Keeping Feral Cats Water from Freezing

This week our weather is extreme and the temperature has gone down to 22 degrees below zero. Even on bitterly cold winter days, we take care of the feral and stray cats... it's caretaking as usual except when the temperature is extreme we have a  hard time at preventing their water from freezing.  After trial and error, I did learn that heavy rubber livestock feed bowls are the best choice for keeping feral cats' water from freezing.

Thin plastic like Tupperware or metal is not a good choice for outdoor cats during winter, the metal holds the cold and the water freezes very quickly. I was going outdoors to check the cat's water every two hours. I would take along 2 gallons of hot water to melt the ice in the bowl then I would fill the bowl with room temperature water. 

When the roads opened up we went to the Tractor Supply store and bought the heavy black 100 % rubber 2-gallon bowl. I filled it with room-temperature water because it doesn't freeze as quickly as hot water.  Look for the heavy rubber bowl in the livestock section.  Know that there is a strong rubber smell and that the smell fades over time.

When the outdoor temperature was 10 degrees the water that was on the south side of the house and in the sun did not freeze. However, the bowl was fully frozen within 4 hours when the sunset and temperature went to 4 degrees.  The sun warms the rubber which prevents the water from freezing.

Note: The cats were able to break the shallow ice on the top and get the water below.  

Know that the water in this rubber bowl still freezes but not as quickly as plastic or metal.

 

I check the rubber bowl every 4 to 6  hours during the daylight and my husband makes sure the bowl is ice-free at 1OPM. If the ice is thin on top we will break it up and add cold water to the bowl.

No worries when removing the ice from the rubber bowl, it's easy to remove and the rubber does not crack.

NOTE: The best water source for feral or stray cats would be running water as in a garden pond with a waterfall, moving water does not freeze but if your weather is extreme and temps below zero all water will freeze. I have seen the feral cats break up the thin ice in the garden pond with a waterfall to get to the water below.

Also, electrically heated water bowls are a good way to prevent the feral stray cat's water from freezing.  

Caring For Injured Outdoor Cat

We rescued one of our TNR cats because he was injured, limping due to a large wound on his leg. A humane animal trap had to be used to catch this cat and while the kitty was in the trap I contacted my neighbor and she said she would call her veterinarian. The cat was rushed to the veterinarian for medical care.

Photo of Sylvester the cat.

Sylvester the cat was at the veterinarian hospital for a week and is now recovering in my heated garage for the next ten days. You would not know that there was a cat in this garage because it is hiding behind boxes. Occasionally there is a meow but other than that no cat can be seen.

I stayed in the garage for an hour to set up the insulated cat house with new self-heated bed, then added an elevated chair with a cat bed that was directly under the heat lamp. I also filled a litter pan with feline pine and set up a feeding station with dry cat kibble and a fresh bowl of water. When all my tasks were completed I turned to face where the cat was hiding and found that he came out and was sitting behind me. He showed no aggression and this is a good sign.

No medication needs to be administered only rest until wounds heal. We thought two weeks but have changed our minds due to the coyote in our neighborhood and decided it would be best to socialize the cat to be more friendly with humans so we could put him up for adoption.

My neighbor who helps me with the neighborhood cats told me that if I could socialize him then she would take him. Hoping that there is a happy ending for this rescued cat.

Why Cats Should Live Indoors

This week I was asked if I thought it was best for the cat to live indoors and

normally I would say yes to this because so many cats are left out of the house with NO supervision and these cats are in danger of being chased by a dog, tormented by people and getting into fights with cats that are diseased; Feline Leukemia or Feline Immunodeficiency.

When a cat lives indoors one does not have to worry about a cats outdoor behavior. Cats are more aggressive when living outdoors. They have to be cautious at all times.

I have heard both sides this topic and what I heard was positive and the negative. Many people believe that cats are meant to go outside to urinate and to have access to nutritious grass. That a walk around the block for a cat keeps them happier and healthier. Other pet owners told me that “when I go to work the cat goes outdoors, that my cat loves going outdoors and the cat is current with vaccines, then there should be now worries. Followed by my cat has claws, can climb a tree or fight off a dog

It is a good thing that your cat is up-to-date with vaccines including feline Leukemia then your cat will not be infected if it gets into a fight with a diseased cat, but it does not mean your cat will not get FIV. There is a vaccine for FIV but most veterinarians do not vaccinate cats because the vaccine will show a false positive for the rest of the cats life. Lets say your cat is lost and is found and they test it for immunodeficiency feline disease at shelter, your cats results are positive, you know it is false due to the vaccine, but shelter does not. Most shelters euthanize sick cats.

Cats have claws but a large dog can overpower them and a two or more dogs are no match for a cat with claws. My neighbors cat was killed by two stray dogs in the yard, her claws were no match to the dogs and she had no access to a tree or getting back into the house because the owner had shut the door, it was a nice day and they thought the cat would like being outdoors for a few hours.

Know that this same neighbor who let their cats out unsupervised lost another cat because it was hit by a car. That’s two cats in less than a year. Even though my neighbor has lost two cats in a year, he still lets his other cat out of the house unsupervised.

There are other concerns that a cat owner should be aware of and that is kids that torment cats. Kids will be kids and some kids are not nice to cats. They torment them and some kids and adults are down right mean to cats. People that do not like your cat doing their business in their garden may poison your cat. It has happened before in my neighborhood, so I advice everybody to supervise the outdoor cat or keep the indoors.

Yes there are positive and negatives to cats being allowed to go outdoors. I take my cat Leo outdoors with me. He has free roam of the backyard and I watch him. I also take Leo for a walk around the block. My cat is fitted with a harness and I use a light weight extension leash. The harness and leash is great because if need be I can pick Leo up and protect him from dogs that are not on a leash.

So there you have it, my recommendations on why a cat should be kept indoors.

No Kill Pet Shelter Review

No kill shelters are popping up all over where I reside and to be honest I knew very little about them. I did research online to learn more about the policies and procedures at this type of an organization. When my research was completed I contacted the director of no kill pet shelter in the 4-state area where I reside.

Best to find adopters for cats, but if no adopters are available are No kill shelters the right choice?

I informed the director of this no kill animal facility that I oversaw a private cat rescue group that trapped feral, stray and abandoned cats for veterinarian care and then if we rehabilitate the cats to be people friendly before seeking adopters for the cats.  I informed her that we were left with four cats that were not adopted due to their age (mature cats). I inquired about the policies and procedures for the no kill shelter for surrendering a cat.

I let the director know that all cats were current with vaccines, they were sterilized and along with revolution application all cats had microchip.   Each cat costs us $149. for their medical needs.  All of the upfront expense had been taken care of.  I expected a $50 surrender fee for processing of paperwork.  To my surprise the director of the no kill shelter told me that  my upfront costs per each cat surrendered to the shelter would be approximately $275. (this is an in take fee)

Additionally I must provide each animal with their own cage, cat bed, cats toys and current medial records, all cats must have heartworm and flea preventive and they must be bathed, groomed and have collar with rabies tag and pet identification tag and copy of current medical records.  The shelter director said that cats will feel more comfortable in their own cages and bed.

After the surrender costs I would then have to pay  a monthly pet maintenance to cover food, heartworm medication as well as service fee for the workers to care for my pet until the cat is adopted.  

I asked if there was a fee for the adoption of my cats and she responded that there was a $60.00 placement fee for all pets adopted at the no kill shelter.  So I needed to pay a surrender fee of $275. per cat, plus monthly fees on average $40 to $60 to maintain the health and well being of my cat until they were adopted and then the adopter had to pay a $60. fee for the processing of paperwork and the cat.   

When I asked what occurs if the pet owner skips or can no longer pay the monthly fees the response was if any money was left over they would provide for the animal.  

If you are considering a facility like this I would recommend that you ask a lot of questions and inquire about the surrender fees at the no kill pet shelter.

Learn more about no kill shelters by viewing this YouTube.com News video.

Gray Cat at My Door is Injured

Not sure why cats find their way to my house but they do.  Our home is at the bottom of steep hill and it backs up 29 acres of dense woods with creek in the valley.  There is nothing around except a dead end street where cats and dogs are usually abandoned.   It should not surprise me but it always does when an animal finds its way to my side door. 

Tonight a large mature cat shows up at my side door and knew to scratch at the screen. I opened the door expecting to find my own cat wanting to come inside but instead there is a large gray and white cat sitting in front of the door looking at me.

My first reaction to this cat is to think that it is lost. So I turn on the porch light and go out to see if there is a collar and hopefully an identification tag. No such luck, this big boy with the shiny coat is well fed and I suspect either abandoned or lost.

I went indoors  to get some food and a bowel of water and set the cat bowls off to the side and that is when I realized that this cat was injured. His left hind leg is hurt because he is limping.

I called out to my husband and he examines the cats paw  to see if something is embedded but he said that the paw bed looked fine and he suspected cat got hurt in a fall or a fight with another cat. But again no bite or puncture wounds were noticed.  Maybe cat tried to climb a tree to get away from danger and fell?    We do not know but we both agree that this kitty that is injured must spend the night in our heated garage. 

 At this point we have no idea if this is somebody’s cat from the joining neighborhood.  All we know is that the cat is hurt and it is best that he is not spending the night outdoors tonight when coyote are in the area.  So there is another kitty that has found us and is of need of help.  We will do our best to care for him and hopefully we can locate his owner.

If you do not have a identification tag for your cat then I recommend this one. You can personalize it with your contact information.  If gray cat had a tag he would be home with his people tonight, instead of in my garage.

Cute identification tags for cats | Personalizable Pet ID Tags 

Heat Wave - Keeping Feral Cats Cool Naturally

Feral Cat lies next to mud

Feral cats are generally skittish about entering a garage or shed for shelter, however, some feral cats will enter an outdoor igloo house that is hidden behind shrubs.  

Many feral cats will take shelter by lying on the mulch in your garden, under a low hanging shrub or they will lie in-between the leaves of your plants.  


These foliage type shelters are no match to the scorching summer sun especially if your area has an extreme heat advisory.

Over the years I have tried many methods to keep the feral cat's body cool but none of my methods worked. The only method that works for a feral cat is derived from nature and it is mud.  Making a muddy area in your yard will provide outdoor cats with a comfortable resting place.  Mud is a natural way to lower a cat’s body temperature and to keep them cool during a heat wave or drought.

I take the woodland feral cats their food and water daily by hiking to their colony.   While at the colony  I count the cats to make sure all are present and I check them for health concerns and for stress.  In the morning when it is cool an average of 76 degrees the cats are resting and there is no stress but in the afternoon at 5:00 feeding I have noted that the cats are breathing hard and they are panting. 

 

My husband and I decided to coax the feral cats out of the woods to our yard.  I achieved this by moving the feeding station closer to my yard.  By the 5^th day, the feeding station was set up in my heavily shaded yard. I choose an area close to my Hosta garden that is shaded from two mature Oak Trees and one Silver Maple tree.  

There is morning sun followed by shade the rest of the day.  Which means the temperature is good 20 degrees cooler.  In this area, I created a mud bath for the feral cats.  Since my outdoor water is restricted I saved the bath and shower water.  I filled buckets of water and dumped the water into a rain barrel.  This water is used daily to create a muddy area for the feral cats.  

In order to provide the cats with an all afternoon natural cooling mud, I wet the ground until the top 3 inches of soil is muddy.  I then keep the top soil moist by setting the sprinkler on a slow drip from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

The feral cats came into my yard and lay on the wet ground.  They slept comfortable because the wet mud lowered their body temperature.  I provided the cats with fresh water and set up a feeding station off to the side of their resting area.

Fiskars5998 Salsa 58-Gallon Rain Harvesting System

Note:

Another way to keep feral cats cool naturally is to take old carpets and lay them out in a densely shaded area close to the cat’s colony or in your yard.  Use your garden hose to wet the carpets.  (Drench the carpets with water.)These wet carpets will provide the cats with comfort.

To conserve on water during the drought I recycle all indoor water into a rain barrel and use this water to wet the ground.

I also choose to not water my lawn and my back gardens.  By doing this I will be able to provide the cats with a slow drip from the garden hose when the rain barrel runs dry.

Farm animals lie in mud during the hot summer months to keep their body temperature cool, thus this natural method works.

Caring for Cat after Miscarriage

Care for your cat after the miscarriage by setting up a safe room.  This room should be a small room like an office or a guest bathroom. The room will allow the cat privacy in a tranquil setting without the worry of being chased by the family dog or in a room with family activity.  Now is the time for her to heal and to do that she will need some privacy.  If you do not have other animals it is still wise to keep the cat quite and to confine them so that there is no climbing or jumping excessively.  The cat that has had a miscarriage needs to rest and regain their strength.

Set up the safe room to have a cat bed, litter box and food and water and a cat scratching post.    You can also add optional items like a window seat.  Keep the safe room thermostat at a comfortable setting as you do not want the cat to be too cold or too hot. For the next five weeks your cat will need rest and relaxation with no stress.

You can help her with the healing process by attending to her needs; keep her litter box clean, her bedding clean and disinfect her safe room with a vinegar and water cleanser. After a miscarriage the cat is weak and it is easy for her to get sick.  Take steps to rid the room of germs.  Before you enter the playroom wash your hands with antibacterial soap and take off your shoes.

Feed your cat a high quality canned cat food as this food will help to keep her hydrated and always give her fresh clean water.  

Spend time quality time with the cat by holding her, petting her and talking to her softly.  Never be aggressive with her and do not speak loudly. Keep with the routine and avoid change. Your cat will feel stress if you put her in another room or if you avoid visiting her.  A nurturing lifestyle is needed to help your cat heal after a miscarriage.

Tips:

Care for your cat after their miscarriage by cleaning them.  Watch your cat for the first 24 hours for any discharge of blood.  Report to your veterinarian if there is a discharge as this may be sign that there may be  kittens remaining.  If that is the case your cat will need emergency veterinarian care. (Light spotting 24 hours after the miscarriage is normal.)

Communicate with your veterinarian by informing them of the cat miscarriage. Ask your veterinarian for specific instructions.  The veterinarian may want to examine your cat, if so take your cat in for medical care.

Plan on getting the cat spayed in four to five weeks or when your veterinarian tells you it is safe.

Monitor the visitors, by supervising young children; allow them to hold and to pet the cat gently.  Keep all other household pets away from the cat as she may feel anxious or feel stress.  

Do not allow the cat to go outdoors.  A cat that has had a miscarriage will go into heat a few days after miscarriage.  Now is not the time to breed her.  Now is the time for your cat to heal and to get healthy.