Stray loved his shelter, now he won’t touch it

Shawna87

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Hello friends! I have a stray cat that I care for. I call him Toby and he is very sweet. He found his way over to my house about a year ago and I have been feeding him ever since. When he first showed up I got him a shelter and he never used it. It wasn’t the nicest shelter but he still wasn’t interested. He took to living in the old saw mill behind our house. Well recently I we were having a winter storm and I was worried about him so I made him a box with a warm blanket and heating pad. He started using it right away. He pretty much stayed in for a week only coming out to go potty and eat. Well we live on a farm and have a farm dog and he found his shelter and started chewing the box up. It started to leak water and had holes in it. I decided to upgrade it and made one of those feral cat shelters with containers that I saw online. I put his same heating pad and blankets in there but he refuses to go in it. I’ve tried to put treats in it and put him inside to show him how warm but he won’t have it. I feel awful he doesn’t have that cardboard box anymore but I thought he would like this better. How do I show him it’s safe and get him to use it? I just put it up today so will it take time? He took his cardboard box in one day so I’m just discouraged. He’s now sleeping in the cold saw mill and I feel awful.
 

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Hi. Try another cardboard box and see what happens. Give him time. It could be that he just doesn't want anything that is any more 'fancy' than that. I don't know what the feral cat shelter with containers looks like or how large it is, but if he gets used to the new cardboard box, maybe you can place it inside the shelter you made. That might help to keep the dog from destroying it.

What can also you make him to use in the saw mill that would help keep him warm?
 

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It will take a while. I would get another cardboard box for now. If there are any swinging 'doors' like plastic at the entrances of the new one tape them open or remove them. My ferals won't use anything with a door. I take a blanket and drape over the shelter, partially blocking the entrance and as they get used to it, pull it further down. you may have to get two heat pads for a while, one in each one. You coudl also get one of those pads for cats, nonelectric, that reflect their body heat back and put that in the mill.
 

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The duplex idea is clever. :) Also, sometimes they like two openings, one and the front and one at the back. Maybe the one you made already has that.
 
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Shawna87

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Hi. Try another cardboard box and see what happens. Give him time. It could be that he just doesn't want anything that is any more 'fancy' than that. I don't know what the feral cat shelter with containers looks like or how large it is, but if he gets used to the new cardboard box, maybe you can place it inside the shelter you made. That might help to keep the dog from destroying it.

What can also you make him to use in the saw mill that would help keep him warm?
The feral cat shelter is basically a large container and then so put hay in the bottom and put a smaller container inside the large one. I then put hay around all the sides and cut a hole in it for him to get in out. It had a heating pad and some blankets too.

Do you think a self warming bed would work for the saw mill? I’ve never seen or tried one for my cats before. I worry about him the cold out there.
 
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Shawna87

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It will take a while. I would get another cardboard box for now. If there are any swinging 'doors' like plastic at the entrances of the new one tape them open or remove them. My ferals won't use anything with a door. I take a blanket and drape over the shelter, partially blocking the entrance and as they get used to it, pull it further down. you may have to get two heat pads for a while, one in each one. You coudl also get one of those pads for cats, nonelectric, that reflect their body heat back and put that in the mill.
Do the self heating pads work good? I have no experience with them so I’m unsure how they work.

There’s no door on it because he doesn’t like to feel trapped into anything.
 
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Shawna87

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Maybe make a duplex cardboard box in the front with a cutout to go into the more solid shelter? He may like being a landlord of two establishments.
That is genius!! I wonder if he would like that! I’m going to try that!
 
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Shawna87

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The duplex idea is clever. :) Also, sometimes they like two openings, one and the front and one at the back. Maybe the one you made already has that.
It only has one opening and I’ve noticed he doesn’t like to feel trapped into anything. Do you think it would make it too cold with two entrances?
 
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Shawna87

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Thankfully this is just a temporary solution for him. We are currently building a house which will be done in a few months and when we move he’ll be staying in the basement/garage at nights with his own bed, toys, heating pad, and more! This way he’ll stay warm and I don’t have to worry about his safety at night.
 

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Do you think a self warming bed would work for the saw mill? I’ve never seen or tried one for my cats before. I worry about him the cold out there.
I don't know anything about a sawmill, but wouldn't another box set up like the one you described earlier with straw and whatnot, along with the self heating bed work there too? I would think the self heating bed would work in the sawmill just like other places.
when we move he’ll be staying in the basement/garage at nights with his own bed, toys, heating pad, and more!
That's great! Glad to hear whatever you work out for now is just temporary.
 

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Hello friends! I have a stray cat that I care for. I call him Toby and he is very sweet. He found his way over to my house about a year ago and I have been feeding him ever since. When he first showed up I got him a shelter and he never used it. It wasn’t the nicest shelter but he still wasn’t interested. He took to living in the old saw mill behind our house. Well recently I we were having a winter storm and I was worried about him so I made him a box with a warm blanket and heating pad. He started using it right away. He pretty much stayed in for a week only coming out to go potty and eat. Well we live on a farm and have a farm dog and he found his shelter and started chewing the box up. It started to leak water and had holes in it. I decided to upgrade it and made one of those feral cat shelters with containers that I saw online. I put his same heating pad and blankets in there but he refuses to go in it. I’ve tried to put treats in it and put him inside to show him how warm but he won’t have it. I feel awful he doesn’t have that cardboard box anymore but I thought he would like this better. How do I show him it’s safe and get him to use it? I just put it up today so will it take time? He took his cardboard box in one day so I’m just discouraged. He’s now sleeping in the cold saw mill and I feel awful.
If you can somehow get his scent in there that might help. Don’t put any food inside a shelter ever because that could attract predators to go inside and that could make the cats not want to go in- the food should be far away from any shelter that they may sleep in. I’m guessing that the dog being around his other shelter may have influenced him too.
 

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It only has one opening and I’ve noticed he doesn’t like to feel trapped into anything. Do you think it would make it too cold with two entrances?
My outdoor cats used two shelters that I had that only had one opening, which was the kitty cube. I bought the extra insulation and then put straw inside and they were very warm and toasty. I also built a much larger shelter, which was insulated which had two doors, but it took them a long time to use that.
 
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Shawna87

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Good news! I spotted Toby back in his shelter!! I had to put his old box inside a more durable container so that the dog couldn’t chew it but he’s back in! I’m so relieved to know he’s warm and safe on my porch again. Thank you everyone for your suggestions!! They really did help!
 

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Good news! I spotted Toby back in his shelter!! I had to put his old box inside a more durable container so that the dog couldn’t chew it but he’s back in! I’m so relieved to know he’s warm and safe on my porch again. Thank you everyone for your suggestions!! They really did help!
Great news, I’m glad Toby is back 😀💕🐾
 
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