that others can and will!

Mine are indoors only. I feel bad enough having to let my dogs out to go potty for 5 minutes!

It won't hurt them, but certainly they'd be more comfortable sleeping inside, don't you think?

I would go and turn off the heat lamp and instead buy a pet heating pad or a heated cat bed. I have a tent on the porch that is warmed by a pet heating pad and I keep it on all winter. The barn cats sleep there all the time. I check the cord every two days to be sure no hot spots are developing or other problems, and of course the heating pad is not on top of the bedding but a little bit underneath. The heat lamp will burn the kittens as will a human heating pad, but a heated cat bed or a pet heating pad is the way to go.

" my worry is, that they come in when we get home from work and spend about 4-5 hours in the nice warm house, then go outside to sleep - does the drastic change of temp harm them?"


I have had many cats over my lifetime. 2 in particular were indoor/outdoor and spent many hours out in the cold at night.

One was Nana Boy who lived to the ripe age of 19 years. He would often be out all night in Massachussetts weather!! (And in an aside, his favorite method of waking us up to get in if he didn't come by
the time we went to sleep, was to climb to the 2nd story and walk the
gutters YEOWLING at the windows for "IN NOW". LOL. We never
figured out how he got up there. No trees or anything near by. Maybe
he shimmed up the drain pipes!)

He often was out in those temps - we never MADE him sleep outside,
but if we went to bed and he would not come in.... he then slept in
a box in the garage unless he yeowled enough for us
to wake up, then we threw up the window and let him in... (not heated either like yours is!)

My current senior, Diablo is 16 years old. He was indoor outdoor freely
and also spend in his youth many whole nights out side in the cold
weather of Troy, NY (upstate) and Northern Virginia....

I am SURE he had shelter out there, don't know where
tho! But my point - he is now 16 and okay. (Of course now he doesn't
go out much anymore at all!! Arthritis has him in its cruel grip).

And he always had a pet flap to the house.

My current feral, Maj. Grey is just begining to do this few hours in,
the go out for night cycle, and yes I like to keep him in when I can,
but he prefers out...soooo... out he goes. (Tho shelter is available
in my yard, heated with snuggle disks and emergency heat packs.)

I don't worry about him, other than if he is sick with URI, in which
case I'd keep inside for a night or two of recovery...

Cats can handle quite low temperatures if they have food and a warm place to go to when they want to. 30F is a piece of cake.