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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 17, 2024 18:19:03 GMT -6
Chrysanthemum,
That doghouse that I built for Ranger was really easy to do. I used two old drawers that were salvaged from an old remodel. They were approximately 22" x 22" wide x 8" deep. I just cut four 2"x 2" sticks of lumber x 22" inches long, so they would be close to the same height as the drawers were wide.
I laid one drawer on the floor, open top facing up, then stood one 2"x 2" in each corner of it and secured them in place with 1-1/2" decking screws. Then, I laid the other drawer over the top to form a cube and secured it to the 2"x 2"s the same way. That formed a basic cube, minus the lumber to cover the 6" inch gap between the two drawers.
Then, I used salvaged pallet boards to fill in the 6"-inch gap between the two opposing drawer openings. Now, I had a fully enclosed cube.
Before I secured the last filler board in place, I screwed a brace on the inside of the doghouse, between the two drawers to serve as a door header. After that, I cut out the door opening, and the wooden part was finished.
Once the cube was built, I just covered it with 1-1/2" thick aluminum-backed Styrofoam, and taped all of the edges using metallic faced duct tape.
It required just a little more than half of a 4'x 8' sheet of Styrofoam. The floor isn't covered with Styrofoam because I figured he would tear that up, so I layered the bottom of the cube with about 2" inches of cardboard from breaking down old packing boxes. That way, he would be insulated from the cold concrete floor. Then, I put the dog bed that Emily gave him inside of it to entice him to try it out.
(You could probably build something very similar to this for a cat, using much smaller drawers, or by nailing up a cube made from old pallet boards). As small as cats are, a person could probably make something similar, using only one drawer. Maybe, even by using an old plastic milk crate? That's what my nest boxes are made of. Those would be just about the perfect size for a cat.
This is a photo, just for reference to size. I cut a 'Ranger-size' hole for a door, so the bigger dogs wouldn't steal his new home.
This is a photo of one of my nest boxes made from a 25 year old plastic milk crate. A cat would probably like that a lot. (Minus the two homemade nest eggs).
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jan 17, 2024 19:56:20 GMT -6
Thanks for that detailed description, heavyhitterokra. We do have some old milk crates, though they’re currently in use for storage at the moment. We also have some foam insulation scraps, but after writing earlier I got to wondering if my mom still has an old styrofoam cooler that we had in my childhood kicking around in her basement somewhere. I’ll have to ask. I’m just not sure that we have a way to entice the kitten into anything that we do set up without also enticing the neighborhood opossum. We put the food out only during the day, but we have seen an opossum or possibly two different ones nosing around at night. I don’t know if I’m breaking all sorts of domestic critter etiquette rules if I put a picture of a kitten in a thread for dogs, but here’s my fair warning. Kitten picture attached below. I’m afraid it focused more on the dirty window than the feline, but if I had opened the door, he would have run. We’re calling him “Fitzwilliam” as my oldest thinks that he looks like a little gentleman.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 17, 2024 23:06:24 GMT -6
Critter etiquette rules may be the one thing we lack. Thanks, for sharing that. Is "Mr. Fitzwilliam” the lucky recipient of all the talk about building the insulated enclosure? I'll bet an old cooler would make a good place to get in out of the cold, espescialy if there was something cozy in there to lay on.
Do opossums like catnip?
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jan 18, 2024 7:25:39 GMT -6
Yes, Mr. Fitzwilliam is the stray/feral kitten we’ve been feeding recently. He’s still quite fearful but does occasionally allow us to watch him through the window. I started thinking of some sort of insulated shelter when we had some snow and our nighttime temperatures dropped to the teens , but I figured that he was nowhere close to socialized enough to be enticed inside it. When the kids and I went outside to play in the snow, one of the fun things we did was to spot all sorts of different animal tracks and follow them a little bit. Fitzwilliam’s were the first we saw because they came up to the house but then disappeared around the side of our shed. We assume he’s found a good place to shelter in there.
I haven’t a clue about opossums and catnip. My mom does grow a patch in her garden, and she has some drying now, I think. Her own cat [who is an indoor and outdoor cat] seems to have no interest in it, though.
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Post by amyinowasso on Jan 18, 2024 10:57:42 GMT -6
The rescue places suggest cheap Styrofoam ice chests with a hole cut in it and a towel or blanket inside. Definitely not a good choice for a beagle, but supposed to be good for cats.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 18, 2024 12:07:31 GMT -6
We used to grow catnip. We had one cat who had no interest in it whatsoever and another cat later on who would go to the garden and dig the catnip up by the roots to chew on it. To each his own I suppose.
Every cat has such a different personality though. The cat who loved catnip also loved the garden. He would follow me out there every time I went. If he got left behind, he would cry and carry on like he got his foot run over by a truck. I mean, caterwaul so loudly you'd come running back, thinking he was being killed.
Back then, I had a big steel garden wagon that weighed about 80 pounds. I used the wagon to pull potatoes, onions, tomatoes, pumpkins, or whatever back to the house. That cat was black, so he hated being out in the hot summer sun; he'd climb up under the wagon for shade. Once there, he'd lay his chest up over the 5th wheel on the wagon and drag his back feet behind him as I pulled the wagon along. He was a character for for sure. When he passed on, I buried him down there where we enjoyed so many good times together.
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Post by macmex on Jan 18, 2024 19:28:52 GMT -6
Chrysanthemum,
A little over a year ago we lost my beloved cat, Nebs. I felt some urgency to replace her, as a cat is so important around here for controlling rodents. The only kitten we could find was much older than what we had obtained in the past and had been live trapped as a feral cat. Transferring her from one cage to a travel crate was a challenge as she was completely wild, hissing and trying to bite and scratch.
When we brought her home I put her in a large wire animal crate with food, water and an insulated box for a nest. The plan was to make friends with her and eventually let her out. Well, during the first night she was so bent on getting out of that crate that she literally bent the wires and squeezed out. She was nowhere to be found when I looked for her the next morning.
It took a couple of days but I did finally catch a glimpse of her, as she scrambled to hide behind a woodpile. I left food for her in the shed where we originally had placed her and after a few days I noticed that she was eating the food. So, I started feeding her regularly, trying to do so at the same time each day. I also made sure to leave some special treats, such as canned tuna, etc. Pretty soon she started looking forward to my visits and coming out of hiding, albeit at a distance, while anticipating her food.
In about a month I managed to entire to to within arm's reach, while I sat on a bucket in "her shed." If I moved, she was gone, but I counted it as real progress. In a few more weeks she let me or my daughter, Emily, touch her while she ate, provided the food was canned meat of some sort (special).
I remember what a thrill it was when she eventually let me pick her up. There were definite conditions for picking her up: 1. I had to be sitting on that bucket. 2. We had to have just fed her a treat. 3. We (I or Emily) could not move from that bucket. If we did, she was out of there.
With about 5 months she let us start picking her up around the yard. Again, there were conditions. The primary condition was that we not move from the spot we were standing when we picked her up. She would follow us around, meowing for food, but was still fairly flighty. I was resigned that "this one" would never be cuddly. However with time she kept gaining confidence and becoming more affectionate. The key principle we followed was that when she let us know that she wanted down (or away), we did not restrain her at all. Often, while we held her, we'd be giving her treats.
In about 8 or 9 months she started letting us actually hold her and walk a bit. She stopped getting frightened when we moved.
Now, just past 10 months after bringing her (Tig) home, I can hardly stick my head out the door before "the cat" starts stalking me, begging to be picked up and cuddled! She loves to be cuddled and to have me stroke her tummy! I'm working on getting her to ride on my hood when I'm doing chores (winter time attire). So far she will only stay on my shoulder for a few minutes before wanting down.
All this to say, I believe that at least sometimes a feral cat may be tamed.
This is a picture of Tig. I'd love to get a shot of her cuddling but she is still shy of us taking pictures of her.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jan 19, 2024 10:35:29 GMT -6
Heavyhitterokra and macmex, thanks for those stories about your cats. I just read them to my mom, and she enjoyed them. All of our cats over the years have been feral or strays that she has tamed or been the kittens of ones who never were tamed. It’s our hope one day to tame Fitzwilliam, but we’re just at the beginning, so reading the saga with Tig was encouraging.
We had two opossums visit the table where we’ve been feeding Fitzwilliam last night, so they’re definitely around.
It’s snowing right now, so I’m going to see if I can rig up at least a box to put the food bowl inside to keep it dry. I don’t know if he’ll be brave enough to enter. We’ll see.
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