minimum temperature in outside kennel

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Hats off to all you wonderful ladies 

[Honeysuckle]

Hi Gillian, Thank's for posting that. I've seem them on Zooplus. I like that your kennel is big enough to be able to put their food inside. This is close to the design I want when I have a proper permanent shelter. 

Gosh Janey you have a lot of ferals. Fantastic that you are looking after so many! That must keep you very busy.

Here is my emergency shelter made from a cardboard box lined with thermawrap insultating material. I've changed it slightly and put in a large catflap at the front to be able to put in the Snugglepads. I keep the cat=flap in the front closed now to conserve heat. There is also another smaller cat flap at the side which he uses to get in and out and I prop this open with a clothes peg.




Here is the side entrance:



I've now covered the whole thing with an Original Space Blanket and a tarpaulin pulled down over the open flap to try and keep in the heat.

[Janeyk]

My ferals did the same and I thought as you, they shot off as soon as I released them but were back within a few hours 

I'm amazed at how they don't seem to feel the cold a couple of our ferals have been just sat out here today and there are kennels for them but they don't seem to feel the cold, a bit like kids really 

Hi JaneyK,

I'm so glad your ferals came back. How many do you have?  I'm a newbie at having a feral cat and I'm just having to learn as I go along. I was wondering if you could tell me what sort of outdoor shelter you have? Do you have any photos? I have built an emergency shelter but I'm always looking on ways to improve it.

I am always concerned that my feral cat Wolfie is not warm enough. I put two Snugglesafe heat pads in his shelter late afternoon while he is outside eating his dinner and then swap those over in the morning with a third warm one while he is having his breakfast. I also have a Flectabed in there and straw. He tends to hang around outside though during the day in some bushes and I think he must be freezing.

It's tricky because I have to wait until he is outside to put the heat pads in as he gets upset if I disturb his shelter. My main problem is that I don't know if he can use a cat-flap so I have to prop it open with a clothes peg. The shelter is insulated and waterproof and is wrapped with an Original Space blanket and a tarpaulin which I have pulled down over the semi open catflap to make a windbreak but still I worry that heat is being lost.  Once the cat flap must have closed behind him by accident while he was inside and when I called him for his breakfast he did push through it. When I felt inside it was lovely and warm where the heat had built up.  Even when the cat flap is open the Flectabed and heatpads do still feel warm in the morning where he has been lying on them. It is a worry though. 

If anyone has any examples of their outdoor cat houses I would love to see them. 

You sound to be doing brilliantly to me

There are about 9 in total Frosty, Perdy (aka Tiny), Blackchin and Whitechin, Rudolf and Smudge, Penny 2 and Little Blacky and Doody (aka Dennis), (there was also gorgeous Zippy but we haven't seen her for a long time now  )  but we share the care with 2 neighbours.    Some go in next doors conservatory through the day because she took on Tiggy an ex-feral so he takes them inside.  We also have allotments just behind our back garden and they tend to sleep in there, there is Hercules the donkey so probably they get in with him or in one of the other rackety sheds.  We have a large kennel and a one of those snuggle huts which they use sometimes.  I have straw in the large kennel and cat bedding in the smaller one and put snuggle pads inside at night in the winter.  We went to get another of the snuggle huts today but they didn't have any because when Frosty gets inside his little girlfriend Perdy Pops can't fit in with him - he's huge! so I'm getting another to have side by side.   We've also got a potting shed we don't use and we were going to take it down but have decided we're going to cut a hole for them to get inside and put cat beds in there for them.  I adore my ferals 

[Gillian Harvey]

If anyone has any examples of their outdoor cat houses I would love to see them. 

This is the one I've got to the side of my house for my neighbour's two cats who are left out in all weathers - lined with bubble wrap inside, topped up with vetbed and finally stuffed with hay! Snugglesafe discs go out there last thing and they are still warm (ish) by the morning. 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Sasa went outside and sat in the freezing cold for ages watching.......for a mole I was hopin! Prior to that I saw her flip flopping her way through the snow at the end of the garden........sigh

However Misa who goes and sits outside in all weathers has only been popping out when necessary.

[Kay and Penny]

I wish I had an electric supply to the shed - it would be so easy to drill a little hole in the shed wall and plug in an electric pad

but it would be too expensive to install, especially for just one cat, who might disappear at any moment

I'd  try the snuggle pads if I knew he was going into the kennel soon after I have been up there to leave food, but I'm not sure that is the case - I leave the food at dusk as getting up there in the dark is too dodgy, and he may not go in there for many hours

[Fire Fox]

It's so lovely to keep reading of the resourcefulness of Purrs people.  I am sure some of your ferals think they have struck gold.

[Mark]

Hedgie houses have and angled entrance to stop predators getting in. A bonus is that it also helps prevent cold winds blowing in. They tell you to place them in a sheltered position to avoid icy drafts - I'm sure this applies to cats as well.

This company makes all kinds of outdoor heaters and shelters for cats. I wonder if they ship to the UK?

http://www.khmfg.com/catproducts/outdoor-cat-beds-pads-bowls

[Honeysuckle]

My ferals did the same and I thought as you, they shot off as soon as I released them but were back within a few hours 

I'm amazed at how they don't seem to feel the cold a couple of our ferals have been just sat out here today and there are kennels for them but they don't seem to feel the cold, a bit like kids really 

Hi JaneyK,

I'm so glad your ferals came back. How many do you have?  I'm a newbie at having a feral cat and I'm just having to learn as I go along. I was wondering if you could tell me what sort of outdoor shelter you have? Do you have any photos? I have built an emergency shelter but I'm always looking on ways to improve it.

I am always concerned that my feral cat Wolfie is not warm enough. I put two Snugglesafe heat pads in his shelter late afternoon while he is outside eating his dinner and then swap those over in the morning with a third warm one while he is having his breakfast. I also have a Flectabed in there and straw. He tends to hang around outside though during the day in some bushes and I think he must be freezing.

It's tricky because I have to wait until he is outside to put the heat pads in as he gets upset if I disturb his shelter. My main problem is that I don't know if he can use a cat-flap so I have to prop it open with a clothes peg. The shelter is insulated and waterproof and is wrapped with an Original Space blanket and a tarpaulin which I have pulled down over the semi open catflap to make a windbreak but still I worry that heat is being lost.  Once the cat flap must have closed behind him by accident while he was inside and when I called him for his breakfast he did push through it. When I felt inside it was lovely and warm where the heat had built up.  Even when the cat flap is open the Flectabed and heatpads do still feel warm in the morning where he has been lying on them. It is a worry though. 

If anyone has any examples of their outdoor cat houses I would love to see them. 

[Janeyk]

When they brought him back and released him in my garden he ran for his life and I wondered whether that would be the last I saw of him but within 4 hours he was back wanting his lunch! I know there is an element of cupboard love here but I still felt so happy that his trust of people hadn't been completely destroyed by his ordeal. I do wonder whether cats and dogs know on some level that we are trying to help them even when they have to have injections or operations?

My ferals did the same and I thought as you, they shot off as soon as I released them but were back within a few hours 

I'm amazed at how they don't seem to feel the cold a couple of our ferals have been just sat out here today and there are kennels for them but they don't seem to feel the cold, a bit like kids really 

[Fire Fox]

my stray used the outdoor kennel at the back of the shed for the first time last night

he had made a tunnel through the fleece blankets so he was under them and on top of the Flectabed pad

the indoor/outdoor thermometer inside the shed showed that it was 9C inside the kennel whilst it was -5.8C inside the shed, so that is a big difference

but is 9C enough to keep a cat comfortable during the night?

  So pleased your stray has found a little haven! I agree that it is far better than being in damp and windy conditions and sub zero temperatures. Presumably he has developed a good winter coat and is being heated from the inside by the food you are providing. 

I didn't put my heating on until it snowed last year - still not on this year - so it has been as low as 14C in the flat during the day. Noah has been quite happy to eat, play, use the tray and supervise me in the kitchen   but usually sleeps on my his kingsize bed (electric underblanket on overnight setting 24/7). Last night he was snoring on my pillow so did not opt for hot blanket, human or duvet to keep him warm. 

[Dawn F]

whatever the temp was it is better than he would of had

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I am sure a higher temperature would be great but 9 compared to minus 6 and even lower outside must feel warm. He was also under the blankets and on top of something warm so it would be warmer in there, possinle up to 15 so that is respectable if we are talking in the same temperature. 15 is about 60 in my language......hope its the same in yours 

[Kay and Penny]

my stray used the outdoor kennel at the back of the shed for the first time last night

he had made a tunnel through the fleece blankets so he was under them and on top of the Flectabed pad

the indoor/outdoor thermometer inside the shed showed that it was 9C inside the kennel whilst it was -5.8C inside the shed, so that is a big difference

but is 9C enough to keep a cat comfortable during the night?

[Fire Fox]

  Gorgeous pics of Alice as queen of all she surveys. 

[Mark]

Apparently it is national feral cat day in America on Saturday  http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/oct/13/october-16-is-national-feral-cat-day-1622/

Please excuse the mess, but this is Alice's set up. Her legs are stiff so her world is mainy moving from bed to bed. One the left is a small dog bed with a small fleecy flectabed. In the middle, where I sit (unless Alice wants to sit there - and she will soon let me know if she does  ) is the Flectabed Q (faux suede cover), then her old heated bed with a small bed in it and on the far right, her infra-red bed (for her joints) kept at 46^o, with the heater in front (wood burner when it is really cold) 

This morning when I came down, she was on the flectabed in the middle. She hopped down and I sat on the flectabed and it felt really warm 

Also added a couple of pics of Alice relaxing on the Flectabed last week 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Thats great that your feral came back HS and its a bit like my semiferal Sasa............she likes her home comforts as long as she is free to come and go. 

Think the research is a great idea trigger 

My snug faces south and gets soaking but its not got anything infront.

[Honeysuckle]

this is the flectabed I have bought, Mark http://www.petstuffgalore.co.uk/dog-products/dog-bedding/flectabed/flectabed-size-1---18in-x-14in.html

doesn't mention being suede like

and this is the flea treatment http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Novartis_Animal_Health_UK_Ltd/documents/S3453.html

Honeysuckle - watch this space - I am going to test the temperature inside my kennel with different types of bedding, to see which combination is warmest - and will continue to do so as it gets colder - it's important, isn't it, to have the peace of mind that a cat can sleep in comfort regardless of how cold it gets, so I am going to continue this bit of reserch

when I've finished spending a small fortune assembling my materials

but it might be useful long term info for anyone looking after strays and ferals outside, so worth doing, I think

I think it is great you are doing this research and I would love know what your results are and yes, I agree it is important to have the peace of mind that our ferals and strays can sleep in comfort.

After eight months I have only just managed to get the help to trap my feral and have him neutered and be given all the medical treatment he needed. When they brought him back and released him in my garden he ran for his life and I wondered whether that would be the last I saw of him but within 4 hours he was back wanting his lunch! I know there is an element of cupboard love here but I still felt so happy that his trust of people hadn't been completely destroyed by his ordeal. I do wonder whether cats and dogs know on some level that we are trying to help them even when they have to have injections or operations?

I'll be watching this space Trigger to see your results.

[Kay and Penny]

this is the flectabed I have bought, Mark http://www.petstuffgalore.co.uk/dog-products/dog-bedding/flectabed/flectabed-size-1---18in-x-14in.html

doesn't mention being suede like

and this is the flea treatment http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Novartis_Animal_Health_UK_Ltd/documents/S3453.html

Honeysuckle - watch this space - I am going to test the temperature inside my kennel with different types of bedding, to see which combination is warmest - and will continue to do so as it gets colder - it's important, isn't it, to have the peace of mind that a cat can sleep in comfort regardless of how cold it gets, so I am going to continue this bit of reserch

when I've finished spending a small fortune assembling my materials

but it might be useful long term info for anyone looking after strays and ferals outside, so worth doing, I think

[Mark]

I bought one of the Ancol ones last year but it makes a crinkling sound and the cat I bought it for didn't like the noise. I have it in the outdoor kennel but not sure how well it works. The genuine flectabed ones don't crinkle and they are really well-made & heavy compared to the Ancol ones.

You know, that's exactly why I didn't put it in his shelter this evening as I was concerned about the crinkly noise! You have convinced me, I am going to get a Flectabed. :-)  My indoor cat likes crinkly things so I will give it to her instead.

 

I just wondered if you might be better getting the one with the faux suede cover and putting a cheap fleece on top - my theory is that the cover is a lot more hard-wearing than the fleecy one which will probably get dirty really quickly. Apparently they also sell antibacterial covers separately but I haven't seen one - I think they are the fleecy type.

[Mark]

I thought a dusting through hay might be a good idea, FF - if it would be safe

there is an oral flea killer now on the market, which is apparently very effective, but also very expensive

Advantage?

I tried it with clapton due to allergies, but he refused to eat any food I mixed it in. I think I bought a 4 pack and they were all wasted.

[Honeysuckle]

I bought one of the Ancol ones last year but it makes a crinkling sound and the cat I bought it for didn't like the noise. I have it in the outdoor kennel but not sure how well it works. The genuine flectabed ones don't crinkle and they are really well-made & heavy compared to the Ancol ones.

You know, that's exactly why I didn't put it in his shelter this evening as I was concerned about the crinkly noise! You have convinced me, I am going to get a Flectabed. :-)  My indoor cat likes crinkly things so I will give it to her instead. 

[Mark]

I bought one of the Ancol ones last year but it makes a crinkling sound and the cat I bought it for didn't like the noise. I have it in the outdoor kennel but not sure how well it works. The genuine flectabed ones don't crinkle and they are really well-made & heavy compared to the Ancol ones.

[Honeysuckle]

Hi Trigger,

I have started a very similar thread to you without realising. I would like to know the answer to your question as well and also the best heat pads to use without having a micro-wave oven. Is it alright if I re-direct people to your thread from my one as there is lots of info on here?

Mark mentioned getting a flectabed and coincidentally I had ordered a similar item from Amazon which arrived today. It is a Sleepy Paws Self Heating Pet Pad made by Ancol.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dog-Cat-Bedding-Small-Heating/dp/B002Q5A5OS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287001737&sr=8-1

There are no reviews for it yet so I don't know how effective it is but it is fairly reasonably priced.

I have also lined my shelter with Thermawrap which I got from Homebase here in the UK.  It is basically bubble wrap lined on both sides with foil. It is used to line lofts.  Here is a link to the Homebase page and how I used it in my shelter.

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=20001&partNumber=127033&Trail=searchtext%3ETHERMAWRAP



My cat has come to help.

My shelter is filled with straw but I was thinking about getting additional heat as I am leaving the catflaps on his shelter propped open at the moment as I don't know whether he can use them so I wanted to get some more heat in there in the meantime.

[Kay and Penny]

I thought a dusting through hay might be a good idea, FF - if it would be safe

there is an oral flea killer now on the market, which is apparently very effective, but also very expensive

[Fire Fox]

Might it be worth trying to deflea the stray too, presumably any parasites will be foiling your attempts to fatten him up for Christmas (in the nicest possible way  )? Just wondering if something could be put in the bedding?

[Kay and Penny]

How are you going to stop the rain getting in trigger and the bloomin snow?

I have a cavity underneath the coal bunker just a little bigger than the kennel, and the entrance faces south , with the wall of the house only a couple of feet away - so rain and snow are unlikely to get in there

it won't be bone dry, cos moist air can blow in, but I can't see it getting really wet - I have ordered two flectabeds so will have a replacement to hand while one is drying

think of everything, me - especially if it involves spending yet more money

cheapest I found, Mark, was petstuffgalore - a new site to me

[Mark]

there is now an improved version of Flectabed called Flectabed Q

That is the one with the faux suede cover AFAIK 


ETA - This is the makers site http://www.petlifeonline.co.uk/Store/Cats/Bedding

I think the faux suede cover is more expensive as it is a lot more hard wearing than the fleece version.

As is often the case, it is more expensive to buy direct from the maker than through a reseller  - I guess they have to sell at RRP, otherwise nobody would stock their products.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

How are you going to stop the rain getting in trigger and the bloomin snow?

[Kay and Penny]

there is now an improved version of Flectabed called Flectabed Q, so have ordered 2 plus a spare cover

this stray is already costing me more than my 3 residents

but he is only going to get Butchers Classic and Purina dry - no little Gourmet tins for him - except what my lot don't like, of course

I'll get some wormer from the vet

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

Wormer : I'd go for Milbimax as its small and can be hiden in some food (although it POM so you'll have to tell vet its for one of yours)

Hay/straw : Yes get it in petshop...and as he won't be using it as a litter tray (we hope) I wouldnt have thought you have to change it that often

[Janeyk]

Trigger for my ferals I have a large kennel and one of those cave type things and have always put fleeces and beds inside with a snugglesafe in winter each evening. 

Anyway, I've decided I'm going to use straw/hay because it does sound better for them. 

I have 2 questions though if any one can answer, do you just get it from Pet shops?  and how often do you change it?

[Mark]

The flectabeds are a bit cheaper here (I ordered mine from Amazon  ) they also sell a waterproof cover separately, although the fleece one that comes with it is probably more cosy. They also sell the beds with a washable faux suede cover. One of Alice's has it - it seems to be really hard wearing compared to the slightly cheaper ones with the fleece cover - about 3 years old and washes like new.

http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/searchprods.asp

ETA - I can't link direct to items so just put flectabed in search for all the options.

PS - This morning, Alice was on one of the flectabeds on the sofa. She got up and I sat on it - it was toasty   

Strangely, she often favours them over her expensive infrared heated bed 

[Ellen2010]

The best thing to use for bedding is Straw for the simple reason it dries the fur and does not go solid when wet as a duvet would.  Many rescues use it if they support feral colonies that they provide shelters for and there is normally someone near by that feeds the cats at least once a day.

The only granule wormer that can be added to food is Panacur but if you don't mind crushing up a worming tablet such as Drontal between two teaspoons then that is an option to worm the cat with.

[Kay and Penny]

thanks all

the smallest Flectabed is just about the right size, and I will put hay inside too

once I'm sure he's going to use it, anyway - I have another further away from the house which he has been in to get out of the heavy rain, so I am hopeful

[Mark]

I think these flactabeds are great. There are various sizes. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flectabed-Size-26-inch-Cream/dp/B002S2AUQM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=garden&qid=1286923551&sr=8-2

you can also get various covers, including a waterproof one.

[Gillian Harvey]

Isn't straw supposed to be quite good for holding heat?

Straw is good, hay is too. I use hay in the outside kennel I've got for the two neighbour's cats who are left out in all weather. I've got vinyl on the floor of the kennel, topped with vetbed, and then that is topped with hay, literally packed in to the rafters lol! You can see where the two cats have sort of burrowed in and there are 2 little indentations left where they sleep  .

I don't really know about temps, only what it says in my boarding cattery manual, that 'the ambient air the cat breathes in must be within a range of 15-26 deg C, despite external temperature' - but of course thats talking about a cattery situation. If you get a maximum and minimum thermometer that will tell you the highest and lowest temps measured.

Worming granulues I only know Panacur - but think they are only for 1 type of worm, not both?

[Kay and Penny]

I thought of packing straw around the outside of the kennel, though there is only an inch or two between its sides and the sides of the cubbyhole - would loft insulation be safe if anything chewed on it?

I can try those suggestions for inside the kennel - and check using the thermometer to see which is warmest - though I presume they only heat up when the cat is lying on them

I did think of putting a cot duvet inside, doubled over, as the cat could crawl in it if it got really cold

any suggestions for a wormer?

[Feline Costumier]

Cardboard too, there's a reason homeless people sleep on it Perhaps you could also get your hands on some loft insulation type stuff, if you could enclose it somehow round the kennel seeing as it's quite enclosed, you wouldn't need a lot and that would make it super snuggly!

I would say a layer of cardboard, with a flectabed and on the coldest nights maybe you could put out a fleecy blanket and hot water bottle/mocrowaveable heat pad?

I can't help on the minimum temperature though, no idea on that front.

[Rosella moggy]

Isn't straw supposed to be quite good for holding heat?