We have an elderly cat here; he had been hanging out in our yard for *years*, but would not let us approach him. We left water out, but never left food.
This past summer, he suddenly changed his mind and decided to be-friend us, crawling into milady's lap and allowing scrubbing and such.
I'll make a long story short; after $2000+ of exams and surgery, we know that he has 'lympho-sarcoma'. We've decided against chemotherapy at this point, after discussions with various professionals, but we *are* giving him prednisolone, which has slowed the progress of his 'lumps'.
Anyway, he's still essentially an outdoor cat, having lived there all his life. He won't come in our house at all, due to our three other cats.
So we've been keeping him in the garage, with a soft nest that we made for him, which he is actually using. He spends about half his time outdoors and half in the garage.
Here's my question: we are in Fremont, CA; temps at night have been getting down to upper 30s/lower 40s. The un-insulated garage stays somewhat warmer than that. I was pondering taking a heating pad, put on low setting, and placing it under one of the thick blankets, just to give him a warmer nest at night. However, the docs for this pad say "do not sleep on this pad" in several places; I'm not sure whether that's actually a danger for a cat which can get up if he is uncomfortable.
So I'd just appreciate comments from folks here; is this a Really Bad Idea(tm) ?? or is it reasonable? Has anyone else ever done anything like this??
Truth is, I don't actually know that he's uncomfortable on the cold nights, given that he's been living outside during winter for more than a decade now...
Thank you in advance for any inputs that you provide to me, regardless of whether they are critical or supportive!
Derell Licht
Fremont, CA
This past summer, he suddenly changed his mind and decided to be-friend us, crawling into milady's lap and allowing scrubbing and such.
I'll make a long story short; after $2000+ of exams and surgery, we know that he has 'lympho-sarcoma'. We've decided against chemotherapy at this point, after discussions with various professionals, but we *are* giving him prednisolone, which has slowed the progress of his 'lumps'.
Anyway, he's still essentially an outdoor cat, having lived there all his life. He won't come in our house at all, due to our three other cats.
So we've been keeping him in the garage, with a soft nest that we made for him, which he is actually using. He spends about half his time outdoors and half in the garage.
Here's my question: we are in Fremont, CA; temps at night have been getting down to upper 30s/lower 40s. The un-insulated garage stays somewhat warmer than that. I was pondering taking a heating pad, put on low setting, and placing it under one of the thick blankets, just to give him a warmer nest at night. However, the docs for this pad say "do not sleep on this pad" in several places; I'm not sure whether that's actually a danger for a cat which can get up if he is uncomfortable.
So I'd just appreciate comments from folks here; is this a Really Bad Idea(tm) ?? or is it reasonable? Has anyone else ever done anything like this??
Truth is, I don't actually know that he's uncomfortable on the cold nights, given that he's been living outside during winter for more than a decade now...
Thank you in advance for any inputs that you provide to me, regardless of whether they are critical or supportive!
Derell Licht
Fremont, CA