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- Aug 4, 2014
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Just wanted to put this out there because I get asked this all
the time, and while it seems obvious, many people are hesitant to do it for some reason.
We’ve had a ton of luck making shelters out of tarps with reflective lining in colonies that refuse all other shelters - tub shelters, wood shelters, k&H shelters, plastic dog house shelters, big shelters, medium shelters, single cat shelters, elevated shelters, two exits, one exit, windows, shelters in every location and configuration, etc - all available at once!
But what always seems to work, is tarps.
We try to put down a wood pallet and/or straw or reflectix on the ground, but even without any of that, it’s significantly warmer than outside and it keeps them dry, so it’s still an improvement.
I’m hoping to take some photos of our tarp-only shelters tomorrow in one of our colonies to give a better idea of the ways they can be used. They are NOT pretty, but they’re cheap, easy, quick, and the cats actually use them, whereas before, they would just curl up in long grass and were constantly wet when it rained.
We’ve also made tarps work at the back of businesses too, to where they look both inconspicuous but not “trashy” - most people seem to assume the tarps are just keeping pallets dry, but we make sure everything is tucked in tight and neatly (unlike what you will see in the pictures at my colony, since they’re in the middle of the woods where no one goes lol). Business owners have been satisfied with them.
Like I said - do not underestimate tarps (or lean-tos, for that matter!).
Yes, we’d all like them to be in something warmer, safer, sturdier - but sometimes you just have to give the cats what they will actually use instead of our human idea of perfect or better.
So if you find yourself feeling frustrated and worrying about your colony cats during winter who refuse to use shelters, just spend a few bucks and try a tarp to see if they take to that instead.
After years of trying in vain to persuade two colonies to use shelters, tarps saved our butts when Texas had its snowstorm two years ago.
We didn’t have time to prepare, nor did we enough shelters out there to begin with since our winters are usually mild, so we set out about 5 large tarps. The cats were using every single one the next morning - this was still right before the snow storm, temperatures hadn’t even dropped yet, so they were not being used out of desperation or in response to unusual weather yet.
Two years on, and the cats have consistently used them ever since in rain and cold, while continuing to ignore the other 10 “real” shelters out there, lol.
the time, and while it seems obvious, many people are hesitant to do it for some reason.
We’ve had a ton of luck making shelters out of tarps with reflective lining in colonies that refuse all other shelters - tub shelters, wood shelters, k&H shelters, plastic dog house shelters, big shelters, medium shelters, single cat shelters, elevated shelters, two exits, one exit, windows, shelters in every location and configuration, etc - all available at once!
But what always seems to work, is tarps.
We try to put down a wood pallet and/or straw or reflectix on the ground, but even without any of that, it’s significantly warmer than outside and it keeps them dry, so it’s still an improvement.
I’m hoping to take some photos of our tarp-only shelters tomorrow in one of our colonies to give a better idea of the ways they can be used. They are NOT pretty, but they’re cheap, easy, quick, and the cats actually use them, whereas before, they would just curl up in long grass and were constantly wet when it rained.
We’ve also made tarps work at the back of businesses too, to where they look both inconspicuous but not “trashy” - most people seem to assume the tarps are just keeping pallets dry, but we make sure everything is tucked in tight and neatly (unlike what you will see in the pictures at my colony, since they’re in the middle of the woods where no one goes lol). Business owners have been satisfied with them.
Like I said - do not underestimate tarps (or lean-tos, for that matter!).
Yes, we’d all like them to be in something warmer, safer, sturdier - but sometimes you just have to give the cats what they will actually use instead of our human idea of perfect or better.
So if you find yourself feeling frustrated and worrying about your colony cats during winter who refuse to use shelters, just spend a few bucks and try a tarp to see if they take to that instead.
After years of trying in vain to persuade two colonies to use shelters, tarps saved our butts when Texas had its snowstorm two years ago.
We didn’t have time to prepare, nor did we enough shelters out there to begin with since our winters are usually mild, so we set out about 5 large tarps. The cats were using every single one the next morning - this was still right before the snow storm, temperatures hadn’t even dropped yet, so they were not being used out of desperation or in response to unusual weather yet.
Two years on, and the cats have consistently used them ever since in rain and cold, while continuing to ignore the other 10 “real” shelters out there, lol.