Cats outside in cold: OK?

[goodhors]

Please be very careful with the heatlamps, warm pads for the animals. An acquaintance had a heat lamp in the garage for the dogs, and it caught his garage, then the house, on fire. Really was a terrible mess, nothing was salvagable.

Being TOO NICE can be dangerous.

Our barn cats do fine in the haystack, food is present all day.
There is usually some rags or a rug to lay on, keeps them insulated. Nights the coons and possums are wandering, so I don’t provide food for them. Water is replaced daily, and there is one heated horse bucket if they want. Usually cats would rather drink from the fish pond with the bubbler. I think all the neighborhood cats visit too, eat food and find water in the barn. You can see them sitting in various spots on the hay, warming up their feet. I think most are nuetered, we don’t have cat fights like we used to and they live longer now.

Ours have lush, flowing coats. The picture of health. I keep telling them they would make great mittens! Deep snow is bothering them a bit, since it is harder work racing to the door. We got about 6-8 inches, depends on where the wind dropped it. Daughter likes to carry them around, telling me it is TOO HARD for them to walk. She likes them laying around her neck as fur stoles!! Our present ones are black dropoffs, look very pretty with snowy sparkles or frost on their hair. No cats lay on the horses, though they visit on the stall walls, touching noses.

I brought the old barn cat inside when she was 12yrs, after healing from a severe injury and vet expenses. Can’t afford to keep an expensive cat outside, they ALWAYS get hit by a car! Very nice cat in all the time we had her, adapted right away to the litter box and sleeping in daughter’s bed! Even takes baths well! She likes looking outside, but NEVER asks to go out. Stays FAR AWAY from the outside doors. She is a guaranteed sleep provider, anyone she sits with, goes right to sleep on the couch. Even if you are not tired! We do tie up the Christmas tree now, she tipped it over exploring her first year inside. She doesn’t have nearly the hair needed for winters outside now. Much prefers the our one velvet pillow as her throne, instead of the old horse cooler of years past.

[Foxyrab]

I make beds for the barn cats out of old insulated coolers as Chief2 suggested, then, for additional warmth, use either a low voltage bed warmer like this: KV Pet & Equine / KV HealthLinks - Dog, Cat and Horse Supplies, Pet Meds and Nutritio (item number 80934 )

Or, a disk called the “Snuggle safe Microwave Heat Pad” that holds heat after being heated in a microwave: Snuggle Safe | Snugglesafe | Heated Pet Beds

[Coobie]

First barn cat I acquired a few years ago right now is curled up on the chair in the kitchen, she only goes out(of the house) to go to the bathroom and then runs back in. Barn cat attempt #1-failed.
Second barn cat that acquired me only about a month ago, right now is curled up in the barn on the hay. She has food and water. She has a fleece dog bed with a 1/4 sheet in it. She also has a big plastic box with a flake of hay shaken out and a cotton leg wrap for cushion. That being said when the storm moved in last night predicting over a foot of snow and nasty winds, she slept in my bedroom last night. Barn cat attempt #2-- on the way to failing!

[Renn_aissance]

As long as they have company, shelter, food, and water, they should be fine. I wasn’t sure from your OP whether or not these cats will cuddle up together, but if they do and they have a fairly insulated area, they should be OK.

Most of our cats–including the rescues and those who were adopted ferals–have the common sense to come in the basement when it’s cold, and in fact we have had a hard time kicking one of them OUT of the basement (see: Fattest Barn Cat thread.) For those who don’t, though, we have a tiny space heater in the barn, and have made up cat beds out of towels and fleece in tupperwares. There’s a water dish by the heater (the outside water dish tends to freeze with very little provocation) and a bowl of food for when the snow piles up higher than the cat’s head and they can’t get up to their normal food shelter. Both are placed in the “chair space” under a desk with a towel strung up on a curtain rod so that we can draw it closed if there’s a draft. They would curl up together in the beds and be just fine. It used to be that we wouldn’t turn the heater on until it got below 20 degrees with wind chill, but now that we only have one cat who refuses to come in the basement (her brother, may he rest in peace, died last year) and she has no one to snuggle with, we kick the heater on a little earlier.

[Huntertwo]

@Thomas_1;3741950

Well we’ve 4 cats and all supposed to be farm cats.

One is lying sprawled on top of the radiator next to me with her head on the phone. One is under the christmas tree playing with the tinsel

Please be sure your cats do not ingest any of the tinsel. This could be deadly as the tinsel acts like a razor and can very easily shred the intestinal tract.

[Huntertwo]

I work with Feral Cats and provide dog houses I bought at Petco. Could that be an option? At least in keeps the body heat contained in a small area.

I use straw as hay tends to get moldy quickly.

The kitties in the cages should be fine - body heat

[Huntertwo]

@Chief2;3741666

Here’s another idea from a friend of mine.
She takes an old, rectangular, plastic hard shell food cooler (large, Igloo type), flips it upside down and cuts a doorway hole in one of the short ends. Then she puts pads/blanketing down in the sheltered corner of her deck, puts the cooler-turned-cat-shelter over the stuffing, and then covers it all with blankets and a plastic tarp, so that just the doorway is open for entry. The cat(s) stay warm, toasty and dry in it.

What a great idea!!! What does she use to cut through the hard plastic ???

This would be terrific for my Ferals instead of buying them expensive dog houses.
I’m assuming coolers are a lot cheaper and probably less draftier.

[didgery]

I’m in WA too, with temps below 0 degrees F.!

We installed heatlamps for our goats and chickens today, and are feeling slightly better about their wellbeing tonight with those in place. As posted elsewhere, we’ll be bringing them into the kitchen if the power goes out while temperatures are still this low!

I would think that company, adequate food and bedding, and a windbreak (the barn itself as well as the blankets for caged kitties) they should be ok. An electric warming pad is a nice suggestion, too, unless you have any concerns about one of your cats chewing it.

[didgery]

[QUOTE=goodhors;3742217]
Please be very careful with the heatlamps, warm pads for the animals. An acquaintance had a heat lamp in the garage for the dogs, and it caught his garage, then the house, on fire. Really was a terrible mess, nothing was salvagable.

Being TOO NICE can be dangerous.

Our barn cats do fine in the haystack, food is present all day.
There is usually some rags or a rug to lay on, keeps them insulated. Nights the coons and possums are wandering, so I don’t provide food for them. Water is replaced daily, and there is one heated horse bucket if they want. Usually cats would rather drink from the fish pond with the bubbler. I think all the neighborhood cats visit too, eat food and find water in the barn. You can see them sitting in various spots on the hay, warming up their feet. I think most are nuetered, we don’t have cat fights like we used to and they live longer now.

Ours have lush, flowing coats. The picture of health. I keep telling them they would make great mittens! Deep snow is bothering them a bit, since it is harder work racing to the door. We got about 6-8 inches, depends on where the wind dropped it. Daughter likes to carry them around, telling me it is TOO HARD for them to walk. She likes them laying around her neck as fur stoles!! Our present ones are black dropoffs, look very pretty with snowy sparkles or frost on their hair. No cats lay on the horses, though they visit on the stall walls, touching noses.

I brought the old barn cat inside when she was 12yrs, after healing from a severe injury and vet expenses. Can’t afford to keep an expensive cat outside, they ALWAYS get hit by a car! Very nice cat in all the time we had her, adapted right away to the litter box and sleeping in daughter’s bed! Even takes baths well! She likes looking outside, but NEVER asks to go out. Stays FAR AWAY from the outside doors. She is a guaranteed sleep provider, anyone she sits with, goes right to sleep on the couch. Even if you are not tired! We do tie up the Christmas tree now, she tipped it over exploring her first year inside. She doesn’t have nearly the hair needed for winters outside now. Much prefers the our one velvet pillow as her throne, instead of the old horse cooler of years past.[/QUOTE]

Just read this - any tips on using heatlamps safely if you really feel you must use them??

I expressed some concern about fire when my husband went out for the lamps, but he felt like they’d be fine if securely fastened. The chicken lamp is 18 inches off the ground, pointing down, and the goat lamp is 4 feet up, pointing diagonally down. It is behind a wire fence screen, 12 inches away, to keep the goats from shoving, touching or knocking it. I don’t think there’s any chance of it falling into the straw, but what else should I look for in terms of risk factors?

[DeeThbd]

A couple of other important things include having somewhere draft-free, like a nice blanket-lined hay fort :D. Keep a close eye on their ears, because they CAN freeze…I’ve seen barncats with hairless ears because of this, or even pretty much frozen off …so remember the nice snug spot for them.
One winter we were using ice melter instead of salt, and couldn’t understand their refusal to touch the porch, only sitting on the rails - the stuff BURNS! Maybe only a sensation rather than an actual burn (not sure) but we went straight back to salt. More snow on the way, and then RAIN! ( Buffalo, NY!)
Stay warm and safe!
Dee

[Thomas_1]

[QUOTE=Huntertwo;3742557]
Please be sure your cats do not ![](ngest any of the tinsel. This could be deadly as the tinsel acts like a razor and can very easily shred the intestinal tract.[/QUOTE] I’m thinking we’ve another case of “divided by a common language” here.

I’m not seeing “cat killed by tinsel” as a possibility.

“cat pulls tree down and killed by owner though” :yes:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas_1
Well we’ve 4 cats and all supposed to be farm cats.

One is lying sprawled on top of the radiator next to me with her head on the phone. One is under the christmas tree playing with the tinsel. One is flat out asleep on the settee.

Quote: Grayarabpony
I can just see it!

One of the “poor” farm cats having a hard life!
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v258/flodden_edge/pearlonphone.jpg)

[MistyBlue]

Thomas…love that photo. BTW, I would so use my cell phone to call the hoouse phone and make it ring during that nap. Human amusement at expense of cat…for once. :winkgrin:

H2…you can cut holes in the side of a plastic cooler using a Sawzall. They have different blades you snap in…I’ve found the metal blade to be best at cutting through plastic. Smallest teeth, cuts through like buttah. :yes:
We bought one of those “Dogloo” igloo things for our outside feral cats. It’s insulated so holds in any body heat…it has a lawn chair pad in it folded into a triangle shape…it was for a lounge chair so pretty long. Spare Kitty snuggles in that wedged into the triangle. The other cat house on the deck is one of those 44 gallon plastic storage containers. We cut a small hole near the corner of the long side and on the opposite side inside there’s a “box” made of styrofoam sheets for insulation and then another lounge chair pad lining that…walls, top and bottom. Boy Kitty prefers that one. That one gets less direct wind due to the entrance location. Spare is long haired and seems to like the wind. That Dogloo was expensive though…not much under $100.
Friday night since the snow was so deep and the two cats were trying to hop through it I ended up bringing them into my downstairs family room. It has 2 couches and 4 chairs down there, heat, etc…put out water and food and a new litter box for them.
Boy is always happy inside for all of 6-8 hours and then he yowls to go outside. Spare had never been inside before…he seemed to do fine. Hid for a while and then napped on a couch. However…one of those cats STINKS to high heaven…Saturday morning I went down there to see how they did overnight and almost dropped dead from the smell of the litter box! :o I went right outside and cleared that deck of snow and then cleared some paths into the woods so they could go do their business without hopping through snow so deep and got those two back outside. Took me the entire day airing it to be able to breath down there without my eyes watering or my gag reflex kicking in.
Next time those two cuties come inside…it’ll be in the garage! Pew!

[dressagetraks]

I just did morning chores. 4 degrees, windchill 15 below. There was only one cat waiting on the porch for the door to open, which is odd, but other cats immediately started popping out of the garage, from around corners, from cat warp invisible holes, etc., and by the time I got to the feeding station, I had the full usual escort. All felt nice and toasty.

[DeeThbd]

Interesting comment about the smell, MistyBlue. This past summer I adopted my TangoCat from our local shelter, and for the first two months, ye gods…I have never smelled ANYTHING like it. I know that he was trying to survive in the grandstand of the racetrack for two months before he was captured (and he was DEFINITELY someone’s housecat who got dumped), so heaven knows what he was eating.
Now, though, with his new diet, he smells (normal? :lol:) like he should.
Dee

[MistyBlue]

You too, huh? I’ve never smelled cat feces as bad as what one of those two left in the litterbox. I even did wildlife rehab on some excessively naturally stinky animals (stoats, badgers, etc) and they didn;t stink as bad as whichever cat left. :eek:

[JER]

My barn cat has a flannel-lined Coleman sleeping bag. Costs $20. I keep it half-zipped in a camp chair so the cat can crawl in to keep warm. She loves it.

I also have a SnuggleSafe for her but it’s like an unhealthy addiction – she sits on it all day long.

[NoDQhere]

Our windchills yesterday and last night were 30 to 50 F below :(. All the kitties are happily inside. Our kitties are indoor outdoor cats who come in at night. But when it is this cold they all turn into house cats 27/7:lol: We do have one WILD feral cat that we haven’t been able to catch and I have been really worried about him. But this morning I found him in the shop in a cozy place, nestled into a big box of blankets in the loft. It isn’t heated in there but he seemed fine. He really didn’t want to leave his place so I left him alone.

[Huntertwo]

@MistyBlue;3743585

Thomas…love that photo. BTW, I would so use my cell phone to call the hoouse phone and make it ring during that nap. Human amusement at expense of cat…for once. :winkgrin:

H2…you can cut holes in the side of a plastic cooler using a Sawzall. They have different blades you snap in…I’ve found the metal blade to be best at cutting through plastic. Smallest teeth, cuts through like buttah. :yes:
We bought one of those “Dogloo” igloo things for our outside feral cats. It’s insulated so holds in any body heat…it has a lawn chair pad in it folded into a triangle shape…it was for a lounge chair so pretty long. Spare Kitty snuggles in that wedged into the triangle. The other cat house on the deck is one of those 44 gallon plastic storage containers. We cut a small hole near the corner of the long side and on the opposite side inside there’s a “box” made of styrofoam sheets for insulation and then another lounge chair pad lining that…walls, top and bottom. Boy Kitty prefers that one. That one gets less direct wind due to the entrance location. Spare is long haired and seems to like the wind. That Dogloo was expensive though…not much under $100.
Friday night since the snow was so deep and the two cats were trying to hop through it I ended up bringing them into my downstairs family room. It has 2 couches and 4 chairs down there, heat, etc…put out water and food and a new litter box for them.
Boy is always happy inside for all of 6-8 hours and then he yowls to go outside. Spare had never been inside before…he seemed to do fine. Hid for a while and then napped on a couch. However…one of those cats STINKS to high heaven…Saturday morning I went down there to see how they did overnight and almost dropped dead from the smell of the litter box! :o I went right outside and cleared that deck of snow and then cleared some paths into the woods so they could go do their business without hopping through snow so deep and got those two back outside. Took me the entire day airing it to be able to breath down there without my eyes watering or my gag reflex kicking in.
Next time those two cuties come inside…it’ll be in the garage! Pew!

Thanks - A what Saw??? lol… I’ll have to check the garage for one of them… (joking) But, at the price of the dog houses I’ve bought for the Ferals, I’m sure the Saw would be a lot less expensive. Although, I might be missing a limb or two when I’m done. :lol:

Remember hubby is a city boy. Our tool box consists of a screw driver, pliers and a hammer. Thats it!

[grayarabpony]

[QUOTE=Tho![](as_1;3743491]

One of the “poor” farm cats having a hard life!
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v258/flodden_edge/pearlonphone.jpg)[/QUOTE]

Great shot! lol

Nothing knows how to get comfortable like an epicurean cat.

[JoZ]

Update: all the cats are doing great! The only unusual development is that the barn kitties at large seem to have developed thumbs (or just amazing persistence) since they have gotten the bungee cords off the Rubbermaid container of cat food two nights in a row. Our barn cats would like to say that there is no better place to curl up and sleep than in a pile of Friskies! Luckily I bought more cat food when I was out yesterday (driving conditions today not so fun).

The kitties in cages are doing wonderfully. I reach my hand in to pet them or grab their food dishes to refill, and it’s like a little steam bath in there. I would like to invest in a polarfleece blanket that could cover the entire barn!

Today it’s about 32 degrees F and snowing, but things are melting a bit inside the barn. It feels downright balmy. Or perhaps I am now downright balmy (Merriam-Webster definition #2!!).