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Heated cat shelter!
My 3 cats are inside cats but I'm aware of lots of feral cats left to fend for themselves. In years past a feral cat took up residence in our garage/under our deck. He/she wanted shelter and took food but wanted nothing to do with coming inside. I'm amazed that the cat survived when the temperature dipped into the negative numbers for a week at a time. THIS ITEM BELOW: Price seems good and it'll be sheltered and fit under the deck where the cat hides.
Just my luck a skunk and raccoon will move in with the cat for the winter.
https://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Kitty-House-Heated/dp/B004ZJOH06/ref=pd_sim_86_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=51%2BTllln-aL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=3BK23XQ2NKYX2S8HP6W7
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shenmue
(38,506 posts)JonathanRackham
(1,604 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,545 posts)JonathanRackham
(1,604 posts)So technically he/she is gainfully employeed. I worry about the impact on the birds but have never seen him/her with one. I don't see any kittens so maybe my vagrant is neutered. Slippery but curious little devil. Always close and observing but don't even think about touching.
Citrus
(88 posts)No need to worry about birds. It's a myth that cats, especially feral cats, are decimating the bird population.
The reasons for bird loss are due to human activity.
[link:http://www.alleycat.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=1593|
dem in texas
(2,674 posts)about 7 or 8 years back we saw a huge decline in certain species of wild birds in our area. The paper said it was because of West Nile Virus and we did find dead birds out in our alley several times back then. The ones most affected were the blue jays, crows and starlings. I have read that robins were also hit hard by West Nile, although we only get robins passing through in migration here in North Texas. The blue jays and crows are coming back, not so with the starlings, hardly ever see them anymore.
dem in texas
(2,674 posts)We live on the edge of Dallas in an area called the White Rock Escarpment and commonly known as the Dallas Hill Country. Lots of open fields, woods and creeks. We have always had feral cats around here. My husband puts food and water out for them. If we can catch them, we take them to the vet and get their shots and get the females neutered. If you have feral cats, they need to be vaccinated as they will spread cat leukemia which is highly contagious and is always fatal. Very few have we been able to tame.
Right now we are down to one regular a tom, and one who comes around every few days. I have an indoor cat and don't let her go outside at all.
We feed the feral cats because they perform a very good function for us, keeping the rats away which are a problem out in our area, . Plus there's lots of limestone cliffs and the rocks are full of snakes, so the feral cats keep the snakes under control, too.
I have found that the feral cats like to be up off the ground when they sleep. If they hang out around our house, they will sleep up in the window edge. I have put blankets on the rocking chairs on my porch for them to sleep in when the weather was cold. When we had more feral cats,. I put a brick under the garage door so they could sleep in the garage. Now our winters are getting so mild,. don't have to worry about them.
NaturalHigh
(12,778 posts)Unfortunately that's exactly what would happen at my house.