How to help street cats survive the cold and frost of winter

What can we do to help and protect street cats when cold weather or even snow arrives?

THEwinter it can be a very difficult time for the stray and wild cats. While domestic cats have a home and a warm place to sleep, this is not the case for cats who live outdoors and have no one to take care of them.

The street cats behind them may have a past as a pet. Some of them may sooner or later be hosted by a cattery. But what can we do in the meantime to help them get through the winter in a less problematic way?

The biggest problems are represented by hunger and cold. It is important to remember, above all, that feral cats are not pets and that they may be difficult to approach as they are not used to being close to humans.

Here it is though some useful tips that we can try to put into practice.

Index

Building a shelter

If stray or wild cats orbit in our neighborhood or backyard, we can try to make available to them some small shelters, like baskets with blankets. It is not certain that cats will use them, but it is still an attempt not to be ruled out.

Remove obstacles

Do wild cats reach our garden or approach the garage and tool shed? We make sure of remove objects and obstacles which could be problematic and with which cats could injure themselves. Another obstacle is snow. When we shovel it, we also think about cats and passageways that could be useful for them when they go in search of shelter.

Check the car

If we leave ours car outdoors, some cats may try to use it as a shelter. Unfortunately this solution could be very dangerous for them if we do not notice their presence. So we always check our car, especially the area of the tires and the hood, to understand if a cat is trying to shelter from the cold right there.

Water and food

We can make available to the street cats bowls with water and food so that they can find something to drink and eat. We check from time to time that the water has not frozen and that there is still some food in the bowls.

Build a cat flap

If we have the necessary space, we can build a cat flap (gattaiola) near a door or window, to allow outdoor cats to find an indoor shelter on colder days.

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