Winter Care for Outdoor Cats
Keep Your Kitty Safe and Healthy During the Cold Weather
If you have felines who live outside, learn these tips to keep your pet safe, healthy, and happy in harsh climates.
Should Your Cat Live Indoors or Outdoors?
Of course the best case scenario is that all cats live in indoors, but that is not always possible. There are many reasons a cat might live outdoors, from being a working barn cat to being a feral kitty seeking food on your doorstep. Whatever the reasons for a cat living outside, it is important to provide it with the things it needs to stay safe and healthy if it are going to survive the winter months.
Provide Warmth and Shelter from the Elements
Alley Cat Allies has complete instructions on how to build a cat shelter to provide your outdoor cat with protection from the elements. It is important for your cat to have a dry place to stay, as well as safety from cold winds. Being in a small space also helps them benefit from their body warmth. Cats should sleep up off the cold floor, so giving them hay or a pet bed with a blanket will help keep them warmer.
Cats can also sleep in barns or in the garage with precautions. Barns are large areas, so care should be taken to provide bedding a cat can snuggle into for warmth. If you let your kitty sleep in the garage, make sure you check under the hood of your car and in the tire wells before starting your engine. Another hazard of the garage is antifreeze. Make sure that cats are not able to get into dangerous chemicals!
Take Extra Care to Provide Fresh Water
During the cold months, it is easy to forget how quickly a bowl of water can freeze outside. You should place a cat’s food and water in a sheltered area if at all possible. Another good idea is to set up a small water fountain around your cat’s shelter area. The constant movement of the water will keep it from freezing completely. There are also heated water bowls. Check your cat’s water source several times a day during extreme weather!
A High Quality Diet Helps in Many Ways!
Your cat will put on weight and coat thickness during the winter months. Providing it with a high quality diet and a little larger serving size will help keep it warm and healthy. Cats who live outdoors do a lot of hunting during the summer months and may eat quite a bit less than they will need during the cold months when their diets aren’t supplemented by their catch. Also, canned cat food will provide extra fat, which is also beneficial in moderation.
Have Your Cat Spayed or Neutered
Here’s hoping that if you have an outside cat, it is already spayed or neutered. Many cats breed during the months of January and February, and kittens born into a harsh environment have little chance of survival. There’s also the increased chance that your cat in heat will travel away from the safety and shelter of home in search for a mate. Lost and unprotected from the elements, you could easily lose your cat!
Facts
The average indoor cat lives to around 12 years of age, while the average outdoor cat doesn’t make it past 5 years old.
More than one million outdoor cats are killed each year by dogs, traffic, and exposure to disease.
Resources:
The Debate Over Indoor or Outdoor Cats
