Cats, Cold and Wind Chills

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MoonstoneWolf

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Well I'm hoping no cats got snowed in the shelters behind the garage Mom made me move to. I have Treasure/Sopdet's up here as well as Tourmalines but the other shelters are behind the garage. I can't be crawling on all 4s in 0 degrees -18 windchill and inches of snow either. :( Someone from the Winter Shelter group on Facebook posted a horror story/photo of cats trapped/snowed in the shelters. Ugh

What is the likelihood a cat would get snowed inside one of those shelters? Wouldn't they feel snow coming in and get out? I do wonder if people post stuff like that are just fearmongering especially to someone like me who panics if a cat sneezes twice.

All cats are accounted for. Sopdet is her usual nervous self. But I am thinking that they were hit with brooms when they were kittens as every cat from that hoarding situation runs if they see a broom 1/4 acre away. Shaman was the same way until she knew I wasn't going to hurt her. Treasure still runs a bit and Sopdet the poor cat who lost her vocal chords due to abuse as a kitten is terrified. I'm going out between Mom's tantrums to sweep the snow away from the shelter. I'd put the thing against the wall but T & S refuse to use it then. Thankfully our bad weather ends at 10 PM tonight in Bel Ridge MO and then tomorrow we have a heat wave of 16 with a windchill of 4 and then the temps go up after that.

Tourmaline survived yet another milestone of -22 windchill. I honestly think she's running across the street to the mayor's house and staying in the heated chicken house. Oh and the chickens are safe as Tourmaline does not like Chicken. Sopdet is now laying in the snow, Tourmaline is on one of those K & H self warming pads and Treasure is in the shelter. I think he has arthritis and this weather is not helping him much.

One thing though that we do have to remind ourselves of though is that snow does insulate and warm the ground. Think of the igloos in Alaska. When Dad was in Italy during WWII he never slept in a bunk. It was always in trenches and open fields hot and cold weather. He said that he would, if it snowed, pack snow around and over his sleeping bag which warmed him up even more. Anyway red fox visited this morning but ran off scared when Tourmaline came back from across the street. haha
 
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MoonstoneWolf

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Very scared with this weather. Tourmaline returned but no Treasure or Sopdet. I may never see them again because again the weather. Onyx looked half dead when he came to eat and he's younger then T & S. :( And I know for a fact they have not come back as I checked cam footage playback.

Treasure did come back. Shivering and wet. And no I did not go out and call for them. I'm so ill I wouldn't make it outside looking and then no one would feed them going by last year's experience. I dried him off with a bath towel and gave him fresh water. He seemed ok going back into the shelter. And now Sopdet just came back.
 
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What happens if a cat wet from snow gets on one? I do so many stupid things. 😥
 

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What happens if a cat wet from snow gets on one? I do so many stupid things. 😥
Since they are self warming I would hope that that whatever heat the cat still has from it's body will still work unless the wetness immediately freezes.
 
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I hope so. We didn’t have this snow and cold last year when I started this. But what happens if the wet freezes. Ack will this nighmare snow end?
 

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Great to hear you’ve seen all your kitties! Just a few more days and all will be better.
 
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Stupid me: I noticed that the self warming pads got wet so I brought inside and dried off with a towel. But being as it was I wanted to add more warmth so I laid a crocheted baby blanket under the self warming pad. So the cat wouldn't touch the blanket but I noticed that Treasure got on and the pad kind of pushed up and he had to put his paw on the blanket to get up. He wasn't stuck but he was dry as he just got up out of the shelter and ate which is all semi dry. He likes to inspect things when I change them around and give his approval. Anyway being that it was -3 with a -22 windchill and we got one foot of snow I knew that if Tourmaline attempted to come back she'd be wet and then maybe get stuck on the baby blanket underneath the pad. She won't take to straw. Anyway I thought ok I'll go outside and remove the blanket but it was 2:30 am, the burglar alarm set and the keypad to disable right by my insomniac mother I didn't want to chance it. So I called our security system and told them that I wanted to test the system during the cold and could they disable. I gave them the code but it was so cold that the door was literally stuck. I didn't want to keep pushing and all waking my mother and making her more irate about the cats. So I had to lay back, pray and meditate on the well being of tourmaline, hoping that she stayed across the street in the neighbor's nice heated chicken house (remember she doesn't like chicken so the chickens were safe). I mean I saw the toll it was taking on the ferals. And 3 times 2 of the ferals came to eat and the food was not out because of the dang birds. I need to buy some suet this week and put in the back to keep them away from the food. I hope the two ferals (not Treasure and Sopdet) come back.

Anyway she's back now. Ate and sitting on a warm and dry self warming pad. Treasure and Sopdet ate and took off through the snow to the bushes, I guess to use the giant litter box.

Oh and to top it off, my cams that were rated for outdoor use and to withstand temps down to -15, died on me so I didn't even have that to go on. I have a photo of me and Tourmaline in the What's on Your Mind Thread. I snuck her inside for 15 minutes yesterday. She's such a quiet and sweet cat I don't understand how someone could have just dumped her and why my Mom has to always be such a pill about these cats. We're getting a heat wave of 14 degrees today. But I have to trudge through a foot of snow to the outside window for my V3 so I can troubleshoot with Wyze. I don't even have boots because Mom threw those away last year.
 
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Cats do have exposed skin on their paws, nose and ears and can easily get frostbite.
I meant to tell you I did request to be in that FB group you suggested but never heard back on approval or not. Is Barb a moderator on there? If so I can just PM her as she's been delivering shelters and straw to me.
 

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I meant to tell you I did request to be in that FB group you suggested but never heard back on approval or not. Is Barb a moderator on there? If so I can just PM her as she's been delivering shelters and straw to me.
The St. Louis Winter Group? Yes Barb might be one of the admins. They are awesome
 
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I think you recommended another group. I've been in Crazy Cat People of St Louis for 2 years and St Louis Winter Shelter group for 8 months. There was another one that you recommended about it being a one stop for all type group. It was on my other thread. I'll go and search the forums, hurting to bad to really look right now.

Gypsy is now the only one not accounted for. I'm sure he's ok though just with another feeder due to lack of food outside the other day (stupid birds). I swear I think these cats know when we worry and panic. The minute I start worrying and panicking, the cats show up. Oh I have to post about it on here and on Facebook first though, then someone says they'll be ok and I have to give reasons why they aren't. Then they emerge. The times I"m like oh they do this all the time, the cats don't show up for days. haha I think they play with us. And I know Treasure does this on purpose. I spoiled him by giving lots of treats and goodies if he came back after being gone for awhile.

Gypsy is probably like "Bah, this restaurant never has food anymore. I'll go find another restaurant to patronize" lol Because of the birds.
 
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So hopefully a moderator merges the abused as kitten thread to here as it does involve a feral cat (Sopdet) but Sopdet is still scared of me for some reason. It all started last week with Mom throwing fits but this isn't the first time Sopdet has heard this with Mom so I'm truly baffled. I spent 2 years working with her to get her to trust me and this happens. I mean she's seen me move the tents and shelters many times before.
 
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I’m getting a bit concerned about Gypsy who is still unaccounted for.
 
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Well the good thing about having to move all the cat stuff today is that the sun will melt some of the ice/snow on the bricks that I have their stuff, and warming them up before I move the stuff back tonight. I'll be so glad when I can get their permanent spot set up behind the garage so that all I have to do is hide the food/water bowls. Poor Sopdet has no idea one day to the next whether to trust me or not because of this. And she was the abused kitten that went through 2 hoarding situations
 

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I saw the momma I TNR’d so I’m sur the other cat is probably fine too. I’ll put some food out when I leave
 
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I still haven't seen Gypsy since Monday but we were nearing the end of the bad weather and we do have at least 9 more feeders in the immediate area so I'm thinking Gypsy wandered over there. In fact I think these cats wander back and forth all the time and just call one feeder's yard home.

Kim Kardasshian (spelling?) filed for divorce.
 
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I still haven't seen Gypsy since Monday but we were nearing the end of the bad weather and we do have at least 9 more feeders in the immediate area so I'm thinking Gypsy wandered over there. In fact I think these cats wander back and forth all the time and just call one feeder's yard home.

Kim Kardasshian (spelling?) filed for divorce.
Ugh. What does KK have to do with this? I thought I was posting this over in another non cat related thread.
 
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Tourmaline went missing last night. Treasure and Sopdet are running around looking for her. I wouldn't be so concerned but some guy on Next Door app was threatening to steal our ferals and semi ferals. He didn't specify why but as I've said time and again, this is why you should NEVER post about your ferals and colonies on Next Door. She could have been picked up by someone because she's so friendly. Now I have this added stress today. She has not missed a call for breakfast for 8 months. Now she's nowhere to be seen.

She trusted me so much to protect her, and this happens. I really am scared for her but as usual with my stupid neighbors they all refuse (not just don't know but flat out refuse) to tell me if they saw her. Once again I'm a failure. :(
 
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