Neighbors Provide Cats with Shelter

There is a gray cat that comes to visit my yard daily; this cat belongs to a neighbor that resides two blocks away. Normally the weather is mild and the cat can play or sleep in my yard, but yesterday the lightning, hail and wind storm was fierce and occurred an hour after this tabby came to visit.

Rain Clouds rolling in

Happy cat in the garden 

My husband says “Sylvester is in the yard and he will never make it home before the storm." We agreed to provide the neighborhood cat with shelter in our garage. My husband picked up the cat and runs through the rain, I follow with a bowl, water and fresh pan of litter. When the neighbors’ cat was safe in the garage I called his people to let them know he was okay. They had no idea that there was a storm because they were at work and thought their cat could find their way home or take shelter in brush or under somebody’s deck or porch.

I told them that the weather was very bad, strong wind, hail, and rain and that my garage was the best shelter for the cat. That we would let their cat out when the storm passed. My neighbor said okay.

Neighborhood cat brought kittens to our garage for shelter 

Know that our roof and car had hail damage from this storm. It was very bad and I am thankful that the neighbor's cat was in my garage. 

My other neighbor two doors down always leaves her garage open about 18 inches so cats can take shelter when the weather is bad.  

Do you provide neighborhood cats with shelter in an emergency?

K&H Verses Wooden Cat House Comparison

We take care of a few stray and feral cats and because our winters can be long and cold we did buy K&H outdoor cat houses.  The cat houses are great but they were not intended for large cats or for setting up in an open space in the yard. 

Here is my review of the heated thermal cat house and the birchwood manor

The roof after one light rain. This house needs to be set up on a
a porch that has a covering or in a garage or cool basement.

If you plan on setting up the K&H cat house in your garage, shed, workshop, or on a covered porch then this lightweight outdoor cat shelter will serve its purpose. But you cannot set it up in the middle of your yard.  It just does not hold up well in wind rain or snow.  

The K & H cat house is easy to assemble; it goes together quickly and stays together with heavy-duty Velcro. It has a heated pad with a fleece cover that is nice too, but this house needs weather protection and it is not meant for the cat to sit on top of it because the house will flatten like a pancake. 

Also, the thermo K&H kitty house needs to be protected from the wind as it can easily be uplifted.

In comparison to the above-mentioned K & H  cat house, we liked their birchwood manor outdoor houses.  It's made from wood and is more durable.  You can set it up anywhere and this house is heavier and withstand, wind, sleet, and snow. 

We set this house up against a hard service; backside of my garage or privacy wooden fence. This location blocks the wind. We also lift the wood cat house up by putting it on cement blocks, this keeps the rain runoff away from the entrance and also keep snow out of the cavity. 

The birch cat house is built well, treated with water protection, and will withstand the weather.  We added a hefty layer of straw to keep the stray cats warm this winter. 

When it comes to choosing a heated or unheated cat house by K&H we choose the birchwood for outdoor usage and the Thermo kitty with a heated pad for the garage or for our covered porch. 

Note: The only thing that was lacking in both houses was the overall size.  Both cat houses could be a tad larger as large cats like a Main Coon have difficulty getting into this cat house.

My Garage Keeps Outdoor Cats Warm in Winter

 Feral cats and outdoor cats need protection from the winter weather.  One way to keep the cats warm in winter is provide them with a section in your garage for shelter. 


As a colony caregiver to 10 feral cats, I provide the cats with igloo cat houses and insulated kitty tubes that are overstuffed with straw.  I set the cat houses in my garage shelter  

Straw Cat bed in Heated Garage Shelter

 
Tonight's weather forecast is calling for two feet of show and I need to set up the garage shelter so feral cats will be warm.  I will provide extra straw bedding for the cats and heat the garage during the night hours when the temperature drops to the single digits with a wind chill of -5.  

To heat the garage overnight we are setting up the kerosene heater in the center of the room.  The cat igloos are off to the side a good 7 feet away from the heater. 

The feral and stray cats have been coming into the garage through the kitty door that I installed and are accustomed to the heater as I use it often during the winter when I am doing hobbies.   The cats will sneak in and hide while I work in the back of the garage.

What I like about this kerosene heater is that it heats up a 1000sqr foot room and it is easy to ignite the 1.9 gallon fuel which provides heat for 10 hours.  Whenever we light this heater either my husband and I will spend the night in the garage,  We will work on crafts or I will tend to my greenhouse garden but we never leave this heater unattended.


Tonight the cats in the garage will be warm and cozy. I will ignite the heater at 11 pm and it will heat the garage until 5 am. My husband is working in the garage during that time frame to make sure that the cats are safe.  Then the sun will come out and the rays will heat the southern side of the garage. 

Feral Cat sleeping in straw bed inside garage shelter

During the day we will use an electric garage heater. The heater is mounted to the wall and it provides heat to the back section of the garage. The heater has a built-in thermostat and will turn off when it reaches that temperature.  

This garage heater will take the chill out of a space of 500 feet. I can work comfortably in the garage as long as I have a polar fleece jacket on and the cats are comfortable in their beds of straw.

Garage Ceiling-Mount 5000 Watt Electric Heater

Note from Author:

My husband and I are feral cat colony caregivers, we feed, trap, and get the cats medical care.  Some cats are socialized and adopted into forever homes and the other wild feral cats live in a colony.  We watch over the cats and we protect them from harm.  We work together to save the feral, stray, and abandoned cats in our community.

Heatwave Shelters for Feral Cats

 It is difficult to provide shelter for feral cats during a heatwave.  Feral cats are creatures of habit and if they are accustomed to hiding in runoff ditches, sewers, hollow trees, and branch thickets then they won't enter an air-conditioned shelter.  

If the feral cat is able to dig a den under a large pile of branches the cat may be able to keep cool, if they have access to a deck that has a large mass of leaves underneath it the cat can burrow into the leaves and the earth may provide protection from the scorching sun.  

Many feral cats will seek overgrown shrubs or gardens as a shelter.  The leaves and plant life will not provide them with protection from the intense sun and the cat will suffer. 

Cat lovers and colony caregivers must watch the cats closely and take extra steps to care for the feral cats.  In many cases, you will need to provide the cats with outdoor shelter and plenty of water.

Outdoor Shelter For Cats

The best way to care for cats during a heatwave is to provide shelter for the outdoor cats. Buy igloo-insulated cat houses and fill them with straw.  Or buy a wood-insulated cat house and again fill it with straw. 

 The straw will provide the cat with a soft surface to lie on and is similar to what they lie on outdoors.  Set the insulated shelter in an area that is shaded; under a tree, under shrubs.

Here are photos of my outdoor cat shelters 

I provided the feral, stray, and other outdoor cats with air-conditioned shelter.  My old garage is used as a shed/shelter for the cats.  

I have installed a cat door and added a window unit air conditioner and an industrial fan to circulate the air.

The shed/shelter is open to cats from 6 am to 8 pm and then the door must be shut due to area wildlife.   

The shed/shelter has cat houses that have straw bedding and there are 3 to 4 bowls of fresh water for the cats so they can keep hydrated. 

My neighbor opened his garage door one foot to allow two feral cats an escape from the heat on a day when the heat index reached 104.  He told me that the cats hid under his car and drank some water.  

The feral cats caused no disturbance and exited the garage when the sunset.  If you choose to allow the feral and stray cats shelter from the heat in your garage then leave the cats alone. 

 If you enter the area where cats are there they will run away because they are afraid of you or they will climb the walls to try to get away from you.   It is best to leave the door open wide enough so the cat can come and go. 

Consider installing a cat door.

Do not attempt to touch the feral or stray cats and keep children and other pets away from them. Remember that they are wild animals and they are afraid of humans, if they are put in an uncomfortable situation they will react by scratching because they are terrified of humans.  

Hydration

Keep outdoor cats hydrated by setting up water stations under shade trees, under awnings, and close to shrubs.  Check the water bowls several times during the day.  

Add fresh water to the bowls so that the water stays cool and does not become hot from the intense heat. Check outdoor bird baths and fountains to make sure they are at the correct water levels.  

Set up a soaking hose in your shade garden and allow it to drip slowly during the late afternoon.  A feral cat will lick the water from the hose to keep hydrated.  They will also lie in the garden that is being watered as it is a way to keep cool.

Colony Cat Lucy

 

The feral cat I call Lucy has been under my watchful eye since 2008.  She refused to enter the shed this year and tried to stay cool in the colony thicket.  She was in the habit of coming to my yard at 5:30 in the afternoon for a bite to eat and a drink of water. She should have stayed inside her thicket but she ventured out in the heat of the day for food and water.


Lucy’s routine is to lie in my hosta garden. 

I set up a fan to provide a continuous garden breeze.  I also set up a soaking hose and watered this particular garden from 4 to 5 daily.  It was the only method that I knew of that would provide this feral cat with some relief.  

I fed Lucy canned food mixed with 1/4 cup of water.  I did this to make sure that she had fluid.  There were many days during the heatwave that I thought that Lucy would not make it.  But she proved me wrong and survived the unbearable heat.

Notes 

Feral and stray cats will go into the sewers during heatwaves and extreme cold.  The sewer is not a safe haven for cats and colony caregivers should provide their cats with alternative shelters. 

Outdoor cats are accustomed to the heat and thus your air conditioner should not be cold, set it at 84 and the cat will be comfortable.