Help Stray Cats in the Winter

I’m currently looking after three stray cats in my garden. This is due to their previous owner not giving a crap and choosing to leave them outside to fend for themselves. So if you read this previous owner, I would just like to say I think you are inhumane. Shame on you!

Unfortunately, I also happen to be a struggling writer finding it difficult to make ends meet. The simple fact is, if I had more funds available to look after them the way a loving family should; by having them neutered, wormed, nails clipped etc. then I would do so without hesitation. For my love of cats is strong.

But right now I’m extremely worried about my stray cats; Dave, Otto and Gru. Because despite my relentless appeals to animal welfare agencies and countless strangers to try and find them all homes. Sadly, for reasons I will never fully understand, there have been no takers whatsoever. And now …

WINTER IS COMING!

Last night was the coldest of Autumn so far here in the U.K. and while it was still 7 degrees centigrade, I could instinctively notice the negative change in them all when I went outside to feed them. They can sense the forthcoming harsh realities of winter and are becoming restless and scared. So I must help them get through it!

Feeding them I can just about manage. I have started earning a few extra dollars online completing surveys to go towards their food. But finding a solution to keep them sheltered and warm all the way through winter on a budget is proving difficult.

Last night my wife came up with an ingenious idea to use a large cardboard box for shelter, then to wrap it in clingfilm to stop it from getting wet and put a blanket inside to keep them warm. But while good at the moment, it certainly won’t be enough for the harsh conditions to come.

What I really need is a little wooden shelter for each one with a cat-flap. I can then feel satisfied in the knowledge they will be safe through the entire winter. There is a common misconception that cats stay warm and retain heat due to their furry coats. But it’s simply not true. If the temperatures drop to freezing and they have no shelter, they will sadly freeze and die.

Fortunately, there are now some devices on the market to keep cats warm that are relatively cheap to buy. You can get heated pads for cats to lie on for example; some are battery powered and some not. You can also buy small insulated cat houses made out of material, with door flaps to keep out the wet and legs to keep them raised above the ground.

While these are perhaps not ideal solutions due to them being much less sturdy nowhere near as storm proof as wood. They would definitely be better than nothing and maybe stop the cats from crawling underneath car bonnets to keep warm instead (Cats often do this in winter by the way, so please think about it before starting your engines!)

I leave now, hoping that people may read this and think of the stray cats struggling desperately to survive through the bitter harshness of winter. So if you do see one wandering around outside that seems very cold hungry and afraid, then please try and help. It will become your best friend for life. And so will I …

Thanks for reading (any tips or earnings will go straight to Dave, Otto and Gru!)