We have a few stray/feral cats who come visit our house on a regular basis. We started to put some food and water out, and then in the fall we made a couple of those home made cat boxes—plastic bin lined with insulation, within another plastic bin, full of straw, etc. none Of the cats like my home made cat boxes, of course. But we do have one kitty who sometimes goes into a cardboard box my husband left out—he put an old cat bed and a bunch of straw inside, and of course that is the only box that gets used.
We are getting ready to experience negative temps during the nights this week, and of course I’m worried about the strays. They must have at least one other warm(er) option as they have made it thru the winter so far, but I’m still concerned and would like to see if there is anything I can do to make what we have a bit warmer, if necessary.
I do have two k&H brand ‘Thermo kitty pads’ that I used with my previous two elderly cats. I believe this is the one I have—it has been a year or so since I bought them. K&H Pet Products Thermo-Kitty Mat, Sage - Chewy.com
I have only ever used the pads indoors, and I don’t know if I can use these safely plugged in outside. I wonder if putting the pads inside the one cardboard box that the one cat uses is safe...would putting that pad under all of the straw so that the kitty had extra warmth while retaining the ability to hide/burrow in be safe? Or is mixing those pads and straw and outdoor use a no no?
We have four cats and no way to allow any of the strays into our house safely. We do have a garage and I wouldn’t be opposed to keeping our garage door open slightly so that the strays could access shelter in there, but I don’t know that the cats would find it. We have a nest camera set up so we can see who shows up and where they come from, and all of the cats trek in from the backyard (which backs up into some woods) and they all leave that way as well.
We are getting ready to experience negative temps during the nights this week, and of course I’m worried about the strays. They must have at least one other warm(er) option as they have made it thru the winter so far, but I’m still concerned and would like to see if there is anything I can do to make what we have a bit warmer, if necessary.
I do have two k&H brand ‘Thermo kitty pads’ that I used with my previous two elderly cats. I believe this is the one I have—it has been a year or so since I bought them. K&H Pet Products Thermo-Kitty Mat, Sage - Chewy.com
I have only ever used the pads indoors, and I don’t know if I can use these safely plugged in outside. I wonder if putting the pads inside the one cardboard box that the one cat uses is safe...would putting that pad under all of the straw so that the kitty had extra warmth while retaining the ability to hide/burrow in be safe? Or is mixing those pads and straw and outdoor use a no no?
We have four cats and no way to allow any of the strays into our house safely. We do have a garage and I wouldn’t be opposed to keeping our garage door open slightly so that the strays could access shelter in there, but I don’t know that the cats would find it. We have a nest camera set up so we can see who shows up and where they come from, and all of the cats trek in from the backyard (which backs up into some woods) and they all leave that way as well.