If I show this to my neighbor, he's going to want you to build one of these for his adult kid who's living with him.

Thank you for caring and making this guys life better

Very nice. I am sure he watches his six but coons and skunks I believe are very skilled cat killers. As are owls.

I would contact a local recue about help with getting him fixed. They will supply a very good trap and a place to take him to get fixed. I went through this with our outdoor feral cat seven or eight years ago. She is still a very important part of our homestead and family. She gets regular water and food and has a heated shop as her home. Loves our dogs and one of our domesticated cats.

Good for you. He is very handsome.

That is awesome!

My wife and I have 11, yes....11 inside cats, but we also take care of 4 outside cats. They’ve been around our house for close to three years now.

They showed up three years ago with their mom, who seemed to drop them off, then left town! They were so small they could climb through a chain link fence.

I’ve built three insulated shelters for them, like the one you have inside the one you just built. Two of them have the heated pads in them and they are kept under our small back porch. The other is a heavily insulated outside dog shelter that is near the back fence. They use this one when the weather is nice. When it warms up, I unplug the heated pads for the others.

I need to build a large food feeding station, like the one you have next to your shelter.

I love the shelter you built, but it won’t fit under the crawl space of our porch.

What about ventilation in the summer?

You did good. I feed 3 (or 4) feral outdoor cats--3 are regular and come every day, and they are never very far from my yard; the 4th is just now showing up occasionally. Of the 3 regulars, 2 will allow me to pet them (briefly) and don't try to scratch me--the other just avoids my reach (she is the mother of 4 of my indoor cats, one of which died several years ago). I "inherited" a large doghouse some years ago and it is equipped with a pad and is out of the weather--the outdoor cats curl up together in it. When it is chilly out I have a 100w incandescent lamp I shine into the hut for warmth. The cats seems to like it.

Indoors I have 6 cats. All of my cats--indoor and outdoor--have been neutered (except the newcomer).

flashguy

Our outdoor cats are friendly, well.....two are very friendly. They will come and be petted, rubb8ng their bellies, etc. The other two will come over, but just stay out of touch.

They absolutely love our German Shepherd. They will come over and love on her like crazy. Poor dog has a hard time to her business outside. One of the cats is always clamoring for attention. I swear the dog looks at us and wants to say....I just want to poop!

Three of the four outside cats are fixed; trapped, spayed/neutered and released. The last one is a damn escape artist.

Great cathouse even has a mudroom.
I actually thought building a shelter for a cat we have hanging around but I figured a coon or skunk would be in it.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve in PA:
What about ventilation in the summer?

That's what the Hound Breezer is for.

We've trapped and fixed out FOUR ferrels. They get over it, and it was worth it to know that my feeding them wouldn't create some sort of population explosion.

We feed them every day, a few times a day. My kids are really enjoying it. That's actually how it started. One got named, and then it was all downhill from there. We have a few Styrofoam boxes and one has a heating pad plugged in. We had 6 but one got adopted and one got real sick and had to be trapped and put down.

The latest development is my wife found that "chipped chopped ham" (maybe a local naming thing) is sometimes on sale for $2 a pound. She bought 8 pounds and has been giving them a dose of meat for the winter months.

Ahh but I admit I do like the little flea(tic)bags. Just gotta pickup the food each night so the opossums don't come around. Yuk!

I see a lot of us are taking care of our wild friends. That’s great! I wish more people did but many don’t find it rewarding. I don’t have a single friend or family member that cares enough to invest the time. Too bad for them.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve in PA:
What about ventilation in the summer?

That's what the Hound Breezer is for.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do in the summer. It’s definitely going to be too hot in the interior section for the cat. The window opens and I have a screen for it but I’m concerned about water getting in and damaging the hut over time. That hound breezer looks great (and expensive!) but I don’t want to cut any more holes in the hut. I built it primarily for cold weather protection.

For those rainy summer days, I’m hoping it doesn’t get too warm in the wind-break section. If it’s not raining, he typically stays outside all summer. Here’s his current summer setup:

The new winter set-up is awesome!

I'm also digging the summer lounge

Good on you for looking after the little guy/gal.

Hunter is lucky to have recruited you.

Thank you and more good karma for you than you can handle.

Awesome.

I feed a black one every night. One time, all I had was a can of chicken noodle soup and he ate the whole thing. Givin him tuna, canned cat food and dry food. He eats them all. He got within 4 feet of me and the dish but that was the closest yet. I have waged war on coyotes which come on the property. They know there is some old guy in a car who can still throw rocks pretty far. I have seen that cat run past his dish, grab a mouth full of food as he was scared.

Thank you for being compassionate enough for the cat to build and provide him with a shelter like that.


http://www.khmfg.com/outdoor-kitty-house.html
I have an outside cat, though not feral. I purchased one of these, and placed it in a plastic doghouse on our front porch where there is an electical outlet. He only likes it when its really cold. He has another one in our detached garage , but never ventures out there.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
I'm also digging the summer lounge

He likes it so much, he sometimes sleeps under it

quote:

Originally posted by Sunset_Va:
Thank you for being compassionate enough for the cat to build and provide him with a shelter like that.


http://www.khmfg.com/outdoor-kitty-house.html
I have an outside cat, though not feral. I purchased one of these, and placed it in a plastic doghouse on our front porch where there is an electical outlet. He only likes it when its really cold. He has another one in our detached garage , but never ventures out there.

His heated pad is made by K&H. I'm really happy with it. They make good quality products for pets.

quote:

Originally posted by pessimist:

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
I'm also digging the summer lounge

He likes it so much, he sometimes sleeps under it

You should have given him the box it came in. He'd have become your very best feline friend.