12/2/2014
FERAL CATS DESERVE WARMTH THIS WINTER
As the thermometer plunges and the days grow darker earlier
and stay colder longer, there are entire colonies of cats that could not
survive without the compassion and warmth of humans.
With North American winters becoming increasingly more
severe, feral cats are faced daily with the terrible reality of either starving
or freezing to death. But there are solutions, if members of the human
community act humanely to provide the homeless cats in their neighborhoods with
the shelter, food and water they lack and need.
As snow rises, blocking their usual safe places to live
during the warmer months, these homeless cats’ “homes” virtually disappear.
Offering them alternative places to live is both affordable and easy.
New or used doghouses provide the best protection as long as
the opening is narrowed (6 to 8 inches is best) or covered with a flap to both
keep out the elements and other roaming animals. Rubbermaid and Tupperware
storage bins are two excellent alternatives, as are heavily insulated meat
packing cartons – all with small openings carved into one side
For added warmth, insulation and comfort, place fresh straw
(no clothing, which can stick to the cat’s body and freeze) on the floor. Straw
helps to retain heat and repel moisture. Because cats will huddle together for
warmth, provide a colony of cats with several shelters that can accommodate
from three to five cats each. If caring for fewer cats, use a smaller shelter
that requires less body heat to keep it warm.
Make certain to raise the shelters off the ground and
situate them far from foot or street traffic in as quiet an area as possible.
And after a snowfall, ensure that you shovel out the entrances to these
shelters to prevent them from clogging up with snow and trapping the cats
inside.
Food and water are the next in this trio of necessities. And
because most feral cats are terrified of people, leaving some food near the
entrances to the shelters will, by their scent alone, entice them close,
closer, closest. Then, only a few paw prints away are their new winter homes.
Establish a “feeding station” NEAR each shelter to provide
easy access for both you and the cats, then try to establish a regular schedule
for feeding and water changing. The cats will quickly become accustomed to this
routine while also growing accustomed to and less fearful of your approach.
Feed them larger than usual portions of easily digestible
wet food, and on the coldest days, provide them with dry food as well, since
the wet food can quickly freeze. But spraying insulation foam onto the
underside of plastic dishes will help to keep the wet food from freezing at
all. For water, use deep rather than shallow bowls and warm or hot rather than
cold water. If possible, change the water twice a day, adding a pinch of sugar
each time, to both keep it from freezing as quickly and to provide the cats
with an extra energy boost.
And so, simply by acting humanely, we as caring communities
can help those most helpless and vulnerable in our neighborhoods stay safe and
stay alive this winter.
Thank you so much to everyone for your generous gifts from our Amazon wish list!!
Amazon often does not put packing slips in the boxes and they never give us your contact info so we are not able to personally contact you to thank you. Please know that we deeply appreciate your kindness and are very grateful to you for your support!
This list is from several days of boxes :)
Thank you Anita Harris for the dry cat food, revolution, fel-o-vaccine and freshstep! |
Thank you Anthony McFarland for the steam mop! |
Thank you Anthony O'Dell for the cat toys! |
Thank you Charlene Lauzon for the cat litter and cat toy! |
Thank you Cheri Shubbar for the cat toys, milk thistle and cat litter! |
Thank you Christine Houde for the cat food! |
Thank you Danny Cook for the cat food! |
Thank you Diane Kingsland for the cat toys! |
Thank you Gloria Phillips for the cat litter! |
Thank you Jacob Boehner for the fortiflora! |
Thank you Jennifer Fuhrman for the cat food and trash bags! |
Thank you Karen Croft for the cat litter and cat toys! |
Thank you Lisa McDonald for the Amazon gift card! |
Thank you Lisanne Schloss for the tea and biscuits! |
Thank you Marc Audette for the cat litter! |
Thank you Marieke Bruss for the cat litter! |
Thank you Mark Proulx for the cat litter! |
Thank you Matthew Silverman for the cat litter, trash bags and senior litter! |
Thank you Mr Steven Garnham for the dawn and gloves! |
Thank you Orman Coonfield for the cat food! |
Thank you Richard for the Amazon gift card! |
Thank you S. Molly Green for the fabric softener! |
Thank you series4000 for the Amazon gift card! |
Thank you Serkan Kutlubay for the cat litter! |
Thank you Shirley Kelly for the dawn, denamarin tabs, sponges, cat food, bath tissue and litter! |
Thank you Shufen Wang for the cat toys! |
Thank you Susan Chervinko for the milk thistle! |
Thank you Tamara Gedrose for the steel bowls! |
Thank you Troy Obrien for the cat food! |
Thank you Unknown for the cat
toys! Thank you Unknown for the cat beds, toys, litter and food!
As you do your Christmas shopping we hope you will use smile.amazon when you shop at amazon, they will donate money to us from them not you for everything you buy from them.
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Thank you to the wonderful people who share their auctions with the cats!
You may find lots of them at
NEW CONTEST - Snicker says please Help the cats win $1,000 and You win a $100 package too Please put Blind Cat Rescue under the shelter block Here is the link: http://www.dailykibble.com/promo/SpreadtheLove2014/
Thank you for helping!!
Taking pre-orders now for the Calendars!!!!
We will start taking pre-orders soon for calendars and will try to ship them in December. We will try to get them to you by Christmas if your in the US if your international we hope you will get it by then (if not we are sorry), Please order by December 19th 2014. They make great Christmas gifts and what a great way to start the new year with one!
Do you walk or run? The Droid app is finally ready. If you pick Blind Cat Rescue as your charity, every time you walk/run they will donate to the cats!
Link: http://www.resqwalk.com/
CFC #67324
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