Feral in my garage

[tabbytom]

PS: my long intro post hasn't shown up, in case you are wondering who the heck I am - hopefully they'll approve it soon and the later one will make more sense!

I've PMed you. Please check your PM

 

[DeeCat]

I've PMed you. Please check your PM

LOL If I can find where that is... I shall... am looking!

 

[tabbytom]

LOL If I can find where that is... I shall... am looking!

You've found me.

 

[tarasgirl06]

That's why one needs to have them screened - an agent will do that, with a background check and referrals from at least one previous landlord.

It's very strict nowadays for any decent area anyway - my "kids" rent, and they had to have a good credit score, a background check, no serious debts, no arrests, great recommendations from landlords, etc.... It's very competitive out there to rent!

Not wanting to go OT, but we have renters next door who have extremely loud parties all day and into the night almost every weekend. The cops will do NOTHING about it. If the owners cared at all, they would never have rented to these morons, but they don't -- they used to have loud parties in the house, too, though not every weekend. These people have destroyed our peace and quiet, and our lives. As long as they come up with the rent, no one gives a flying "f".

 

[DeeCat]

Not wanting to go OT, but we have renters next door who have extremely loud parties all day and into the night almost every weekend. The cops will do NOTHING about it. If the owners cared at all, they would never have rented to these morons, but they don't -- they used to have loud parties in the house, too, though not every weekend. These people have destroyed our peace and quiet, and our lives. As long as they come up with the rent, no one gives a flying "f".

Well that's extremely annoying. Clearly they weren't well screened... which is ridiculous as there are so many qualified renters now! So unfair to the neighborhood. (I have a horrible neighbor, too... sometimes makes me want to move...)

 

[tarasgirl06]

Well that's extremely annoying. Clearly they weren't well screened... which is ridiculous as there are so many qualified renters now! So unfair to the neighborhood. (I have a horrible neighbor, too... sometimes makes me want to move...)

Me, too. And since I own my house and it's much cheaper for me to live here than even to rent a less-than-wonderful apartment, I'm here for the duration. That'll end my comments on that subject, as I don't want to hijack the thread; but I posted this info by way of encouraging extreme carefulness to Bitsy's Mom (and/or anyone else contemplating renting or leasing their property!)...

 

[DeeCat]

Me, too. And since I own my house and it's much cheaper for me to live here than even to rent a less-than-wonderful apartment, I'm here for the duration. That'll end my comments on that subject, as I don't want to hijack the thread; but I posted this info by way of encouraging extreme carefulness to Bitsy's Mom (and/or anyone else contemplating renting or leasing their property!)...

Same here.. I own my house, and love the home and property - just not those neighbors - who unfortunately own their house, too. :/

(The problem is even worse when neighbors buy a house - you can't screen them, and they will be there for a looooooong time! )

 

[tarasgirl06]

Same here.. I own my house, and love the home and property - just not those neighbors - who unfortunately own their house, too. :/

(The problem is even worse when neighbors buy a house - you can't screen them, and they will be there for a looooooong time! )

The owners here are little better, as I said. There was another renting in between them living there and this bunch; they also had some parties but not a lot. This is a wealthy city and a good neighborhood, but things are changing drastically. If you google my city, you will gain some insight.
But again, I don't want to hijack the thread. Just hoping Bitsy's Mom will get really good renters if she goes that route; or good buyers, and soon, if that's her choice.

 

[DeeCat]

Let's try this again, without any links this time!
.....................
Hi - Long-time lurker here! Couldn't take it any longer, had to meow. Hi everyone, and thanks for what you do for your furry friends.

Bitsy's Mom : I so admire what you are doing for Oscar, and it warms my heart to see how far he has come (he really has - even if you can't get near him or pet him yet!). I have cared for and adopted many feral cats, and am trying to lure two currently - which is what led me to this site in the first place (I am trying to get them to come into the garage, which has a cat door). One of my cats -- adopted very young from a shelter, was considered too feral to adopt but we did it anyway - she didn't come around to me for years... but when she did, she was the sweetest, most loving cat I have ever had. I have lots of more stories about ferals, but this is your thread, and I had some ideas.

I'm in NH and I understand the fears for the upcoming winter, and had a few suggestions along with the other excellent ones you've received so far. I also understand how incredibly difficult it is to hire anyone in the trades to work on a house right now.

For a carpenter to fix the opening in the shed soffit ASAP, and an electrician to run electricity to the shed (if you want):

• Angie's list (odd jobs, but usually you have to go through their website and they hire professionals),
• Post an ad in the local paper, and/or put a flyer up at the local store/church/post office
• HomeDepot (contracts out carpenters)
• Taskrabbit
• Facebook group called Odd jobs in CT /or whatever state - (link removed)
• Thumbtack
• Care -dot - com

Cat Warmers: Until you can get electricity to the shed, I've found microwaveable pet heating pats/warmers (link removed) to be great, though a bit of a pain with ferals, if (like my current 2) they run as soon as they see you. I used 4 of them last winter (not able to get electricity out to where my 2 ferals were), replacing them every 12 hours - they did stay warm almost that long - along with a well-insulated tiny shelter and self-warming pads (link removed) for use in a dry area.

Obviously, it's best to get a safe, low-voltage heater you can leave on... I wasn't able to get electricity close enough to them, in my situation.

That's all for now, as this is getting too long. Anyway, congratulations on getting Oscar to a safe, dry place. I admire all you've done for that guy. Please, don't ever doubt that fact.

 

[Bitsy's Mom]

Here’s the link. I have so many videos of him and this is pretty boring - although I’m never bored watching him!

FullSizeRender.MOV

• Bitsy's Mom
• Sep 14, 2022

Nothing exciting but Oscar hanging out and enjoying the catnip I placed on his old mat!

 

[tabbytom]

But again, I don't want to hijack the thread.

 

[Bitsy's Mom]

Yes, it will still be very cold in the open spaces. Yet when it's really cold he could use a heated house to warm up. It's just an option that he is still in the shed, but has a warm option. You could do both a straw shelter and a heated one. When it was zero outside, the hound heater would heat their shelter to around 45. They were then sleeping on a warm heat pad too. For reference, here was the tent like shelter I used. Only the shelters had heat. There was cold air all around them, but the heated space gave them a safe place to be warm.

View attachment 431559

I do have a small heated igloo shaped cat bed that I got on Amazon. I could run the extension cord from the house like I have done all summer but that means the top part of the window will be open for the extension cord to fit through. I am not sure if he would know to use it but it has a heating element in the pad on the bottom.

 

[DeeCat]

Here’s the link. I have so many videos of him and this is pretty boring - although I’m never bored watching him!

FullSizeRender.MOV

• Bitsy's Mom
• Sep 14, 2022

Nothing exciting but Oscar hanging out and enjoying the catnip I placed on his old mat!

Love it! Not boring at all.
He's so much happier and relaxed these days!

 

[tabbytom]

Here’s the link. I have so many videos of him and this is pretty boring - although I’m never bored watching him!

He looks very relaxed and feeling right at home.

Yes, we are never bored watching him too!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Here’s the link. I have so many videos of him and this is pretty boring - although I’m never bored watching him!

FullSizeRender.MOV

• Bitsy's Mom
• Sep 14, 2022

Nothing exciting but Oscar hanging out and enjoying the catnip I placed on his old mat!

Neither am I!!! I must say, Oscar has the nicest bachelor pad I've ever seen. So nice to know he's safe, well cared for, and obviously quite comfortable there!
Since I don't like the idea of electricity so close to cats, I've bought very attractive faux "leopard print" fur pads that reflect the cat's body heat back to them. I got ours at an excellent business that is no longer IN business, but if you're interested, I'm sure you can still find some reflective pads like these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XF4YD9Y/?tag=thecatsite Affordable, too! and lots of choices.

 

[Avery]

Thanks so much for the new video. I have to admit, I was going through a little Oscar withdrawal! So wonderful to see him looking relaxed and comfortable.

 

[Bitsy's Mom]

Good morning,

I have to find the video of him laying on the couch. He still uses it as a trampoline but to see him laying on the couch brings me to tears. To think he never lay on a couch, a rug, or had regular food before and now he does, really makes me happy. If he only knew how much I love him!

I will see if I can find the couch video. And, while he uses the right side ramps the most, he does use the left side too. That side passes the open soffit though and so I am always a bit nervous.

I will continue to look for heaters although I am a bit nervous leaving a heater going when the shed is 35 ft from the house. I guess I could plug in the cat bed with an extension cord and put some of those cheep reflective pads on the carpet since he seems to lay on the carpet alot. And, the straw in other cat bed? And feed him more?

As far as renting my house - thanks for the suggestions. I could make a profit renting it, but I really don't want the worry of tenants. Every time there is a storm or a tree limb falls, I would worry. I have gotten a couple of offers on it, but they were low and so I am giving it until the end of the month. Fingers crossed!

 

[tabbytom]

If he only knew how much I love him!

Trust me, he knows that.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Good morning,

I have to find the video of him laying on the couch. He still uses it as a trampoline but to see him laying on the couch brings me to tears. To think he never lay on a couch, a rug, or had regular food before and now he does, really makes me happy. If he only knew how much I love him!

I will see if I can find the couch video. And, while he uses the right side ramps the most, he does use the left side too. That side passes the open soffit though and so I am always a bit nervous.

I will continue to look for heaters although I am a bit nervous leaving a heater going when the shed is 35 ft from the house. I guess I could plug in the cat bed with an extension cord and put some of those cheep reflective pads on the carpet since he seems to lay on the carpet alot. And, the straw in other cat bed? And feed him more?

As far as renting my house - thanks for the suggestions. I could make a profit renting it, but I really don't want the worry of tenants. Every time there is a storm or a tree limb falls, I would worry. I have gotten a couple of offers on it, but they were low and so I am giving it until the end of the month. Fingers crossed!

Cats do live in very cold climates, outdoors. They have "padding" and their coats thicken in cold weather. Oscar looks very healthy and I wouldn't think he'd need anything in the way of an electric pad, just a reflective one. The oil heater would be quite safe, I think, if placed where it could not tip over (and even if it did, it has auto-shut-off for just that kind of occurrence). Straw is a good insulator as long as it's far from any electricity and kept contained. As to food, he will probably want to eat more in cold weather. He may be more active then, too.
I'd make the same decision re: renting. Too much hassle.

 

[DeeCat]

Cats do live in very cold climates, outdoors. They have "padding" and their coats thicken in cold weather. Oscar looks very healthy and I wouldn't think he'd need anything in the way of an electric pad, just a reflective one...Straw is a good insulator as long as it's far from any electricity and kept contained. As to food, he will probably want to eat more in cold weather. He may be more active then, too.

I agree with this ^! Even here in NH, they do - I don't know how... and I worry about the ones that refuse to even go into a cat house or garage at all.

But I had an idea for you (my 'new' outdoor feral won't let me even SEE him/her yet and isn't using any of the little houses I have set up):

A portable power station (like the Bluetti Portable Power Station EB55, $399 on Amazon)! I have used these for power outages. I have a big one that can run a refrigerator for long outages, but it was expensive for such a rarely-used item. Now, they make them smaller. You can even attach it to a solar panel placed in his kitty run outside, if you wanted, to charge it on sunny days, or you can bring it in your house to charge it up every few days.

While it won't run a big room heater long enough, it could run a small 4 watt max cat bed heater, like the one mentioned below (I don't dare try to add a link), likely for 4.5 days (rough estimate with a 4 watt heater - someone please check my math!).

A 4 watt bed heater placed in a cozy mall house with straw or a cat warming/reflecting pad should be fine for him inside his palace on cold nights - he'll be dry and safe and fed already. No worries about extension cords getting wet, etc.
K&H Pet Products Thermo-Kitty Bed Heated Cat Bed Large 20 Inches Sage/Tan - 4 watts - or
Thermo-Kitty Cuddle Up Heated Cat Bed for Pets 16 Inch Mocha
or a 20 watt one: K&H Pet Products Lectro-Soft Igloo Style Dog Bed, Tan, 20W/Small

BUT, it's more money, and you've spent a lot on sweet Oscar already. Just a thought, feel free to dismiss it entirely, lol.