Shelter, food, and water are
especially important to stray and feral cats in cold weather
No matter how resourceful outdoor
cats are, they need help surviving winter. Follow our tips for making sure your
local outdoor cats have shelter, food, and water during the cold months.
Step
1: Give outdoor cats shelter from the cold
Yes, their thickened winter coats
help stray and feral cats (often called "community cats") weather
winter’s chill, but they still need warm, dry, well insulated, and
appropriate-sized shelters.
It’s cheapest to build your own
shelters, and there are many plans and instructions that can help you get started.
How
to get help building your outdoor-cat shelter
A shelter-building party can be a
fun weekend project! Ask your friends, neighbors, and coworkers to join in. Try
contacting local youth groups to find out if they will help build shelters as a
service project.
Where
to find materials for your outdoor-cat shelter
You may find inexpensive or free
materials by asking building-supply stores or contractors if they have scrap
lumber. Ask friends, neighbors, and coworkers for used dog houses, which can be
modified to make good shelters. You can even use a storage bin from the local hardware store.
Creating a life-saving shelter for
outdoor cats is easy and inexpensive.
Why
size matters with cat shelters
A shelter must trap the cats’
body heat to warm its interior. If the shelter is too large, it will be
difficult for the cats' body heat to keep the space warm.
What
to put in your outdoor-cat shelter
Straw is the best material to put in
a shelter because it allows cats to burrow. Pillowcases loosely stuffed with
packing peanuts and shredded newspaper also work.
Keep things clean: Replace straw and
newspaper if moist or dirty and wash and re-stuff pillowcases as needed.
However, if it’s really cold where
you live and you can’t check on the shelters regularly, don’t use the
above insulations. “Wallpaper” the shelter’s inner walls and floor with Mylar.
It reflects back body heat, and it’s okay for cats to lie on it.
What
NOT to put in your outdoor-cat shelter
Don’t use blankets, towels, or
folded newspaper; they absorb body heat and chill cats who are lying on them.
Forego hay, too, which may irritate noses and cause allergic reactions.
Step
2: Give outdoor cats food and water
Where
to place food and water
Protect outdoor cats from hunger and
thirst this winter by keeping their food and water from freezing.
If you can do so without
compromising the privacy and security of the shelter, place food and water near
the shelter so the cats won’t have to travel far.
A way to protect food and water is
to place two shelters—doorways facing each other—two feet apart. Then
create a canopy between them by securing a wide board from one roof to the
other. Then put the food and water under the canopy.
How
to keep outdoor cats' food and water from freezing
What you put food and water in can
make a difference. A thick plastic water container that’s deep and wide
is better insulated than a thin plastic or ceramic container. A
solar-heated water bowl can prevent or delay water and canned food from
freezing.
If shelters are well insulated, you
can put bowls of dry or moist food inside them but far from the doorway. Even
if the moist food freezes, the cats’ body heat will defrost it when they hunker
down in their shelter.
Don’t put water bowls inside the
shelter. Water is easily spilled, and a wet shelter will feel more like a
refrigerator than a warm haven.
To
TNR or not to TNR outdoor cats in winter?
Don't
attempt TNR activities in the winter unless you can return the cats
to a warm shelter
People may be concerned about
Trap-Neuter-Return during winter because they worry about releasing females who
have had their stomachs shaved for surgery. But winter trapping has its
advantages. There are far fewer pregnant cats, which makes for a less
complicated surgery, and you’ll prevent the birth of many kittens come spring,
when the majority are born.
Before you start winter trapping,
however, you must ensure that the cats will have adequate shelter when you
return them to their territory. If you've followed the directions above,
they'll be in good shape.
Originally posted http://www.humanesociety.org
Nov. 26, 2013
