Don’t Leave Your Feline Friends Out in the Cold!
As I write this, the temperature outside is in the single digits and there’s a bunch of snow and ice covering everything. My cats and I are warm and toasty in our house, but I can’t help but think of the cats who live outside this time of year. They may have fur coats, but when it gets this cold, that isn’t much protection.
Some people seem to think that outdoor cats are able to be completely self-sufficient. While cats are amazing little survivors, this isn’t completely true. We removed them from their natural habitat (the desert!) thousands of years ago and domesticated them. Now, they count on us primarily for their survival - even feral cats who don’t seek out human contact eat our garbage and find warmth and shelter in and around our buildings. They need us. Our ancestors made it this way, so I think that it’s only decent if we TRY to fulfill at least their most basic needs.
When the temperature outside drops below freezing, a cat without shelter of some kind to provide a windbreak and hold in some of their body heat CAN freeze to DEATH. This isn’t a pleasant way to die. It isn’t quick, and it is painful. If you consider yourself the caretaker of any cat who lives outside, even if it’s a stray or feral cat, please provide them some sort of shelter. It can be very inexpensive and simple, as I’ll explain.
The most inexpensive and effective cat shelter I’ve found is made using a plastic storage bin like ones made by Rubbermaid. It should be big enough for one cat to fit comfortably inside and should have a tight-fitting lid. Cut a hole big enough for the cat to fit through (but not any bigger than necessary) in one side. From here, you can simply fill it with straw for insulation, or you can go a step further and line the inside with styrofoam as additional insulation. Place it outside near where the cat comes to eat, under an overhang of some kind if possible to provide additional protection from the rain and snow. Viola! You have a cat shelter that in most climates should be able to get a cat through the winter.
If you want to get fancier and have the money to spare, insulated dog houses work well also. Some of them are even heated!
Also important this time of year - add some extra food to the food dish! It takes more calories to keep a body warm in cold temperatures, and some extra body fat helps too.
Remember - spay and neuter! If we didn’t have this overpopulation problem, there wouldn’t be so many cats out in the cold!
Stay warm!
This Crazy Cat Lady