On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 18:52:35 +0000 (UTC), John Doe
wrote:

dgk wrote:

John Doe wrote:

I was thinking of ways to keep it warm during the winter. You know, boxes
or whatever. I bought an electric blanket and it hasn't left the area since
that day. The weather hardly gets below freezing, so I'm hoping for a cold
night I think it will work at least down to 0°F. One night was about 30°
and it was no problem. Since then, I put it in a larger box that is only
half covered. It's kind of paranoid, like half feral, it cringes when it's
petted but it enjoys having its head scratched. So if it gets near zero it
will probably move into that covered half of the box. Still on the electric
blanket, that should keep it warm and cozy. Since the electric blanket is
folded up, it generates concentrated heat and must be left on the lowest
settings. As with all of their bedding, clean paper towels are used like
sheets.

I made a home out of a styrofoam box with those cheap stick-um tiles
to keep them from scratching through the styrofoam. I also installed a
heated pad designed for outdoor use by cats, something like this:

I was thinking about using Styrofoam, but it's probably not as cold here.

http://www.amazon.com/3093-Extreme-W...ng+pad+outdoor

Thanks, I was wondering about that. I did look briefly before buying an
electric blanket.

Sorry if that URL breaks but just look for "pet heating pad outdoor".
I put lots of straw in the house and change that yearly. I don't
recommend blankets because they get fleas and such. This looks like a
nice way to build a shelter:

You are worried about fleas and you only change the bedding once per
year? I use clean paper towels, changed at least every few days, as a
cover on all of their bedding. The blanket can be folded up in many
different ways, and it is washable. Fleas will always be a concern since
it's an outdoor cat. One marvelous thing about using clean bright white
paper towels is that you know what's going on with the cat. You can see
all of the dirt and any blood. And it helps clean your cat.

Hopefully your outdoor cats are neutered.

The outdoor cats are neutered and they seem not to get fleas. I'm
moving in a few days and was worried about one of the outdoor cats,
Baby. She's around 6 years old and I've been handling her since she
was two weeks old. She lives in the box and hangs around the front of
my house much of the time. Since the other main feeder is also moving
out of the neighborhood, I was really worrying about Baby.

I never took her in the house because she often hangs out with her
mom, Jet, and Jet is much too feral to take in. I didn't want to break
them up. But since the two main feeders are leaving, I took Baby into
the house a few days ago. She yowled the first few nights but last
night she was mostly quiet. There has been no conflict with my other
three cats.

I took her to the vet and she is still tiny (8.2 lbs) but in very good
shape. No fleas and she got her rabies vaccine. I know from five years
ago that she was HIV and Leukemia negative.

So in a week or so we all get into a rented minivan and head for
Florida. I will donate the heated box to some TNR person nearby.