How You Can Help Feral & Outdoor Cats Stay Warm In Winter

People who do trap-neuter-return (TNR) work or just care for feral and stray cats know having a warm place to take shelter can greatly improve cats' chances of survival.  People who have cats who spend a lot of time outdoors may worry how to make sure they stay warm if they don't come inside at night.  A simple answer to these issues is to provide one or more insulated cat shelters.  Although you can buy kits, this is generally a do-it-yourself project, and can be daunting for people who aren't used to building things or can't spend much money.  They may have seen shelters made of wood and including electric heat. However, there are ways to make a cat shelter easily from simple materials, and you can spend less that $10.  Here's how:

Thanks to a tip from Mousebreath Magazine,  I've learned that Rubbermaid provides instructions on how to make low-cost cat shelters and subsidizes them by selling their Roughneck tubs at discount prices.  They also accept donations to provide their tubs to charitable organizations.  Check out the article on Rubbermaid shelters at Mousebreath for more information. 

For a really cheap alternative, try asking local restaurants to donate a free Styrofoam packing case.  They can be used, as long as they're clean.  Get some straw or packing peanuts, glue, duct tape and contact paper, and you can put together the shelter using the instructions from Animalkind, Inc. of Hudson County, NY. As they note, this would also be a great project for a Scout troop, civic organization, class or even just your family and friends. 

In a pinch, you can line a 5 gallon plastic bucket or a cardboard box covered by a plastic trash bag with lots of straw that kitties can burrow into.  This is not a long-term solution, but can make a big difference for one a couple cold nights.

Of course, extra-cold weather can chill these shelters.  You can spend varying amounts of money and effort improving them, adding features like door flaps, lining them with heat-reflective Mylar blankets (also known as "space blankets" and available for under $3,) and adding various kinds of warming features like inexpensive polyester "Purr Pads" to outdoor-rated electric heating pads. A great amount of information on how to build and insulate different types of cat shelters on the outstanding Neighborhood Cats feral cat winter shelter page.  There is also a great article from the ASPCA on the Petfinder.com page here.

Remember, it's also important that outdoor animals have access to water that is not frozen.  Neighborhood Cats also has a Preventing Water from Freezing page providing many methods for keeping water liquid in the cold, ranging from heated water bowls to small Styrofoam boxes to old tires. In fact the whole Neighborhood Cats site is chock-full of useful information, and if you can't make a shelter yourself, you can even donate to them there.

And finally, for some creative inspiration, check out the entries for a design contest for architects to make shelters for New York City stray cats.  Now that's staying warm in style!

A list of some commercial bedding products that can help keep kitties warm can be found here, and don't forget to check our my series on general winterizing for animals.  Here's wishing you and yours a warm, safe winter, and thanks for thinking of your feral cat friends!