Cats in the Winter

As winter approaches Texas, the temperatures are unpredictable. Actually, who am I kidding? The temperatures are ALWAYS unpredictable in Texas but from October to May, they seem especially so. In one day, the temperature can change 40 degrees from morning to night. We may start at 70 degrees, which makes for a beautiful day, but end up at 30 degrees at night and that makes for an unexpected chilly night for the fur babies.

All of my fur babies are outside animals except for my dog. They never come inside so we have to make sure they have warm places to hide when the crazy weather sets in. Large animals are usually fine and have the right kind of fur to keep them blocked from the freezing weather - or at least they have each other to keep warm. The kitties would probably be okay too but they look into my front door with the saddest eyes and I always break down and make a comfortable spot for them.

Cats really seem to like tight, dark spaces to sleep in. What I use is kind of unattractive but it's what my cats like so it's what they get. I use a large pet taxi (since I have 6 cats) and place a carry-at-the-waist laundry basket inside the taxi with an old towel on our porch under the roof. It keeps them dry, warm, and safe since it's so close to the front door). I take the door off the taxi so they have the freedom to come and go as they want. All 6 cats usually pile up inside and take turns being on the top of the pile. I'll usually even see one or two of them take a break and sleep outside the taxi or on top of the taxi.

I had a dog house my dog wouldn't use that looked a lot like our house so I thought it would be brilliant to use that instead - it's bigger, cuter, and seemed warmer to me. We took the time to move it to the porch, put their laundry basket inside  and showed them their new real estate and they HATED it. I think it ended up being too drafty for them but I'm not quite sure. Suffice it to say the ugly pet taxi is back in action and it stays occupied.



Other things you can use are: rubber food bowls, cat beds, hay, old blankets, horse saddle blankets, tires, baskets, or anything else your fur baby can curl up in. Just make sure that whatever fabric you use is easy to wash or something you don't mind getting a little dirty. Adult cats stay pretty clean but kittens often times leave messes. One of my cats, Rory, is an adult but just decided she didn't want to get up to go to the bathroom because it was too cold so she pottied inside the taxi...that was disgusting. She kind of ruined it for the whole clowder (a group of unrelated cats).

If it's REALLY cold where you live, you can buy a heat lamp for pretty cheap and set that up so that it is directed where your animals sleep. Just make sure it's far enough away from other objects so it doesn't start a fire.

In summary, don't forget the fur babies when the temps drop. Think about what you'd like to sleep in when it's cold and try to replicate that for the animals. They keep our hearts warm so we can keep their bodies warm.