My beautiful Maggie was a stray when we met and for close to two years I have been truly blessed by her choice of friendship. I like to think she is the stray who found me when I was lost in a dark place. She is an intelligent observer and is acutely sensitive to my emotions.
She has become an invaluable member of our family and comes & goes as she wishes - it's obvious she loves being outdoors and until I move at the end of the year ( & build a catrun) I wouldn't take away her freedom. She knows this is her house & will spend days sleeping before leaving for her nightly post, we have a schedule and I know the times she'll be back for a pitstop. She will at times change things up for a few weeks and live on our courtyard when there is what I call "cat politics" happening outside and she needs to guard "her property".
I'm simply concerned that as the weather is getting colder, especially at night, when now it's at coldest between 5°-10° (41-50). Will she come inside if she is cold and she knows she is welcome? Or almost protest despite this and shiver? Yesterday it was pouring and she came back soaked, she came inside for 10 minutes as I dried her off (to her irritation) and went back to her chair.
I've built her a few shelters though she only took to a very temporary one which I had to take down. My courtyard is sheltered & remains dry.
Currently if she needs to be sheltered from the elements she has a large carrier that is dry & I made a self-heat blanket for her. (I know blankets can get damp and make them colder, though she lives literally next to my living room outside and I change, dry & warm her blankets when needed). I'm probably going to buy her a nice cat house with proper insulation and electrical heating out here if she continues as I just can't take the constant worry about my beautiful, stubborn cat.
She has an amazing bond with Tommy, a 7 month old ex feral that she helped me socialise - it took her a little over two months before they were both bonded and I hope Maggie and Luna can atleast accept each other by that point. I see all this coming as the progress is wonderful and I know with time balance will be found it is just until then I don't know what to do?
Will Maggie come inside if she is cold or unhappy? Should I simply put her in a room for the night - though I worry she will not take kindly to her wishes not being respected and lose my hard earned trust? Or is she actually probably quite fine and adjusting to the change on her own terms?
I adore Maggie and I am broken inside over this all. I make sure to still sit with her in the cold so she has company, I will brush her and stroke her. I just want her to know she is still so loved and nothing has changed in her life there is just a tiny sized cat that heat hogs and exhausts Tommy (& me)
Thank you & sorry for the long post. I'm not sure if this is the right area as she used to be a stray though I will post in the feral & stray section regarding her shelter. xx
Last edited:
