It’s glorious outside today so I went for a run. As much as I try to do this, I’m still out of shape because I keep getting sidetracked. I stop to take a look at every cat I see, and talk to neighbors about spaying and neutering their animals.
Today’s run was productive and fun, although I didn’t get very far.
Every colony cat I saw was ear-tipped. That always makes me happy. These two cats from the Jose and the Pussycats Colony were enjoying their daily breakfast buffet.
Then I saw this cat lounging.
I’ve seen him outside before and talked to his owners. They let him in and out. A woman came out to see why I was taking photos and we had a good discussion about neutering him. She opened up more to me once she realized we were neighbors, and was interested in getting low-cost vet care for him. I’m going to leave more information in her mailbox.
And then I found a perfectly good pet carrier being thrown out. These cost around $20 new. It just obviously needs to be cleaned. Today turned out to be a great day for a run!
We made a new game with the cats based on the super fun and addictive 2048 by Gabriele Cirulli. The game features cats that are currently in the James’ Gang Colony, and a few that have passed through the yard over the years.
By mid-December, in just six weeks, Chicago TNR Trapped-Neutered-Returned 93 cats in Englewood. 32 additional cats were Trapped-Neutered-Relocated to farms and warehouses that contacted PAWS Chicago looking to help pull cats off the streets and also for rodent control.
I joined George again one day in December in Englewood, where we trapped eight of those cats in less than two hours, just by driving around. George typically drives the PAWS’ van loaded with Tru-Catch traps, pet carriers, cat food for donations and bait, and other items needed for TNR projects, including newspapers, paper plates, and sheets to cover the traps.The cats are everywhere outside there, and we decided just to go to places where we knew there were community cats.
I met up with George at this TNR’d feral cat colony.
These cats are well fed and have shelter under the front porch.We moved on to an alley right around the corner where we saw a few cats, including this orange and white cat with a flea collar. We asked around but no one claimed him as theirs, so we decided to try to trap and take him to the clinic.
He was suspicious but clearly hungry. So we set up a trap.
And got him a few minutes later.
We quickly moved on to another block where George knew of a colony and visited the feeder’s house. A well-endowed male cat was hanging out on her front steps.
After a quick consultation with the feeder, who claimed him as one of her indoor/outdoor pet cats, we got him into a carrier to be neutered as well.
Around the corner from there we placed a Rubbermaid bin cat house for shelter.
It is well concealed from the street and you would hardly notice it, but hopefully it will help keep a few cats warm in the winter.
From there we moved even more quickly. The feeder told us about a few cats down the street, and we saw them right away. We placed two traps baited with tuna near another feeder’s front steps, and two cats obliged by going in them immediately. These cats were hungry.
The woman that was feeding them was moving out of the neighborhood that day and was very grateful for our help. She told us that there were other feeders on that block so these cats are cared for.
George and I decided to split up at that point and she drove to another spot while I continued TNR on this block.
A few doors down this long-haired beauty came running down the steps and out of the gate to greet me on the sidewalk.
I talked to her feeder as well, who said she was friendly, but they could not let her permanently into their home. She followed me down the block once she smelled the food.
She was easy to gently push into a trap.
George came back at this point fairly quickly with two more cats in traps, and another pet cat in a carrier. So now we had eight cats. It was freezing outside and we decided to wrap it up.
She wanted to show me Sabrina’s Colony. This is a colony of over a dozen cats. Sabrina feeds diligently, and rescues friendly cats and kittens all the time on her own.
The cats are gorgeous and well fed. They all came running when they saw us.
This tabby cat appeared to be the ringleader.
We were out of paper plates, but we fed them anyways on the ground.
These cats have ample shelters on her front porch.
From there we took all of the cats to PAWS Chicago’s low cost spay/neuter clinic. We met up with a few other feral cat trappers who were also dropping off their cats. We made sure each cat in a trap was fed. Every trap was lined with clean newspaper for the cats to sit on, and each trap was covered with a sheet so that the feral cats would be calmed in the traps. Here they are ready for their spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations, parasite treatments, and ear tipping.
Once the cats are fully recovered from their surgeries, usually within 24 to 48 hours, George then returns the cats to where they were trapped. In this case, the pet cats were returned to their owners, and three of the cats in traps, including the long-haired beauty that ran to greet me, were relocated into companies requesting cats for rodent control in their warehouses, while also feeding and caring for them and providing shelter.
I look forward to helping George in this neighborhood again. There are too many intact cats running outside here and the residents welcome any help they can get.
Last fall I noticed a few new cats on my block. The cats in my yard try to keep them out. So I made a Rubbermaid bin cat shelter and feeding station underneath my front steps, hoping to condition the new cats to feed there. The cat shelter was definitely used by a new cat who tried to mark his territory several times by spraying in there.
My colony cats also liked this new arrangement and I found Funny Face feeding from there.
But the other day Jim saw an elusive black cat that I’ve seen for years dash out from underneath the steps. This makes sense, as I’ve put out twice as much food since starting this expansion and all of it gets eaten every night. So now the colonies have options from their Outdoor Cat Cafe: garden brunch on the catio in the back, or fast-food pick-up in the front. Hopefully I will be able to trap any new cats once I’m ready to do Trap-Neuter-Return, TNR.
Last week in the midst of another deep freeze here in Chicago I was checking on my outdoor cat colonies and found this TNR’d cat from the Mother Colony just sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, trying to warm himself in the sun.
When I got closer he ran up the sidewalk to his feeder’s house. He was shivering and looked much thinner. He has not looked like himself within the last month or so, but he never let me get too close to him. This time was different. He meowed at me repeatedly, and then started winding around my legs, rubbing and purring. I saw blood on his back. I put down a can of wet cat food and he scarfed it down. There was another plate of dry food still there, and a cardboard box with a towel in it.The feeder poked her head out the window and said she had not noticed anything different about him, but that he was trying to get into her house the past few weeks. She never let him indoors, and said he is now always on her stoop. He used to leave after eating, so I wonder if he lost his shelter, or perhaps it was just much too cold to matter. I explained he looked injured and sick, and she said her landlord doesn’t allow pets in the building. This is government housing, and she has limited means to care for cats. With her blessing, I came back with a trap for him, which was hardly needed. He was all over me to get more food, so I just placed him in the trap with a full plate.
The vet clinic said the wounds on his back were bite wounds that were so old and infected that the skin and hair just peeled off. They cleaned up the area and gave him antibiotics. He was also dehydrated, weighed only five pounds, had a fever and tested FIV+.When I first TNR’d him in March of 2011 he was a lot sleeker, cleaner and healthier at 7.5 pounds. I actually trapped him in my yard, but he didn’t return after his surgery. Instead I found him feeding at the Mother Colony two blocks away from me and kept tabs on him these past few years.
Here he is during the summer, while his feeder explains to me that she only feeds him, no other cats. She also did not realize he had an ear tip or anything else like that.
He was always waiting by her door for food and she seemed to diligently feed him.
I don’t know what happened to him recently, but he is indoors with me for now. I took him to North Center Animal Hospital for another look. They gave him more antibiotics, and he is also now being treated for roundworms. His blood work showed that he had low red/white blood cells and low protein levels, but these were due to the infection and malnutrition.
His little monkey paws were also a mess.
Once indoors he seems fairly content to sleep a lot. Seriously, look at those monkey paws!The funny thing is that he also seems to prefer to sleep on a hard surface. I’ve tried every configuration of a cat bed, towel and blanket, and he has shunned them all. He scrunches his body to get away from them.
When I removed everything, he finally spread out and seemed comfortable. It’s like he wants to sleep on a tatami mat. Maybe this cat is Japanese? So I named this little five pound Japanese monkey cat Munkimo.
Munkimo is also named in honor of my Polish monkey pet cat, Mowpa, that I had to euthanize last year the same day I took Munkimo to the vet this year.
Now a week later Munkimo’s monkey paws seem to be cleaned up and healing.
As well as his back.
In the meantime Munkimo is a very chill, polite, quiet cat that likes to stare at me a lot.
A LOT.
Please keep your fingers crossed that he continues to heal.
There’s a lot of quick and easy outdoor cat houses that you can make to help keep your TNR’d feline colony warm during the winter.
Years ago we purchased the Feral Villa and it has always been a big hit with the colony cats.
Then we made another wooden, insulated cat shelter, kind of like after the style of a dog house. The cats use it year-round. Since Jim made it, we called it the Jim Villa.
This year there was a lot of new construction in my area. A lot of abandoned homes were torn down, and a new park is being built. The cats used these buildings and land for shelter, and I got worried they would have nowhere to go. So we decided to add another outdoor cat house and include heat in all of them.
I am so thankful for this decision, as this winter is also the year of the Polar Vortex, and I live in Chiberia. The winter has never been this cold since I started caring for and TNR’ing outdoor cats a decade ago. We’ve been having our own problems as the pipes have burst in our basement this year for the first time.
But I digress.
First, Jim made a new insulated cat house, using these directions from Alley Cat Allies. He modified a few of the measurements, and we call it the Alley Cat Allies Villa. Here it is in progress.We have outdoor electric outlets and decided to take a step further this year. We ordered outdoor heating pads for all three of these houses from K&H Pet Products. The heating pads are activated by weight, and come in different sizes. We also purchased Thermo Cubes, which are plugs that make the heating pads turn off once the temperatures reach a certain level.
I love this company. I also bought their Thermo Kitty Cafe bowls to use for wet cat food and water. They’ve been a huge hit with the feral cats. The directions say not to leave them plugged in outside, but they’ve been outside working ever since I purchased them.
Bouncy Bear loves to eat and drink from all of the heated outdoor bowls.We placed the outdoor heating pads into all three of the wooden cat shelters.
Here is the heating pad fitting nicely in the new Alley Cat Allies Villa. That little shelf is for them to go up on, but I’m not sure how necessary it is. It’s not a waste, by any means, because they can also fit under it.
I put some straw around it to add warmth and cushion for the colony cats, but honestly, they push it to the side. They are more interested in keeping warm.
We drilled a hole for the electrical cord to go out of the villa, and then plugged it into our outdoor outlets. I had to use a few extension cords because my outlets are actually up on the deck.
You can see the hole drilled here. The Alley Cat Allies Villa was also taken over almost immediately by Dice, my James Gang Colony cat in my yard.
When it gets really cold, he lets Bouncy Bear in there with him.
The entrance hole is about six inches across, and seems to be the perfect size.
Now on to the Jim Villa.
Every year, it gets cleaned out, and we add new straw and insulation. The front can be easily removed with a power drill.
We use the old insulation pieces as templates to cut out the new insulation pieces.
And here is the Jim Villa drilled closed, with the outdoor heated cat pad inside, added straw, and a drilled hole for the outlet. You can see the cats pushed the straw to the side again.
This is the inside of the Feral Villa with the heating pad and straw in it. Again, the straw is pushed to the side. I’m pretty sure Dash doesn’t share it with any other cats, and leaves if Doggy Woggy the opossum is in there, and vice versa.
The cats come and go as they please, but with this extra added heat in this brutal weather, they don’t seem to be going anywhere as much. This is the scene that usually greets me when I come home.
I was reading your post because I wondered if I could use the straw, which I do use now with the new K&H extreme weather heating pads I just bought. I was concerned about fires but it seems you use both straw and the pads. I have ‘doors’ also on my shelters to help keep the drafts and cold out and they are find with them. I am getting cat doors to install to give even better protection. Where did you get that large black plug connecter? I need to plug in 3 things in a 2 thing outdoor outlet. I also bought a heated water bowl since water is already freezing here. Thanks for any info.
Hi, Kat, yes, I use straw with the heating pads, but if you’re really concerned, just forget the straw.The cats push it to the side anyways, since they want to get to the heat. The large connector and outdoor extension cords all came from Home Depot. Links for heated water bowls can be found in this post: http://www.catsinmyyard.com/outdoor-heated-water-bowls-847
I’d love to see photos of your own set up for the cats if you’d like to share. Thanks so much for caring for them! Vanessa
When your cats get up off of the heated pads in the winter, do they get cold because of where they were lying on the pad and got really warm? How do I know that the pad won’t to be hot for my cat to lay in? People are not susposed to lay on hearing pad long so would it be okay for my cat to lay on? Thanks for your help.
Hi Tammy, I have been using those heating pads for a few years now without a problem for the same cats. They do not seem to get too warm. You can test the heat and see how they work for yourself by placing a heavy book on the heating pad – they are weight-activated. Thank you for caring for the cats!
There is an attachment that you can buy for that heating pad which turns it off when it gets to a certain temp, so it regulates the temp using your cats body heat.
I love your ideas! Thank you for sharing. I have 3 cats that have shown up as kittens are are probably 3 – 4 months old. I have 2 jobs, so I am gone most days, when I get home in the evenings around 10 – 11, they are waiting on me to feed them. I talk to them and feed them, but have only been able to get within a couple of feet of them. I have a friend who is going to build me houses like yours and I will add the heating pads and the heated food bowls. My question is how did you trap them for TNR? Did you have a safe trap? I worry about stressing them out. Do you have any suggestions? I don’t want to freak them out or have them get hurt, but I do want to have them fixed and healthy. Thank you!!
Luann, if you call the local humane society they will place traps for your kittens and take them to the humane society to be spayed and/it neutered. They bring them right back when they’ve had time to heal. Sometimes there is a small fee but sometimes PETA will pick up tab.
I guess its because I rescue homeless cats too but this this the most beautiful page of info I have seen in a long time. Their little faces looking out of the warm homes are a picture of real love, thank you for being a caring human.
My cat shelter inside dimensions is 30.5×17. I am wondering if the Extreme Weather Kitty Pad would be sufficient enough being it’s measurements are only 12×17 or should I go for something like the Deluxe Lectro-Kennel which offers a medium size, but it has a user controlled thermostat, so I am unsure which way to go. Could you offer advice? Thanks.
Hi, it depends on how many cats are using the shelter and will be sitting on the heating pad. The straw and their body warmth together will also heat the shelter. I like the K&H heating pads because they’re weight-activated, but I know there are many products out there. Please feel free to let us know what you decide and how it works out. Thanks for all that you do for the cats!
I ended up going with K&H medium lectro kennel pad. It was the perfect size and came with a soft cover for the cats to lay on inside the shelter. It is body weight activated, which is terrific for the application at hand. I live in southern part of Georgia, so it doesn’t get that cold very often, but on those night the temperature drops really low I can rest easier now knowing they have some heat. Thanks for the great ideas here on your site that inspired me!
Aw wow, it’s really uplifting to see that there are people like you who will spend their time and money to help homeless felines. I currently foster 2 lovely indoor orange cats and live in a rental basement suite (in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where winter Temps can reach -40 Celsius and worse). I’m just looking into what kind of outdoor shelter I can make for neighbourhood cats, if you have any suggestions. And thank you for assisting the furry ones😊
Hi Vanessa!
I love reading about your kitties, as I am a cat lover who recently lost my 20 year old Mr. Paws. Had him since he was a baby so I have many great memories of him. I have 8 outdoor feral cats that I provide food, shelter and after 2 years they are starting to trust me more and waiting at the back door every morning for breakfast. I make the Rubbermaid Tub houses and plan to buy the K&H pads for this winter, here in Virginia it can get very frigid!! Can u suggest if I should cover the outside of the houses with anything, such as old blankets. They are under a large carport with lattice siding so the cold still blows thru there. I put the white insulation panels inside the tubs but may try the kind you used in your pictures, it does look a bit more thicker and more solid.
Thanks for any and all suggestions!!!
Hi Jeanne, blankets can get wet and cold. But plastic tarps can help hold in heat and block the wind. It also helps camouflage the shelters if they’re out in a more open area. Here are some photos as an example: http://www.catsinmyyard.com/introducing-the-kitchen-colony-4277
If you make the floor of the house larger then the heating pad, the cats will adjust their position on the pad based upon the temperature. If they’re too warm, they will put more of their body on the unheated parts of the floor. This occurs in the Fall and Spring when the weather fluctuates. In NY, the Winters are generally cold, so they spend most of the time on the heat.
Appreciate all the great info! I am now the caretaker of two strays, mama and baby. Have made a temporary shelter but will build better one in summer. Worry bout the cold weather coming. We seem to do what we can.
Hi everyone,
I was led to believe the heat pad I have was designed to keep my cat’s body temp. normal. It seems like the heat pad doesn’t heat the rest of the shelter. I checked the temp inside the shelter but it is the same as outside. the shelter is well insulated, out of the wind and just big enough for the cat basically. Our temp. is about to drop down to -20F. I guess I’m asking should I have extra heat or just maintaining the body temp. enough.
Hi Art, if you could provide extra heat somehow, I’m sure the cats would appreciate it. This is what I’ve been able to provide the cats since the Polar Vortex of 2013/2014 and it kept them warm even during those plunging temperatures. In fact, wildlife like opossums moved into the shelters as well since those cold temperatures were unprecedented. If you come up with even more solutions, I’d love to hear about them and share! Feel free to email me at [email protected] Thank you for all that you do for the cats!
Since I have people in my neighborhood I have decided to make heated houses for the cats and I have a doggy woggy opossum. They don’t seem to mind each other but sharing living space may be pushing it too far. This winter seems to be brutal and
he worst of it hasn’t hit yet. I’m hoping to set it up on my front porch since this is where food and heated water dish is at. So happy to see that you care for others disposable pets also. I used a heat lamp last year I was wanting a warm area to draw the cats near hoping to entice them with warmth
Hi, I’m new at the cat thing. Never had a cat, ever, just dogs. But, last Feb. I found my “Buddy” as a kitten living in a culvert while walking my dog. After 4 days of feeding him sardines ( I had no cat food), he followed me home. According to the vet he was around 6 mo. old. But, he won’t stay in the house but a few minutes. He gets weary, and frets at the door. So, I got him a cat house and put a K&H heating pad in it, and put in in my garage, and he sleeps in there at night, and stays in the cat house on the porch if it’s cold outside. But, I am worried about the temp in the garage right now, (12 degrees)! He seems OK and is snug in his house, but will this heating pad do the job? Will he be warm enough?
I was certain that I shoveled out all the cat paths around my house, but paw prints don’t lie. These cat tracks in the snow in my front yard show what I missed. I love how the cats step in each other’s paw prints again and again. Feral cats can survive the colder temperatures as long as they don’t get wet, so shoveling out their cat paths help them stay dry. This is also a great way to find outdoor cats in your neighborhood.
I’ve had the Feral Villa in my yard for years now. The outdoor cats have always loved it, and it’s proven to be so popular in my yard that our band named our last album after it. This year I upgraded the villa and installed an outdoor heating pad. The pads are activated by body weight and the cats love it. All three cat houses now have the pads and I always wanted a photo showing it being used. But this is not quite what I had in mind.
Yesterday I caught Dash, our TNR’d feral grey cat that’s been in our yard since 2007, in the Rubbermaid bin shelter rather than one of our luxe heated cat houses. I laughed to myself and thought “cats want what they want,” and it goes to show how well they brave the elements if he’s going to choose a plastic storage bin over a wood house with a shingled roof. Normally he uses the Feral Villa because that is “his.” He stays apart from the other colony cats, who use the other cat houses together.
I told Jim about it and he also laughed. Then hours later we went out to dinner and he looked at me and said, “I bet that opossum is in the Feral Villa. That’s why Dash wasn’t using it.”
I stared at him for a beat and said, “You think Doggy is in the cat house?”
Jim didn’t know yet that I had named the opossum Doggy so he was completely amused and confused at the same time. We were at a place by our house called Handlebar that has a lot of posters on their walls advertising local rock shows. One of them was for a band called the doggiewoggies, or something like that, so we decided to name the possum Doggy Woggy.
And then we went home and I found out, as always, that Jim was right.
Occupy Feral Villa!
This is Doggy Woggy in the Feral Villa enjoying the black heating pad. You can open the villa from the top. He did not move at all during this, and didn’t even come out when I closed it.
I have no problem with this possum, but he can’t really move in like this. I mean, maybe he can, but I can’t have a possum family in the future. I live on a city lot, and my neighbors all have large dogs. I used to have a raccoon family visit all last summer to raid the garden. To discourage them from staying, my neighbor kept his outdoor lights on all night, played a radio, and I made sure not to leave cat food lying around, so they eventually moved on.
Also, I was feeling really bad for Dash. I felt better this morning, though, because when I opened up the villa I found Dash inside there again. He dashed out like a normal cat (cats don’t care about photo ops!) and glared at me for interrupting his morning nap.
I love what you are doing , so very kind. Can you tell me where you can get the mats that are heat activated by body weight? They are awesome. I want to do this in my backyard in St. Louis. I have alot of fur babies who I take care of.
I went outside and almost screamed because I mistook the opossum for Bouncy Bear near their feral cat feeding station. OK, I know they don’t really look alike, but it was dark and they were close together by the food and they’re both grey and white. And he also hissed at me because I’m sure I scared him. I haven’t seen the opossum since before this whole Polar Vortex/Chiberia mess.For the record, they both could care less about each other.
Opossums are the safest of all wildlife to have around. They do not carry rabies or any other disease. I am a wildlife rehabber, specializing in opossums and also have some feral feeding stations. Often times they sleep together and eat together. Opossums will keep the area rid of poisonous snakes which makes it safer for the cats. They really are a good animal to have around and not dangerous to have around in any way. They have a hard time finding food in these times so it’s nice he was able to grab a snack before moving on….
Thanks for sharing, Beth, I’m happy to have the opossum here, he has been coming over sporadically since the fall. You are right – he seems to coexist just fine with the cats. Please feel free to share any other tips!
Pepe le Pew, one of the original colony cats, even had his own doppelganger and came regularly. He knew a good thing when he saw it and adapted quickly.
I’ll have what he’s having.
Christina told me when she started feeding the colony that any of these outdoor cats could come inside with her if they showed they wanted to.
Pepe le Pew was always super friendly. He loves to pose. Just look at him!
And he always acted like this!
But the old feeder did not want him adopted out at the time. Then for some reason, he did not take Pepe le Pew with him when he left.
Well, it looks like Pepe wanted to finally come inside.
I saw him in Christina’s window today, looking outside at the snow and at Kojak, their pet dog. Kojak is also a friend to the cats and loves this weather. Silly Pepe probably thinks he still wants to go outside. Kojak looks like he’s laughing at that idea.
Christina still feeds the other Rockstar Colony cats, but they don’t come around as often. She found out that the old feeder actually just moved into an apartment across the street. I told her that I tried calling him but he never returned my calls. She said that was not surprising, because when they ask him about the cats, he just says they all left. But she’s seen the cats go in and out of his new basement. At this point I’m just glad the cats are all fixed, and that they have multiple places to choose from to find shelter.
Dawn 
Kat 
Cat lady 
Louann 
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sharon j chamberlain 
Jason 
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Ronald Thompson 
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art 
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