Three more cats in the house

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

Had to bring the barn cats in for the next few days! Lows tonight are expected to be-6, with a wind chill of something like -20. The last time it was this cold here for a sustained period was before these cats were born. The barn isn’t nearly warm enough, and there are no heated beds anywhere.

Hoping they will adjust to being inside. They are in a huge crate -think St. Bernard size -and have so far been quiet. The other two are at the vet for a few days.

I am over this weather, and shall be moving to Costa Rica just as soon as I save enough money!

[Sherry99]

Good luck (and I’m glad Nigel is feeling better)!

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

Me, too! There were a lot of days when I didn’t think he was going to make it.

The extended forecast now calls for below-freezing highs and nearly-zero lows until Friday, when (so they say, anyway), it will finally be a whopping 33 degrees. They will probably have to stay inside until then. So far, surprisingly, the other cats seem fairly nonplussed by them. Intrepid and Peaches are just happy to be indoors; they’re chill. Sweeetums is pretty sure this is all a death trap and is just hiding at the back of the crate.

[GraceLikeRain]

Thank you for bringing them in. I’m always saddened by the people who just shrug at the idea of their barn cats being outdoors when the weather goes really really south. Even scared Sweetums will hopefully grow to appreciate how nice it is to be in a comfortably warm environment. The idea of -20 windchill is brutal.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

I have two others that will not come in - one is completely feral and cannot even be touched, so she has as warm a place in the barn as I can make her (she also has a lovely nest inside the stacks of hay bales, which may provide her more warmth than I can, honestly). The other is a come-and-go tomcat who I can’t quite catch yet. Friendly, but only to a point. He knows he is welcome to stay, but I honestly think he lives at the neighbor’s house. I will worry about them.

[shiloh]

I, too, worry about the “outsiders.” I have five that are outside and want nothing to do with inside. Fortunately, they have a safe hidey spot under my landlords house where they migrate to the warmest spots. The one I worry about is the older male that I can’t catch. He lives somewhere nearby that I can’t find because he realizes when I am following him becomes invisible. The other night it was absolutely pounding down cold rain and I wished I knew where he was so I could get him a warm spot. If I had a wish I would wish that all the outside animals had safe warm places to get.

[dressagetraks]

I worry about the outdoors, too. Mine have several shelters, hay, warm water delivered several times a day, and wet food added, but I still worry. Plus I have no doubt that I actually feed more cats than I think I do, and I worry about the invisible ones. Sarge, an old feral who is a drifter, seen maybe twice a week, has been here since Friday. He is obviously camping here in the hay in the shelters instead of drifting for this cold snap. I’m glad I know where he is and that he has food, water, and shelter at the moment. God bless all the truly homeless ones in this weather.