Best location for feral cat house

[BuNNyinin]

I have a mom and 4 youngster feral cats I have been feeding since mid summer. Now that it is cold I am working on putting out a house for them. However, I am unsure of where to place the house. I have read that it should be in a sunny spot. The best sunny spot I have right now is in my back yard where my dogs go out. I have another location but it is on the front side of the house. I did not think this would work since anytime I leave the house I might scare them away but it would have better protection from weather in the front because it could be under part of the house. It would also be closer to where I feed them. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Jcatbird]

Would the dogs scare them or chase them? If so, that is eliminated. Coming and going may scare them too but if they are in the shelter then maybe not. Which place is safest for them? Take into consideration card, predators and the location being protected from wind and as warm as possible if winters are cold. You can raise a shelter up a little if needed. Being too close to the feeding area may also attract predators. Do the kitties tend to hang out somewhere now? They may be able to help you decide by showing you where they like to be. I also had shelters and I liked having one close to an electrical outlet for the heated house and pad. If you end up with the shelter near cars, get into the habit of naming on your car hood every time you get in to drive anywhere. Cats love to get near a warm engine and that’s a problem. I got my hood and tap the ignition before actually starting my car each time I get in it. I understand the advantages of a sunny spot but there are other ways to give heat if needed. Thank you for giving them shelter! If you still can’t decide, some photos may help others here to understand the location and to give you some tips. Please keep us posted!

 

[BuNNyinin]

Yes the dogs would chase them and have. I have a short fence up around part of the flowerbed where the feral cats come in and out of the back yard so they sunbath but this area has no protection. They do not seem to be afraid of cars to much as they travel back and forth from my house to a neighbor across the street and down the street. We all feed them. In the front they would be better protected from the wind and rain/snow since the wind comes from the west which is the backyard side of my house. And my house has an overhang under the living window that is pretty low to the ground but not so low. This spot would be a perfect fit for a styrofoam cooler house. It would be protected from the weather.

They hang out at the empty rental house next door. When the guy lived there he was taking care of them after momma had the babies. But now that it is back up for rent I do not know what new people will do. So this is really not an option to put something over there.

 

[game misconduct]

maybe you can adopt them all and get them to be indoor cats ? the next tenant might be a cat hater and/or see them as an issue and want to remove them. or worse calling animal control to trap them