What to do with Henhouse Cat in Severe Winter Weather?

[Cowgirl71]

The coldest day here so far was -6F, and we've never lost a barn cat to the cold, not even any frostbit ears. We don't do anything fancy for them, although they do like to hang out in our hay barn. We have the big 5' x 5' round bales, so it makes all kinds of cozy tunnels that they like to hang out in. At 30F, she'll be fine, especially if she's always outdoors so that her body can adjust. As far as spaying goes, make sure to have it done by February 1st if you don't want kittens, as that's when our cats start going into heat for their spring litters.

 

[featherz]

my barn cats hang out all the time even when it's -20 outside. We have a nice warm garage with a cat door that they can get into and we have a heated water bowl and assorted old clothing they can snuggle with, but even when it's very cold they spend most of the day outside. We've tried to give them other things like heating pads and one year we even placed a heater into a barn stall. They still stay outside, then come in and sleep on my car.

 

[Mattemma]

When I was trying to catch a feral cat(tamed him in 6 months!) I put out a box that I wrapped with blankets and plastic. I put in blankets and straw so he had a nice warm place at night.

 

[The Lisser]

I am a volunteer website designer for a feral cat spay/neuter organization. If the cat is 3-4 lbs she is ready to spay. Like BlacksheepCardigans said, it's much easier on the cat if you get it done early, before they get pregnant.

Cats that stay outside grow fur to deal with the weather. We have 2 semi-ferals that live at our barn. I too, was worried about the extreme cold, and my DH built them an insulated cat box that we lined with hay and put a cat door on to block the wind. We put tuna in it to try to entice them to use it but they wouldn't go in it . . . finally gave up. Two years later, they are finally using it! I guess they were scared of getting "trapped". Until then, they nestled somewhere under the barn or in the hay rolls. They appear to be healthy and no worse for the cold. We just make sure they have plenty of dry food, and give extra when it's really cold.

 

[Imp]

I got guilted into leaving one of the doors to the garden shed open, so the outside cats could get out of the weather. I put an old blanket in there and during the winter blast we had this week; I was finding the cats rolled up in the blanket.

Imp