# How should i prepare for the cold



## ThreeCatzGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

I have this large size igloo for 4 outside cats.2 adults and 2 young ones(i would say 5 months old) 


As you can see in the photo theres a dog bed inside and on the left inside wall there are 2 bowls of food for the cats. 

I have a bed outside on the porch and a water bowl. 

How can i prepapre this igloo for the cats once it gets really cold and snowy. 

I have a heated water bowl for them. 

I think smokey(the adult male)is still spraying... so i have to be careful of what i put inside the igloo. I dont want to be washing it down in the single digits you know?

I took some pics of the cats this morning. I will post them in a little while.

thanks!


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## ThreeCatzGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

here are pics of the 4 cats. Some of you may have seen these pics already. Then again..some of you may not. 

smokey


cali


juneo


summer



I am pretty sure that Juneo is a girl. Im not sure about summer. I havent seen his/her back side yet. 

So let me know what i can do for them. What i really want to do is trap them and get them fixed... but its hard to plan that around our busy schedule and the Tara Van(who does the spayn/nuerting)

thanks again


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

I can see two immediate improvements you could make:

-Make the opening smaller
-Add straw

Dogloos are great for holding in heat, but kitties are much smaller than dogs and they don't need that large of an opening. I'd use cardboard to make it smaller to more of the heat stays inside the shelter. If the cats get along fairly well then having a smaller exit should be fine, either way even if you covered just the top half there'd be plenty of room for anxious kitties to exit in a hurry.

Straw will keep in body heat better than just about anything else and doesn't hold onto moisture. Maybe put a few puppy pads in the bottom, then layer in straw for warmth. That way even if he does spray (which may be inevitable) cleaning would be a matter of forking out the hay, removing pads, putting in new pads and new hay. not that bad.

..I'd also plan to put out at least one more structure. Mum is likely pregnant again, or soon will be, and a new mom is unlikely to share her nest with an adult tom. She might allow her kittens in, but no guarantees. If you can get her spayed before that happens then great...if not you need to be prepared for more mouths.


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## ThreeCatzGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

Do I have any other takers for some ideas? 

See that plaid blanket on the ground? well I put it up on the fence to block out the wind behind the brown bed. I taped it up to the fence. So it doesn't blow in the wind. 

how much straw should I use? I have a half bale right now. So maybe a few flakes of straw. I need room for the 2 food bowls. what can I put on the underside of the roof to keep it semi warm?

thanks..


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Instead of the blanket against the railing I'd buy some plastic sheeting or tarp...


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

I would further insulate the igloo. Pack straw around it, or wrap it in insulation and seal the insulation with something waterproof so they can't get at it. If you have electricity out there you can put a heated pet bed in it, too. I'm going to guess that not all 4 will use it at once unless they are VERY close. One will hog it leaving 3 out in the cold.


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## ThreeCatzGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

Marcia said:


> I would further insulate the igloo. Pack straw around it, or wrap it in insulation and seal the insulation with something waterproof so they can't get at it. If you have electricity out there you can put a heated pet bed in it, too. I'm going to guess that not all 4 will use it at once unless they are VERY close. One will hog it leaving 3 out in the cold.


 
Thank you Marcia for your ideas. 

Ive seen the kitties go inside the igloo together to eat. They even sleep together on the brown bed. They are glued to each other. Its really cute!

Smokey eats on his own in the igloo. But when I feed the 3 of them there canned food.. its on a plate and they eat together without any fights. 

Smokey is a good baby sitter to them. The mom doesn't come around as much. Which makes me worry. 


Today I added some straw to the inside of the igloo. I draped a towel on the door way of the igloo to block out the wind.

I gave up one of my cat's bed for the outside kitties. *something like this* http://pet.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pPETS-13654449dt.jpg

Only mine is fleece on the inside. I threw in a light blanket for them to sleep on. Its next to the igloo /next to the house. So that way they cant feel the wind. and I put some straw behind the bed too. So maybe the kitties can sleep together in that. 

I'll take another picture so you can see the *up grade*.

I would love to put a heated pad inside the igloo...but my dad would kill me if got something that plugs into the house 24/7. I am lucky that I can use a heated water bowl for the kitties in the cold weather.  

thanks again.


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