Stray Cats Outside in Winter

We've had a stray- probably feral- cat living in the shelter on the back landing since last Fall. She will sit by the window or the french doors to the deck and try to make friends with the cats that live in the house but she will run at just the sight of people. She has made her home on the back landing and seems quite happy to be there.

We have had some very cold days and nights, down to the minus 30s celsius. The best investment made was the microwave heating disc. Put it in the microwave for a few minutes, and then put it in the box we constructed, under the cat bed thats inside the box, and it keeps her and the inside of the box warm for up to 12 hours. Wrapping the whole section of the landing in a tarp (the blue in the picture) and then in plastic, keeps the wind and snow out.

We have just added a heated water dish. Luckily there is an electrical outlet on the landing, so with a long outdoor extension, she and other cats that come around, always have fresh water to drink.

This is not an ideal situation by any means. She should be inside. But it is impossible to get near her, even after all these months. And trying to capture her and failing might mean scaring her so much she would stay away all together and end up freezing to death somewhere. Its not a chance we want to take. She's safe, warm, gets regular food and water, and for now that's as good as it gets.

Making a Stray Cat Shelter

Two weeks ago we had an unexpected snowstorm. The snow melted in a day but it was a wake up call. I live in an area with a lot of abandoned, stray cats, and yes, we have been feeding them. The Humane Society is overrun with cats and won't take them in; they will be outdoors for the winter. We decided to try and make them some kind of winter shelter. We used materials we could get for free (boxes), materials that could be bought cheaply (space blankets - $1.00 at Dollarama), and Styrofoam packing and plastic wrap (which we already had).
First we made 3 box shelters - covered the boxes in the Styrofoam wrap (for insulation,
then covered that in heavy duty plastic (to keep them from getting wet),
and then with the space blanket to keep their body heat in.
We put carpet squares (bought a box of them at the local recycling centre for a buck) on the floor for comfort. My friend made the most expensive purchases which were self-heating blankets which were put on top of the carpet squares. She also bought a microwave disc which can be put under a blanket in the box and will give heat for up to 10 hours. This will be used when the temperature really drops far below zero.

Then we made the enclosure. There is a shed in the yard with an overhanging roof which made a natural place to set up the boxes. A very kind lady at the dog groomers gave us 2 bales of straw for insulation of our shelter. Thank you Lisa. We made a platform to set 2 boxes on and put the straw bales at the ends of the platform.

After that we put hooks in the side of the shed and hooked a heavy duty tarp over the whole thing.
Its not a pretty site, and until the first big snowstorm hits we won't really know how well it will hold up. But its already being used, so the cats know its there and we hope it will afford them enough protection when the worst of winter hits.

We enclosed one other area. On the back steps landing there is bench area with just enough space for one box. We put a sheet of wood over the benches, a tarp over the wood, and plastic all around the railing.
This box has been in use now for over a month by a pregnant cat. We are hoping to get her into the house and to a rescue shelter before she gives birth, but she is very vary of people and runs when she sees us. So for the time being, she just has a safer, warmer place to stay.