As temperatures drop and winter weather becomes severe, feral cats are increasingly vulnerable to the elements. Lacking appropriate shelter, the cats’ ears, feet, and tails can become frostbitten, possibly leading to disability and infection. You can lend a helping paw to the cats in your neighborhood (they’re probably around even if you don’t see them) by placing a feral cat shelter behind your home or apartment building.
Not sure where to start? Here’s how to build one. I offer a variety of options for all income and skill levels. (Seriously — you can get most of this stuff at your local hardware or big-box store.)
Probably the simplest shelter design I’ve seen is via Neighborhood Cats, an organization dedicated to nationwide trap-neuter-return education and promotion.
Here’s what you’ll need:
A shelter and a heated water bowl can be lifesavers for feral cats in the wintertime. Photo via New York City’s Urban Cat League.
Here’s how to build it, via the CSM Stray Foundation, a nonprofit animal protection group in Queens:
Styrofoam packing boxes make great cat shelters and can be gotten for free at many restaurants. Photo via Urban Cat League.
Here’s a possibly cheaper polystyrene option from Animalkind Inc., a nonprofit rescue organization providing TNR and low-cost spay/neuter in Hudson, New York.
Rubbermaid storage bins insulated with styrofoam and straw can provide cozy quarters for your neighborhood’s strays. Photo via Urban Cat League.
Have some disposable income? It is worth sniffing around Etsy, where you can find cedar feral cat sanctuaries with heated beds or ones that look like cute, well-designed miniature homes. These cost from $120 to $500, though, so when it comes to feral cat shelters, it might be DIY FTW.
Here are more DIY options:
The Urban Cat League feeds and cares for ferals in New York City. It offers illustrated instructions on how to build cat shelters out of materials including polystyrene fish and steak boxes as well as plastic storage bins.
Not comfortable using power tools? Most of the shelters the group suggests are also available for purchase.
Here are a few helpful tips from Petfinder and Neighborhood Cats:
Have you built a feral cat shelter? How are you planning to help the strays in your neighborhood this winter? Share in the comments!
About Angela: This not-crazy-at-all cat lady loves to lint-roll her favorite dress and go out dancing. She also frequents the gym, the vegan coffee joint, and the warm patch of sunlight on the living room floor. She enjoys a good cat rescue story about kindness and decency overcoming the odds, and she’s an enthusiastic recipient of headbutts and purrs from her two cats, Bubba Lee Kinsey and Phoenix.
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Angela Lutz | Nov 15th 2013