My "new" cat shelter

[Charmonium]

I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago in the FWP thread and I finally got everything I needed to actually execute my plan. Tell me what you think.

 

[ImpulsE69]

sooo...your plan is to lock cats in a box?

 

[Thebobo]

Not sure what the plan is here can you post a link?

 

[Charmonium]

No. The pipes are exits/entrances.

I didn't think they'd like being boxed in so I made 2.

 

[Charmonium]

It's a cat shelter. I has 2 exits/entrances so they don't feel trapped. I put pipes in the holes to cut down on windage. If it looks like they're going to move in, I'm going to put in a heated pad and maybe a water and food dispenser.

The holes should be just big enough for a cat sized animal but too small for raccoons, foxes, etc.

 

[Thebobo]

Holes look to small. Have you tested them?
With the pipe it looks like a burrow are cats known for burrowing?

Be interesting to see what moves in if the cats don't. Rat, Skunk, Rabbit, Snake. Need streamed video from shelter WildCatCampCam.Com

 

[Charmonium]

I have the perfect camera for that. It has a supernova of IR LEDs. I want to see how things go first before I start spending time on adding things. And if it pans out, I can adapt the neighboring trunk in the same way with it's own camera.

 

[Thebobo]

Lol I take back the "are cats known for burrowing" after snorting the 5 billion + videos on youtube

 

[Homerboy]

what the fuck am I looking at here?

 

[lxskllr]

Cozy box, but I question the pipe also. I could be wrong, but my ferals seem to appreciate a quick exit. Easy in, easy out with a good view of what's going on. They camp on my porch, and I usually don't even see them. Just rustling through the bushes as they take off.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I thought they were air vents. I get it for kittens, but a kitten won't be able to get in it, and a bigger cat will get stuck. It needs to be at the bottom and bigger. Could be wrong though *shrug*

 

[Carson Dyle]

Hey, if the cats are OK with it, WTF do I care? If they don't want to use them you'll know soon enough. Wouldn't like to think, though, what happens if something like a skunk or opossum were to decide to crawl into one while your cat is sleeping inside.

 

[Charmonium]

That's why there are 2 openings. I'm hoping that will satisfy their desire for a quick exit - since a predator can't come in both holes at once. If we had pack animals like wolves around here I might be more concerned but the closest to that is the fox I see every night and he/she seems to be on its own.

That's a good point about the kittens not being able to get in. But what you can't see are the ridges inside the pipe. So I think even with their tiny claws they should be able to climb in. Climbing out might be more challenging but if it looks like they're getting stranded in there I can always insert some sort of step for them to get a boost.

As for other animals getting in, the pipe has an inner diameter of about 4". I had to drill a 5" hole for it to fit. I've read that if a cat can fit its head through an opening, then the rest of their body should be able to follow. It might be a deterrent for very portly kitties, but they probably have enough body fat to make it on the outside. That's my theory anyway.

 

[Carson Dyle]

I guess I missed the "FWP thread". What's the reason you're building cat boxes?

Have any cats shown any desire to crawl through a pipe to get into one of these windowless boxes?

 

[FeuerFrei]

Should be pretty cozable with a heating pad. (sorry, new word)

 

[Charmonium]

I'm not sure I can find the original FWP post but all that really was about was the fact that there are feral cats in my yard. I was going to try to trap them so they could be fixed but it turns out my cheap ass town outsources animal control to another town and all they'll do for me is loan me traps. That means if I catch a rabid skunk or raccoon, I have to try to release it from the trap myself. F**k that.

So I've been feeding the cats and there is one catlet (not a kitten but not a cat yet either) that seemed like it needed some help. So I built the box mainly for it. The other cats can probably get by on their own since they have some bulk but I felt sorry for this one.

I understand the skepticism about the trunk-shed but cats are quite good at navigating in the dark. There's a reason that their whiskers are exactly as long as their head is wide. And they have much sharper senses than we do so I think they'll be quite comfortable, but we'll see how good my cat-fu is.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I would make the opening bigger as suggested, at very least go with a 4" PVC but even that is kinda small, but that's the biggest you can buy, so maybe pipe is out and just custom make something out of wood. Maybe do like a kitty door.

What is the plan with these, to just drop them in places that have lot of cats?

 

[Sonikku]

Psh. I'm sure Shorty could fit just fine.

 

[shortylickens]

kitten shelter

 

[SKORPI0]

speaking about cats.... Merry Christmas..

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=3905291749493855

 

[Carson Dyle]

How many of these supposedly feral cats do you have coming around that you're feeding?

A lot of people allow cats to roam. If you're feeding them, they'll keep coming back, they'll use your pet door, sleep in your bedroom, eat anything you put in front of them. They could belong to a next door neighbor, doesn't matter to a cat.

 

[Thebobo]

Well whatever the reason its nice that you are helping them out.

 

[Carson Dyle]

This just came up in a Walmart ad while browsing facebook. (You really have to love all the ways there are to make money off a nearly dead forum like this one.) Believe me, I've never browsed or searched for cat shelters in my life.

 

[KeithP]

I understand the skepticism about the trunk-shed but cats are quite good at navigating in the dark. There's a reason that their whiskers are exactly as long as their head is wide. And they have much sharper senses than we do so I think they'll be quite comfortable, but we'll see how good my cat-fu is.

The entrance passage seems to be a completely hard surface, is that correct? There is nothing that their claws could dig into to help pull them through?

Also, the volume of the shelter is enormous. I smaller shelter would allow the body heat of 1 or 2 cats to warm it up but that thing seems far too large for that. Plus, I am not seeing any insulation on the walls either.

At least get some insulation on the walls and put in a couple of those microwavable heating pads at night.

-KeithP

 

[Moonbeam]

How about two regular sized doors and a sign that says cats only.