My "new" cat shelter

[Charmonium]

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

The pipes have a 5 inch OD and 4 ID. What makes up the difference are half inch ridges inside the pipe that are spaced about an inch apart depending on what section of the interior that you look at.

You're right about the volume but these sheds were disused so I figured I would try this even if it doesn't work. But if it does, the plan is to add outdoor pet heating pads the generate about 75 watts. There would be one per trunk-shed.

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

The trunks do have doors in the front - 2 actually - that swing out. The trunk is designed so that when you close the doors and then the lid, one door blocks the other from opening and the lid blocks the first door due to a lock latch. You're supposed to put a padlock in that hole.

Update - left some soft food in the trunk and it looks like it wasn't touched. But it's only been a couple of days and the food may have frozen over night. I put the second bowl of cat food in the trunk so if the first bowl runs out they should be able to smell the other bowl. We'll see if that gets their attention.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Unless you see cats crawling in or out of them, you'd need some wildlife cameras to figure out who/what ate food you left in the bins. Could attract a lot of different vermin.

 

[Moonbeam]

Unless you see cats crawling in or out of them, you'd need some wildlife cameras to figure out who/what ate food you left in the bins. Could attract a lot of different vermin.

That's why he needs the cats only sign.

 

[Sgt. York]

:rofl:

 

[Charmonium]

Go ahead. Yuk it up. If the food starts to disappear I will definitely install one of the cameras.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CZ1L3A8

 

[Captante]

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

I'm going with rat ... that pipe hole looks perfect!

 

[Mike64]

Unless you can put it on a GFCI outlet, I'd skip the heating pad altogether, but that aside, heating pads for humans can get really hot even on low, and too much heat would be much more dangerous than too little, especially with kittens involved. As with humans, an adult cat might have the awareness and sense to move if it gets too hot even while it's asleep, but kittens probably wouldn't. (ETA: Also, since they're not pets that "can" go outside whenever they want but don't have to, it probably wouldn't be a great idea (again, especially for the kittens) to have it be too warm in the shelter, so they don't experience frequent, dramatic fluctuations between the outdoor and "indoor" temperature.)

Also, most of human-intended heating pads aren't particularly waterproof (and the ones that are, are expensive), so if you do go with some sort of pad, I think it'd be a better idea to use the sort of "heat mats" made for low-level-warming trays of germinating seeds - something like these Viagrow20.5 in. x 8.5 in. Seed Propagating Seedling Heat Mat, which also have the advantage of not getting truly "hot" at all. (And fwiw, I linked that particular product as an example, I don't know anything about that particular brand, but whatever you used should be waterproof, and self-regulate its temperature not much above 70F.) Last but not least, make sure it's covered with something fairly durable in case the kitties decide to scratch around, and check it occasionally to make sure they haven't clawed or gnawed their way through its covering...

ETA: As far as other animals are concerned, if you can get the cats in it first, at least the smaller other ones will probably stay away just because it smells like cat. I suspect bigger animals like skunks, foxes, etc would also just as soon steer clear of cats (they're pretty efficient disembowelers), but I have no personal experience with cats vs "rural"-type wildlife...

 

[Charmonium]

That's great advice - thank you.

 

[zinfamous]

These are...expensive but they do the trick. We use them in the lab for small animal surgery and they are rated for all sorts of conditions

Animal pad

We actually get most of our stuff from Kent Scientific.
https://www.kentscientific.com/products/warming-pads-blankets/

Have you thought about an incandescent heating bulb? I'm not sure if they make weaker ones (the heating bulbs are usually for reptiles and uh, keeping your food warm, so maybe just a 60W (red) bulb would do?) Red should be fine because the cats won't notice it and it would still be dark in there. Set the bulb on a timer to cycle on and off for maybe 30 minutes, every 1.5hrs, on an outdoor timer.

I also agree that those entrance and exit ports are a bit whack for a cat. I don't see them being in any way interested in crawling through those, let alone small enough. I think you should consider Moonbean's suggestion for the Cat Only sign.

 

[lxskllr]

For heat, a simple 60w incandescent bulb in a coffee can would be sufficient. Good luck finding a coffee can anymore though

 

[Charmonium]

I have infrared lamps I could put in there but the problem is that there are no shelves on the inside that I could clip them too. The "fixtures" are the clamp-on type.

 

[zinfamous]

I have infrared lamps I could put in there but the problem is that there are no shelves on the inside that I could clip them too. The "fixtures" are the clamp-on type.

well, you drilled holes in those plastic boxes and fixed some storm drains to them already--could you do the same and feed a fixture into it, inside a can, with the power running outside?

 

[Charmonium]

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.

I'm curious about something. When you posted this it reminded me of the behavior of the catlet but I didn't think to ask before.

Sometimes, one of the cats, usually the little one, will come up to the porch and just park there. At first I thought it wanted food so I would fill the bowl if it was empty. But it kept doing this and for instance, right now, it's parked on the second of the the threes steps that lead to the porch.

Do you have any idea why it's doing that? It seems to like having the floodlights on but I can't be sure. They're motion activated but I can turn them on and off remotely and they've been on for at least 5 minutes now and it's still there.

Also, when it sits on the top step/porch, it always has it's back to the yard. I would think that would put it at a strategic disadvantage so I'm guessing it's some sort of cat body language.

well, you drilled holes in those plastic boxes and fixed some storm drains to them already--could you do the same and feed a fixture into it, inside a can, with the power running outside?

I guess I could put in a porcelain fixture or something similar. I'd just have to get an extension cord and strip the wires on one end. I'd probably use a telescoping grommet and caulk to seal the hole.

But as of now there's no evidence that anyone's been inside.

I put some paving stones under the pipes to make access easier but that doesn't seem to have done anything.

And I was wrong about the ridges on the inside. I must have been hallucinating again. They're clearly on the outside. Not sure how screwed that up.

So tomorrow I'm going to put towels in the pipes to provide a claw-friendly surface for them to cling to - and fix them in place with some twist tie. I've seen a squirrel carry away a grill cover so I don't want some rodent stealing my towels.

If that doesn't work, I'm going to have to rethink the whole project. Currently, the biggest hole saw I have is 5" so I'd either have to go with a pipe that has a 5" OD and only a slightly smaller ID. Or I'm going to need a bigger hole.

Except I used Gorilla caulk and the pipe fits pretty snugly even w/o it so getting those pipes out is going to be a bitch.

 

[lxskllr]

I'm curious about something. When you posted this it reminded me of the behavior of the catlet but I didn't think to ask before.

Sometimes, one of the cats, usually the little one, will come up to the porch and just park there. At first I thought it wanted food so I would fill the bowl if it was empty. But it kept doing this and for instance, right now, it's parked on the second of the the threes steps that lead to the porch.

Do you have any idea why it's doing that? It seems to like having the floodlights on but I can't be sure. They're motion activated but I can turn them on and off remotely and they've been on for at least 5 minutes now and it's still there.

Also, when it sits on the top step/porch, it always has it's back to the yard. I would think that would put it at a strategic disadvantage so I'm guessing it's some sort of cat body language.

I couldn't say. Cats are weirdos, and I don't always know what's going on in their bean heads :^D

It's probably pretty aware of what's going on behind it's back. Their ears are always going, scanning for troubling sounds. They rotate them around while their head stays fixed.

 

[Charmonium]

Update: There was some activity in the trunk. Some of the plastic filings were disturbed and a very small amount of the kibble was eaten but the soft food (which I've thrown out) didn't seem to be disturbed. So my guess is that it was probably a squirrel that got in.

I have some parts on order for the camera mounts. I need to adapt and X10 camera pan-tilt mount for the Foscam. I'm not sure this will work because X10 cameras, in addition to being a POS are very light. The Foscam has to weight at least a pound.

So I need to get camera mounting screws and drill holes in the X10 mount platform. I already have a mount located outside that's near the trunk. And I have other parts on order to mount another camera inside the trunk.

 

[feralkid]

For heat, a simple 60w incandescent bulb in a coffee can would be sufficient. Good luck finding a coffee can anymore though

Ralph's

 

[Mike64]

Good luck finding a coffee can anymore though

As I discovered when I bought some recently on sale just to see what it's like these days†, Chock Full o' Nuts still comes in cans. At least the one pound 12-ounce-or-whatever-it-is size...

(Fair warning: it does have one of those annoying pop-top tops , but the rest of the can is pretty much as solid as ever...)

That being said, while it would obviously be a lot cheaper, a heating pad/mat would be more efficient at keeping the cats themselves warm...
_________________
† Not great by any means, but way better than crap like Folger's, which I'm only forced to drink when I'm at my brother's house...

 

[sdifox]

We need op to take a picture with himself in the cat shelter.

 

[lxskllr]

Update?

 

[Zanovar]

That pipe is way to narrow for cats.It might squeeze out of there,doubt it will wanna get back in.rats will love it though

 

[brainhulk]

Shit, who's the wiseguy that built this door?

 

[sdifox]

I just noticed the wheels. Op just wants to make trapping cats and eating them easier :awe:

 

[Charmonium]

I've been avoiding this thread since I been your basic crusty slacker the past few weeks. Also, my truly ancient surveillance system finally died and I had to replace it.

When I say 'ancient,' I'm talking about hardwired cameras with PIR sensors mounted on top of them and IR LEDs that won't help you see anything more than about 6" away from the lens. The clincher though is the monitor. A 17" 4:3 ratio b/w CRT.

But it did have one cool feature. All of the cameras had mics and speakers. So from the console, you could bring up the camera you wanted to talk through and say something welcoming to visitors like 'who the f*ck are you and would you like to see my guns?'

Anyway, that system has gone back to the 90's to meet it's maker and I've been trying to decipher the broken English used by the manual for the new system. The quality of the images is quite good and the wireless signal is as crisp as a wired one.

As soon as I get all of that done I'm going to try to work on the shelters. In the meantime though I have equipped one of them with a weather proof pet mat with a steel wrapped electric cord to discourage munching.