Outdoor cats in winter

[erika]

Does anyone know what's the lowest temperature that a kitty can stand outside in winter/fall?

I'm working on getting shelter for our outdoor kitty (can't adopt her out, shelters are all full, can't bring her inside) but I may not have it for a few more weeks...

She's on a dry porch and has a kitty bed she sleeps in. Food and water and all that good stuff. I just saw it was going to get to 39 degrees one night this week and didn't know if she'd be ok or if I absolutely need to get her shelter NOW.

Thoughts?

[fonpr]

Does anyone know what's the lowest temperature that a kitty can stand outside in winter/fall?

I'm working on getting shelter for our outdoor kitty (can't adopt her out, shelters are all full, can't bring her inside) but I may not have it for a few more weeks...

She's on a dry porch and has a kitty bed she sleeps in. Food and water and all that good stuff. I just saw it was going to get to 39 degrees one night this week and didn't know if she'd be ok or if I absolutely need to get her shelter NOW.

Thoughts?

They have fur coats. 

Related: I read an article yesterday that made me feel terrible about having free-range cats.

[erika]

They also freeze to death?

Thanks for the help, freedrix.

[fonpr]

They also freeze to death?

Thanks for the help, freedrix.

Only if you shave them, Em.

[erika]

You are a dumb. Shush it.

http://www.pets.ca/pettips/tips-2.htm

[Christina]

You are a dumb. Shush it.

http://www.pets.ca/pettips/tips-2.htm

I'm not sure if you have access to hay, but if you get a shelter and some hay I think that plus the blanket will help trap his/her own body heat enough.

If you can't get a shelter right away -- do you have cat traveling cases you could use for the time being?

[Trotskie]

A woman in our neighborhood maintains an outdoor colony year round (new york city). 

As Auntie suggests, hay works well.  What the neighbor-lady does is take one of those large plastic bins with the lids:



flip it over
cut a door in it
fill partially with hay
put the shelter in a protected place; they probably won't use it when it is sunny anyway

On a somewhat darker note:  if the cat exists near your car, be sure and check the engine and wheel wells before heading out.  Some cats will climb up into undercarriage to be near the warm engine block. 

[yesno]

I don't know where the dividing line is but I wouldn't worry about the 30s.  Dogs are different, but my sister keeps her dog outside year round, and only takes him in if it's below 0.  It probably depends, too, if the outdoor cat has a little nest she hangs out in.

I have an indoor/outdoor cat, and she goes out in all weather.  When it's cold she does tend to run inside.

(And my opinion on the great indoor/outdoor cat debate is that some cats would really rather be outdoors. The risk is worth it for the increased happiness that some cats get from being outdoors.  I'm sure birds in cages are "safe" too.)

[Sarah]

Cats are very good at finding cozy places to curl up in.  Thirty-nine shouldn't be a problem.  My cats regularly stay out all night even in subzero weather.  I don't like it, and it always scares me to death, but they come in the next morning with warm feet and fur.  

That tote-filled-with-hay contraption looks like it would work like a charm, by the way.  If I had a couple of those set up, my cats might never come in.

[Christina]

A woman in our neighborhood maintains an outdoor colony year round (new york city). 

As Auntie suggests, hay works well.  What the neighbor-lady does is take one of those large plastic bins with the lids:

RE: the colony - yeah, I got the idea from seeing this up at a transit authority station way up north in my neighborhood, since they probably like to have cats around to keep the rat population down. they have a bunch of cat bins stacked up w/hay all over the place.

On a somewhat darker note:  if the cat exists near your car, be sure and check the engine and wheel wells before heading out.  Some cats will climb up into undercarriage to be near the warm engine block. 

Honk the horn before you start the car, or bang on the hood as you get in.

[erika]

My mother in law has found a possible taker for the kitty! It's a woman with 4 kids, 2 cats and 2 dogs, though... so I have to see if she'll fit in well with the group. We shall see. I've been trying to re-home this cat for months now.

I might still make a shelter for the other kitties in the neighborhood. They are awfully cute and good at keeping the rats at bay.

If you want to get fancy about it, there's also this:

http://www.feralvilla.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1

[JustNicole]

This thread is really helpful because we have an outside cat who we feed and I'm worried about him as the night's get colder, too.  Thanks for the info.

[fonpr]

*I don't know where the dividing line is but I wouldn't worry about the 30s. 


**(And my opinion on the great indoor/outdoor cat debate is that some cats would really rather be outdoors. The risk is worth it for the increased happiness that some cats get from being outdoors.  I'm sure birds in cages are "safe" too.)

*I concur,


**Bring back the coyote! Then, cats would be safer in cages. Catch my drift.  No other predatory pets are allowed to run free. 
The piece I read Sunday, by Natalie Angier in the New York Times, about the decline in fledgling survival rates caused a pain in my heart.  Could just be angina.  I guess.

[erika]

Cats that exclusively live outside in certain [urban] environments have a lower life-span.  It sounds like your cat has the option to come inside which makes a huge difference.

I just had to intervene in a fight between her and another alley cat. She has a puncture on her side and I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow. Joy.

So, it has it's ups and downs. My indoor cats are more than happy inside... the one never even tries to get out. EVER.

[buffcoat]

Goats.