I hate winter for these guys

[BC1]

Just wanted to vent my worries now that it it cold to people who understand. My family and neighbors (except for 1) do not feel the same as I do about the ferals and certainly do not worry for them when it's cold. I live in NY and last night was the first (of many) that I had to worry about my ferals. I really hate this. There are 7 that my neighbor and I take care of. 3 of them are only about 15 weeks old. They seem happy and healthy but I was not able to TNR them before it got too cold. I have an issue with not having a place that is warm enough for them to recover after surgery. I'm trying to find a place that will board them overnight after spay/neuter but that is not going well. I have those 3 and one other young adult that I have left to TNR but I haven't seen the young adult in a while and fear that he may be gone for good. Anyway, I have a nice shelter I made out of one of those large plastic outdoor deck boxes. It is insulated, has 2 openings and has a nice layer of straw. I also have a large uninsulated shed that I do have 3 small boxes with straw in and one of those farm heat lamps hung safely out of their way. The shed is farther away than the kittens are used to going so I need to get them slowly over that way with a trail of food so they can see it is a nice place. I think they currently stay under my neighbors deck but I don't think he has much to keep them warm. I'll try to talk to him soon to see what he has. The deck box shelter is close to where I feed the kittens so I'm hoping they will go in there. They can all fit comfortably there.

I just worry about the kittens. Mom is still around but as you would expect, she doesn't do much for them any longer but they seem very attached and don't really leave their area to any great extent from where she has kept them as kittens. I TNR'd mom and another one back in Sept. I'm not worried much about mom and the other young adults as they have some winter experience under their belt and made it through last year fine. I just feel like these kittens were born a little late in the season and are still hanging around mom so much. All 3 seem to be growing in size appropriately and look well groomed, etc. I wish my neighbor and I could have socialized them before winter and maybe had them adopted but mom had them somewhere else and didn't bring them over to the neighbor until they were about 6 weeks old.

Anyway, as I mentioned I just wanted to air my worries about my guys. I feel so guilty when I'm in my warm bed and they are outside : (

Take care everyone.

 

[Kris107]

It sounds like you are doing everything you can. Thank you for caring for them all and doing TNR as you can. I hope you can TNR the kittens. Hopefully they find your warming hut too. Cats are crafty and find nooks to stay warm.

 

[catapault]

You ARE making a big difference for these young cats. They're better off with your help than they would be without it. Food makes a big difference. Helps them to keep warm with calories to burn. And while under the neighbor's deck may not be ideal it gets them out of the wind, which is also a good thing.

 

[backwoodsvet]

I agree with all previous posts, It sounds like your doing all what you should be doing, that heat lamp will be helpful just make sure it's secure...........

You said, "I feel so guilty when I'm in my warm bed and they are outside".....You took the words right out of my mouth, when I get a cold night, I can't sleep well either knowing I've got a colony of 16 up the road that don't have a warm bed.........sad,....Thanks for caring !!

 

[catsknowme]

You are definitely doing a fantastic job of caring for that little clowder. I use shelters made out of Styrofoam vaccine shipping boxes and put them partially on top of a medium sized doghouse heat mat (it's a hard plastic) . In your extreme temperatures, you could probably put the shelters completely on the heat mat without it getting too warm for the cats. I keep an adjacent box unheated for kitties wanting less supplemental heat.
A medium dog carrier can be converted into a recovery cage and kept in a shed, bathroom or garage. To create a 2nd story "loft" , I slide bars through the vents and duct tape flattened cardboard for a floor. Alternatively, I have put a sturdy box inside for kitty to use as a "cave", a small litter box behind it and put the food & water dishes near the door. If you put out an ad in your local Facebook pages, you might get free or very low cost cat carriers, dog carriers and crates. Your local pharmacies or hospital might still have vaccine shipping boxes that you can get for free, including the gel packs & mats that are very useful for summer uses.
Please keep us posted! Sharing our experiences, thoughts and ideas helps the rest of us stay motivated

 

[BC1]

Thank you all very much for sharing your thoughts and your encouragement. I really appreciate it.

 

[RTR]

Don't worry about the ferals of at least 6months old! A friend of mine has a colony on five acres and the cats have access to a detached garage, and a small shed with about two feet of straw on it's floor! One year we had a very bad blizzard and temps down below 0 for a few days , and I thought that I wouldn't see too many survivors, but I was wrong! A ll 23 were there in the spring to my amazement! Your shelters sound even beter than my friends cats access

 

[Furballsmom]

There are at least a couple of caretakers on my local Nextdoor neighborhood website who post regularly about their ferals, feeding them, showing the shelters they've created, etc. I'm in Colorado and it gets cold and snowy. The cats are ok

 

[maggie101]

Keeping (semi) outdoor cats warm in winter

You will find many threads about this!

 

[BC1]

Thanks again everyone. I'm feeling better about them and the cold now based on everyone's comments and I talked to my neighbor today. He does have shelter for the kittens. I ditched the farm heat lamp in the shed (too much worry even when it was very secure). I bought a very large K&H pet heating pad (it just gives a little bit of warmth but doesn't get hot at all) for the shed and just have a night light on in there so they can see to get in and out. Between that and the deck box shelter I made and my neighbor's shelter, I won't need to worry about them any more. Another positive note is that my neighbor is now able to pet 2 of the 3 kittens so I'm hoping when I am able to TNR them (hopefully in the next month or two) I will be able to find a place that may want to take them in for adoption, or at least the friendlier ones. Take care everyone.

 

[di and bob]

I just kept my ferals overnight in my bathroom, released them the next day. There were 6 of them, and all recovered fine. The 15 week old kittens should be OK until spring , but they can come into heat as soon as 5 months. you might try to spay the females at least. What you have for winter sounds really good. I have those little heated huts from K&H for mine, and they are in a garage, but I still feel guilty just like you in the winter. They sure stay in them though. I also throw a couple of heavier blankets over them, partially blocking the entrance so tehy stay warmer. They are up on a table. We have a lot of raccoons and opossums around here, in fact, we had to relocate 3 of them last spring when they took over the cat beds! We just stuffed a blanket in the doorway and took them a couple of miles away near a stream and trees. I always have an extra bed set up for times like these. I have 3 inside cats too, but they have leukemia, and I can't expose them to other cats. It's amazing how cats just show up, no matter where you live!