Tour of my cat shed (shelter for the outdoor cats) 

Great point. It honestly would take so little effort to end this terrible misery these innocent creatures endure because of the ignorance, callousness and turning away that humans do. These are *domestic* animals, not squirrels or raccoons. They are not equipped to endure life “outside” as those animals can. This is a fundamental misunderstanding that perpetuates needless agony.

Sounds like a great setup for the cats!

That's a great suggestion. Since making this video, we added a tunnel made of wood for the door that faces west to keep the snow and rain out.

Great idea. I keep forgetting about that as an option. 👍✅

Thank you for helping the feral cats in your area! It's easier for me with them in my yard.

I hope my 2 current outdoor cats will want to be indoor cats eventually. Thanks for sharing about your feral cats!

@@Thejoyofcats The majority never settled indoors. Even pooky, now sleeping in his bunk bed in the boxroom, will run out of the house if anybody strange comes in. Treasure your time with your adorable outdoor cats. It broke my heart as they grew older and more feeble and I sometimes wish I had done more to bring them in. But they got too stressed. There were only 3 over 30 years that settled in the house. You brought back memories for me when you were explaining how you did their gorgeous cosy houses. I know your cats are so comfy and safe in their little homes in the shed that becomes their forever home for life. Thank you so much for replying and again for your wonderful video. I'm wishing you lots of happiness.

That sounds lovely!

It is indeed a blessing and a privilege to have the affection of such beautiful, intelligent, loving & grateful creatures. The universe does not forget kindnesses to helpless, voiceless creatures whose miserable situations are caused entirely by human beings.

That sounds wonderful! I would love to see videos or pictures of it when it's complete. Your feral cats are going to have a great setup!

Thanks for watching!

It is nice for them when it’s cold or rainy.

Thanks!

Your setup in your shed sounds great!

Great idea! Thank you for sharing.

That is a good idea. A shelf under the window would be great. The walls are plastic, so we will have to work out a way for it to be sturdy and safe.

Oh, I forgot about the Styrofoam boxes/coolers. Going hunting for supplies for our feral shed this weekend.

We used tape, no staples. And we used the large-size roll of Reflectix: amzn.to/3vp4SCi

It was -1F here this morning! Fortunately, the heated water bowl is working well enough to keep a small area unfrozen. We usually only have 1-2 weeks a winter when it's this freezing cold. The cats hunker down in the shed during the cold spells. We've never had fleas in the yard, which seems amazing with all the random cats, possums, and raccoons. And I spotted fleas once on a cat that visits from the next street over. I put the topical flea treatment on the cats that will allow me to do it. The current two outdoor cats do not have an adverse reaction to it. The one definitely eats mice, so he gets dewormed occasionally. We had ticks for the first time in the summer of 2024. There was at least one possum living under the deck, but it didn't keep up with eating all of the ticks. So we used topical treatment on the cats. So, I really didn't come up with a good solution for deterring the ticks. Asking the possum to "step it up" didn't work.

yes, it was colder here - that's why i said that =) "We've never had fleas in the yard, which seems amazing with all the random cats, possums, and raccoons." - WOW! ha ha ha, seriously the opossum needs to step up its tick eating game.@@Thejoyofcats

It's about a 4ft by 6ft shed. The Item Dimensions are LxWxH: 51 x 76 x 78 inches. You can read more about it here: amzn.to/2TjBhMp. Thanks for watching my video!

We used Reflectix: amzn.to/3vp4SCi

Also consider styrofoam from Home Depot or anywhere. Very cheap and very effective.

Wow, that is frustrating. We’ve only had possums poop in the straw.

When we first setup the shed, it was not in cold weather, so I was able to leave the door open on days when it wasn't open for them to go in an explore. Try placing treats near the entrance. Cats seem nosy, so they may be going in when you are not looking. If you are able to set up a trail camera, that might capture the cats going in or out. Also, last winter, we had a new feral cat show up, and he spent most of the winter by himself in one of the container shelters we have setup away from the cat shed. I am not sure how he knew to go inside.

They are very, very intelligent. They will absolutely use your shelter. Their very lives are at stake. No more motivation is needed. But I agree with this lady who suggested enticements like treats, catnip. Shouldn’t be an issue for long. Thank you for caring about them. ♥️

We didn't put the Reflectix on the floor. We decided that straw would be enough for the floor. However, the shed sits on the deck and not directly on the ground. You could probably add wood to the floor (or under the shed) and maybe use insulation boards. The 2 current cats here mostly seem to go into the heated cat houses.

When the shed was new, the cats were curious and eventually figured it out. They raraly use the shed in the summer, but remember it when the weather gets cold. We’ve had it for a few years. I may have enticed them with cat treats in the beginning.

In my area, we mostly only have raccoons and possums, which we have not seen fight or cause problems with the adult cats. So I don’t consider them a serious threat to my cats. I don’t know a lot about foxes and coyotes but suspect they are too big to fit through the entrances. We have had raccoons and possums in the shed. I try to discourage raccoons from coming to yard by not having cat food out at night (except for when it’s very cold in the winter). The possums seem to go where they want. We’ve had possums poop in the shed and had one die in the shed (from natural causes as far as we could tell - no external injuries). The possums seem to stick around for a few months and then move on. I read they are transients but did not fact check it. The raccoons usually go away when there is no easy food source (which is easier to manage since right in my yard). So I don’t really have a good solution for keeping the raccoons and possums out of the shed. Mostly hope they don’t discover it. We had a mom and teenager raccoons once all day wanting to be under the deck. I made a lot of noise that day and eventually they moved on.