Bright lights and cats eyes

richo1

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There's a stray cat that hangs around my brother's house, as we are heading into winter now the cat was sheltering under foliage and looking somewhat bedraggled. I asked my brother if he could allow it into the garage but he refused saying it would get into his stuff. However he fitted a cat flap to the shed at the bottom of the garden and ran a extension lead which runs a old style 100 watt tunston bulb with a refective aluminium shade suspended about 60cm from the floor.
My question is now that the cat spends most of the day sitting under this contraption I am concerned the bright light will damage it's eyes, is it possible to damaged cats eyes in such a way?
 

FeebysOwner

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Is this light a work light of sorts? Can a deflector be put over it? I doubt that the cat is going to be staring into the light, but apparently must appreciate the heat source if it is spending time underneath it. I am guessing that your brother is routinely feeding the cat and can check the light often to make sure it doesn't overheat and cause other issues.

Feeby, when on our patio, does not tend to look into the sunlight directly, but she will certainly bask in it at times.
 

fionasmom

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Can you get any kind of a heated cat bed? There are some which run on an electric cord and your brother would know if they are safe to use in that circumstance. There are also disks that can be heated in the microwave.
 
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richo1

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The cat spends about 22 hours of the day sitting under the lamp due to bad weather and fireworks . Heat mats sound a good idea but are they safe to run unattended in a wooden shed and how much electric do they use, my brother only goes to the shed to change the blanket every 3 days or when the bulb fails. He set up a camera in there to check things are safe he also gave me the software so I can remotely access the camera a discision he regretted when I had him going down there at 2.00am when the bulb failed.
 
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richo1

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How is this cat eating if your brother only goes in there every 3 days? I am glad he set up the camera and that you can access it!!!
My brother feeds him 7 x 100g pouches per day he just rattles the bag and leaves it on the patio he started off on 8 x pouches a day but he seems to have put on some weight so its only 7 pouches now.
Sorry for the poor quality pic but the app says i don't have permission to capture or record images anyway you can still see its a tight fit for him through the sheds cat flap
poor.jpg
 

fionasmom

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Some cat beds like those made by K and H run on low voltage and can be used with extension cords. However, I am not going to recommend that you do this unless your brother believes it is safe. Mine is on all the time, but the garage is only 15 feet from the house and I can see the pad without even opening the back door. A disk won't work as they have to be reheated daily or nightly.
 
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richo1

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Some cat beds like those made by K and H run on low voltage and can be used with extension cords. However, I am not going to recommend that you do this unless your brother believes it is safe. Mine is on all the time, but the garage is only 15 feet from the house and I can see the pad without even opening the back door. A disk won't work as they have to be reheated daily or nightly.
I like the idea of a heat mat especially if they run off a transformer only problem is my brother's shed is about 25 metres from the house a little out of sight out of mind however I may be able to nag my brother into getting one and reserving it for very cold weather.
 
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richo1

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Try khpet.com and see if you find anything you like. I have a friend who has also used the self warming heating pads that respond to the cat's body temp to activate.
Thanks for link I can see what I want but I need somewhere who does 240 volt versions
 

fionasmom

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I do see what you mean and am not enough of an electrician to give advice, but the self warming pads, I think, do not plug into anything.
 
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richo1

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The stray cat that lives in my brother's shed has used the drier weather to fight another cat which has mashed up its face my brother says it goes nuts when it's in a carrier so much so it causes more damage to its face and risks breaking the carrier door so he let it out again . Does anyone have any idea how vet travel can be made possible.
 

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I just got some self heating pads. I am scared of electricity and outlets and don't want to take a chance. I heard the self heating pads are great though so I'll see.
Im so glad @ moonstonewolf that things started working out for u n ure kitties...Ya so desperately deserve IT...Hope ure mom gets along ok ALSO...Keep the FAITH....AND GOOD THINGS COME ABOUT...:):heartshape::petcat:
 

CatLover49

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I do see what you mean and am not enough of an electrician to give advice, but the self warming pads, I think, do not plug into anything.
U know ive never used them but it being SELF WARMING pads...I wouldn't think either that require electricity...:think:
 

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The stray cat that lives in my brother's shed has used the drier weather to fight another cat which has mashed up its face my brother says it goes nuts when it's in a carrier so much so it causes more damage to its face and risks breaking the carrier door so he let it out again . Does anyone have any idea how vet travel can be made possible.
Are you using a soft sided carrier? That would go a long way in helping. Also, if the vet would agree to provide your brother with a small dose of Gabapentin ahead of a vet visit, that would help calm the cat down. A lot of folks use Gabapentin before a vet visit. There are also tons of calming products on the market, but that would require testing some of them because not all work on all cats. One that seems to have success would require being able to touch the cat's ear - Bach Rescue Remedy, which are drops you can rub into a cat's ear to calm them.
 

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If the vet balks at giving you the gabapentin, make sure that he understands that you have control over which cat will receive it and that the cat will be brought in for treatment. You are dealing with a situation which is getting extreme and the vet needs to realize that. I say this because my vet who does all the ferals for me will not give anything to calm anyone in order to trap....and I do get that point.
 
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richo1

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Ok ask the vet about Gabapetin, no the carrier wasn't soft the cat weighs about 21 pounds it's currently in the shed and I can see via the camera its face is swollen so much so it can only see through slits due to swelling. Appetite is still good.
 
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richo1

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What's to say the other cat won't be back and beat on this cat some more? No way to help on that front??????
While ive been viewing the camera I've seen eyes appear at the sheds cat flap but nothing has ventured inside I don't think it will go out looking for trouble while it's poorly
 
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