Backstory: I live in an area with a lot of strays/abandoned cats. For the last 6-7 years I’ve made friends with a bunch of them (roughly 25 so far.) I’ve been leaving food out, and have been bringing them in to get fixed as the little bit of money I get allows. (around 15 so far, been focusing on the females although a few boys have been done too.) Found homes for a number of them, but a few new ones keep showing up every year.
I live in Canada, our winters regularly drop below -30c (-22f) and much colder. In the spring it’s not uncommon to find a dead one in the neighborhood that had froze during the winter. I have an insulated box outside that has saved a few from freezing to death, but it’s not heated and isn’t very big. I have very little extra money but I want to do what I can for the little furballs. (I’ve been wanting to upgrade my 15yr old pc for years now, but this is more important to me.)
What I want to do is take an old broken apartment size chest freezer that I have and turn it into a cat house with a pet heating pad to keep it at least a bit warmer for any cat that needs it. I was going to cut a cat flap into the side for them and make a few floors or levels inside. I think it’ll help, but I’m a bit concerned about how the air quality will be in there. Will the cat flap let enough air through, or should I vent it as well? Is there anything else I should be doing as well? If anyone has any suggestions or improvements on my idea, I’d love to hear them.
IMO spare yourself the effort on the window, they’re just using it to sleep and won’t hang out there. A window looks like another opening and makes the den less “safe”
You think so? The main reasons I wanted a small window was to let a little bit of light in, and for them to be able to look out. Kinda makes sense it may make them feel a little less safe though… my furry idiots fight all the time for the window shelf I have in the house, but they’re not strays anymore like the one(s) that would use the freezer house thingee.
My evidence is purely anecdotal so take it with a grain of salt but I do think so.
My friends DIYed a box with a camera for strays. They got so many the first winter, they took an old carrier and replaced the metal grates with acrylic for a second one. Barely any cats used it that year so I suggested the window thing and the following winter, it was just as popular.
But there’s a very real possibility that a full year outside was just enough to remove any lingering scent or unfamiliarity that kept them away!
Hmmm thanks, that gives me something to think about. Even if I did put one in, it won’t be until next summer, so I’ve got some time to think about that one.