Tnr Questions

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walli

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sheesh! my friend got 5 cats today, and trying for more tonight!
 
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walli

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Here is Charlie waiting for his neutering appt this morning
the only pic left to. take of my street Ferals is Blacky (Bear)
He is a beautiful long hair black cat, he is a very cautious cat tho a pic is hard.

Charlie screen shot.png
 
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walli

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He is! and even tho he was the bully he is quite sweet too! I got to carry him to the warming room
as I ended up volunteering, they neutered 70 cats yesterday!! my friend trapped 7 cats.
lots more need neutering tho!!!
met lots of nice people, a common thing about people that care for Ferals they are awesome people!
 
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walli

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The shelter is done and the bins are done, now I just need those cats to come in!
It is starting to get colder at night in San Diego.
Screen Shot 2019-11-01 at 12.59.15 PM.png
 

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Wow!!! That is awesome!! They are very very lucky kitties! My only advice is to keep food away from the shelters. You do not want to attract other wildlife (especially coyotes). I know food is often thought to be great to lure cats to their shelters, but it really can back fire. You can still feed them nearby, just not in the shelters or outside of the shelters.

Can't wait to hear the kitties have all arrived!
 
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walli

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Thanks! I hope they come soon! tomorrow will be a good day as I don't have to rush to work
I will not feed at the shelter and I always pickup the food before sundown!
Thanks to my husband it came out just like the picture I drew!
 
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walli

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I have been working the cats over to the shelter, I have a big door on the side which I have
been leaving open so they can check it out without getting scared.
I recently closed that door as it is getting colder and we are starting to get rain, Sammy
went into the shelter yesterday to check it out but Tex did not.
I'm second guessing myself on the 4 inch openings that I have created, Tex is bigger than Sammy
Can all cats get into a 4 inch opening?

See image above
 
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walli

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My Shelters have 6inch openings but the coyote proof structure is 4inches, I think I need to open one of those to 5-6 inches for Tex
sheesh! I always make mistakes!!!
did you look at my pic above?
 

shadowsrescue

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Yes, I did. I would make them a bit bigger. It's always best to keep it as small as possible so you did the right thing by trying it small!! Just make one or two of them a bit bigger and see if that helps. With the feral kitties, tweaks are always necessary!!

You also could reduce the amount of straw to start with if they aren't using them. You can then add more later when they are more used to the shelter.
 
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walli

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Thanks Shadow! I will move some boards tomorrow and yes tweaks are always necessary! Always learning!
I was wondering about the poofy straw, I think I had a visitor in the last bin as the straw is a little matted!
I will remove some straw-Thanks!
hee hee I bought 4 bales of straw thinking 1 for each bin, didn't even use a whole bale!
 
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walli

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Anyone have any ideas on how to get these cats to sleep in my shelter?
It's cold in San Diego right now, they will go in it (Sammy and Tex)
but they won't sleep in it.

I resorted to putting a small blanket on top of the straw still nothing.
This spring I'm going to take the straw out and put blankets in it
Not sure what they don't like about it.

Is it possible that it's too dark over there?
It's on the side of my house.

fyi I did remove some straw
 

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Anyone have any ideas on how to get these cats to sleep in my shelter?
It's cold in San Diego right now, they will go in it (Sammy and Tex)
but they won't sleep in it.

I resorted to putting a small blanket on top of the straw still nothing.
This spring I'm going to take the straw out and put blankets in it
Not sure what they don't like about it.

Is it possible that it's too dark over there?
It's on the side of my house.

fyi I did remove some straw
There's just no telling, W walli . Each cat is unique and while your shelter sounds very inviting, for some reason, your two aren't buying it. But maybe they are when you're not observing. Feral/freeroaming/outdoor cats have to be constantly on guard, so they may sleep lightly or sleep when you're not around; plus, some cats want multiple ways of egress, which is just about impossible in a shelter where you want them to be warm and snug. If/when it's cold enough, I would think they will take advantage of it.
 
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walli

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Thanks! I will work with it come spring
I'm going to remove one of the bins so there is more room on the inside to walk around.
It's perplexing, but maybe they have been sleeping where they do for so long they can't change yet.
Ferals are definitely routine!

In hindsight I would of made it taller so they could wander up, but maybe that's a project for another day
[sigh] Ferals!
 

tarasgirl06

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Thanks! I will work with it come spring
I'm going to remove one of the bins so there is more room on the inside to walk around.
It's perplexing, but maybe they have been sleeping where they do for so long they can't change yet.
Ferals are definitely routine!

In hindsight I would of made it taller so they could wander up, but maybe that's a project for another day
[sigh] Ferals!
That's a good idea to give them more walking around room! and a lot of cats are definitely "tree-dwellers" (cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy a/k/a "The Cat Daddy" can explain this to you in his YouTube videos, "My Cat From Hell" Animal Planet TV series, and/or books. Cats are either bush dwellers or tree dwellers, or a combination of the two.) so building up sounds great, too. And as a probably Asperger's person, I definitely relate to routine. Gotta have it!
 

shadowsrescue

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The first shelter I built, I loaded it up with straw. My feral hated the straw. I worried about him all winter. The following winter, I did away with the straw and insulated the shelters and then added a microwave heat disc under a blanket. I then moved on to outside heat pads. That was the absolute winner. Also as stated above, 2 holes are necessary to start. I used to save one of the hole cut-outs and once the cat was used to the shelter I could sometimes duct tape it back in place.
 
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walli

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I have 2 holes, but I do think it's the straw.
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to remove the straw now since they are not going in.
We are in San Diego so it's not so urgent, it is cold right now tho, February is the coldest month!
I will make it more inviting for them when it gets warmer.
Thanks everyone, it gets frustrating sometimes!

p.s. Im still volunteering at the Feral Cat Clinics, we neutered 85 Ferals on Sunday!
1 was in bad shape so he had to go to heaven, better than being sick in the cold I say!
 

tarasgirl06

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I have 2 holes, but I do think it's the straw.
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to remove the straw now since they are not going in.
We are in San Diego so it's not so urgent, it is cold right now tho, February is the coldest month!
I will make it more inviting for them when it gets warmer.
Thanks everyone, it gets frustrating sometimes!

p.s. Im still volunteering at the Feral Cat Clinics, we neutered 85 Ferals on Sunday!
1 was in bad shape so he had to go to heaven, better than being sick in the cold I say!
May you be many times blessed for doing that work of love! :redheartpump:
10325_1225350800374_1427132454_30681171_1792713_s.jpg
:redheartpump::rbheart:Sweet little angel cat.
I'm in L.A. Metro so not that different weather-wise. I like the fleece ('polar fleece') for bedding, though I don't have any outdoor shelters because around here, people are good about keeping their cats indoors only and we have TNR as municipal policy, so I don't see free-roamers around.
 
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