Right now it is -9 outside, clear, and breezy. I am very happy to be able to stay snuggled up inside. This third morning of double-digit negative temperatures I finally caved and let my two barn cats inside. I know they can weather -12 or so without much trouble overnight with their current setup, but it's always been warmer (at least above zero) during the day, not this continuous bitter cold.
Right now they're happily tucked up in my spare bedroom with the heat register and the door closed...i think it's about 50 degrees in there, so not quite as much of a shock as coming into a 70 degree house. They can't stay there long-term, I use that room for a refuge for my oldest cat...she's been declawed and the others tend to pick on her. It's supposed to get up to about 20 degrees this afternoon so I will probably put them back out then. These cats don't like to stay inside...they like to come in and visit for a few minutes and warm up before they go back out. After a half-hearted attempt to go back out after eating they've been quiet all morning, which tells me a lot about how cold it is outside. I checked them over for frostbite and didn't see anything, but I will keep an eye on them with that in mind over the next few days.
This cold has made me rethink their setup...as much as I'd like to let them come in regularly during extreme weather it throws the social structure of the housecats off and that tries everyone's patience.
They only used their heated box on the porch during the first day until the wind picked up and blizzard conditions started. This summer I need to focus on changing that setup so they don't feel the need to crawl under my house. I want to make it animal-tight this summer--we've had problems with raccoons and possums in the past. They can and have chewed on wiring, torn holes in the heat and a/c ductwork, pulled out floor insulation, and just made a general mess of things on top of creating a potential fire hazard.
Ideally I would like to get something like this for their house: http://www.blythewoodworks.com/store/product/heated_dog_houses Being able to set the temperature of their house at like 35 for the coldest part of the winter would take a lot of worry out of my life. It's not likely to be in my budget this year (they'd probably need a new house to put that in on top of buying the heater), so I've been thinking about how I can make them more comfortable without spending a lot of money.
Their cat house has a sheltered porch area to use as a wind and water break, but the door is big enough for them to stand in and doesn't stop the heat from escaping. I'd like to get some kind of flap on there before next winter. I also want to paint the house a light color to reflect the heat in summer, and hopefully replace their current heated pad with a newer version actually rated to be used outdoors: http://www.blythewoodworks.com/store/product/heated_pet_pads It's almost as expensive as the heater, but I wouldn't have to cut more holes in their house. I will also move the house next to the porch in the winter, instead of on it, and surround it with straw bales and a tarp as added insulation and weatherproofing.
For a more immediate fix to my problem of keeping the boys warm, there's always a DIY insulated house: http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Winter-Cat-Shelter/ They're fast, easy to make, inexpensive, and I already have all the stuff needed to make one except for the foam cooler. I might pick one up when I go out later this week and stash it under the house. That would buy me some peace of mind if we get another extended round of bitter cold this winter before I have the money to fix up their house. Once I get the foundation closed back up I can put the styrofoam shelter in the barn as a second refuge from the weather.
Their heated water bowl couldn't quite keep up with the worst of the cold...it starts to rim up with ice at about -10, and while it keeps the water from freezing all the way through, the ice is thick enough the cats can't break it. I need to sit down and do some thinking about that.
My next post...gardening goals for 2014!
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