Remember to Tap Your Hood Before Getting In Your Vehicle!!!

The Polar Vortex is making it's way across the nation.   During this time, the neighborhood cats seek a warm place.  Meaning under the hood of parked vehicles.

So Please remember to TAP the hood of your vehicle before getting in.  

DO NOT BLOW YOUR HORNS!

Cats have very sensitive ears.  So PLEASE do not blow your horns.  

Just TAP real hard on the hood of your car once or twice.  That will be enough to wake the kitty up and send him/her on their furry way.  

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Please pass this information on to everyone you know!  

TAP That Thang!

Extreme Cold Weather Regions...

PLEASE REMEMBER 

TO TAP THE HOOD OF YOUR VEHICLES BEFORE GETTING IN!

Cats often take shelter under the hoods of cars where it's warm.  So PLEASE...Remember to Tap the hood of your vehicle before getting in.  Or at the very least make enough noise where it will scare the cat out. 

DO NOT BLOW YOUR HORNS!

Blowing your horns can cause damage to the cat's hearing and/or cause it to harm itself while trying to hurry out.  

Remember To  Leave Food and Water.  And to check on the water supply.  In these freezing temps the water will freeze up rather quickly.  So check often throughout the day.

Use Straw to line shelters or to put where strays and ferals take shelter like under your house or porch.  

Learn more about what you can to do by visiting The Humane Society's website.  

Just click HERE

Tiny Kitten Seeks Refuge Under Car Hood, Suffers Severe Injuries

While winter weather poses many threats to animals, perhaps one of the most serious dangers occurs when cats and other small animals seek warmth from the engines of parked cars. One such unlucky cat was Flapjack, a tiny kitten found on the side of the road in New York City last December. Fortunately, a Good Samaritan spotted Flapjack and brought him to the ASPCA Animal Hospital.

It was clear that Flapjack had been caught in a car’s engine. He was suffering from multiple serious injuries, including a fractured lower jaw, a severe tongue laceration and other wounds.

ASPCA Veterinarian Dr. Maren Krafchik says the hospital staff performed the first of three surgeries on Flapjack that same day, including using wire to repair his jaw and inserting a feeding tube to help him eat.

This brave little kitten is now happy and healthy with his foster parent, an ASPCA veterinary technician. He had his feeding tube removed and can now eat normally, and the swelling he experienced as a result of his injuries has gone down a great deal.

We’re so relieved that Flapjack has recovered, but his story provides a valuable lesson to anyone who drives during the winter months. According to Dr. Krafchik, there are multiple ways to prevent such injuries, including:

• knocking on the hood of your car
• honking your car’s horn
• checking under your car’s hood to ensure that a small animal is not inside.  If you start your car and hear something unusual, turn off your engine immediately.

To Keep your pets healthy and safe this winter, check out the full list of cold weather pet care tips, just CLICK HERE.

RESOURCE:  http://www.aspca.org/nyc/aspca-animal-hospital

Protect Community Cats from Cold Weather

Some of the coldest weather in years will move over much of the eastern half of the nation into the first part of the week. Please take these steps to protect your community cats.

* Cold weather can increase a cat's energy and nutritional needs. Don't forget extra water to prevent dehydration. Check it often and place in an area protected from the wind to minimize freezing.

* Wet food in insulated containers is ideal for cold-weather feeding-because it takes less energy to digest, that's more energy for keeping warm. Cats need more food for energy in the winter.

* Use two storage bins (like Rubbermaid). Line the bins with Styrofoam and cut out a doorway to create an instant shelter.

Visit http://alleycatadvocates.org/resources/creating-winter-shelters/ for other ideas.

* In a Pinch, a cardboard shelter is better than no shelter. To keep it from getting wet, elevate off the ground, line with newspapers and cover the lid with plastic (a garbage bag will do).

* Use sheets of plywood to weigh down lightweight shelters made from plastic, cardboard, styrofoam, etc.

* Cats rely on body heat to stay warm, so keep your shelters small for colonies with just a few cats. For more populated colonies, go with multiple shelters of a larger size.

* Because it resists moisture, straw is the top choice for insulation and bedding in your feral cat shelters. Avoid blankets, which absorb moisture like a sponge.

  

STRAW IS THE BEST BEDDING

* Cats can get snowed in, so it's important to remove snow from all entrances and exits to their shelters. Shovel regularly to stay ahead of the game.

* Avoid using salts and chemicals designed to melt snow near your colonies. They can be toxic when licked off paws or ingested from melting puddles, and can hurt a cat's paw pads.

SOURCE:  Alley Cat Advocates:   www.alleycatadvocates.org

Winter Shelters for Outside Pets, Ferals and Strays!

Design Basics

There are many ways to build adequate shelter will all good designs sharing two qualities: strong insulation and minimal air space. The insulation is needed to trap the cats’ body heat, effectively turning the cats into little radiators. Empty air space needs to be eliminated in order to keep the amount of space that needs to be heated to a minimum. A well insulated large dog house will not work because there will be too much air space for the cats to warm. Likewise, a tight fitting space with thin, uninsulated walls won’t work either because the cat’s body heat will pass right through.

Smaller Shelters Provide Warmth – Build More, Smaller Shelters

With these design factors in mind, it is better to build two smaller shelters which will each hold three or four cats than one large shelter to house six to eight felines. With smaller shelters, even if only one or two cats go in, enough heat will be generated. But with the larger shelter, if only a small number of the cats use it at the same time, there will be too much empty air space for them to heat.

Wonderful Shelter Ideas, from Neighborhood Cats in NYC

Visit their website for photos and other ideas!

Winter Cat Shelter Made from Rubbermaid Storage Bin

This shelter was designed by CSM Stray Foundation of Kew Gardens, Queens, New York. Purchase a large Rubbermaid storage bin (a.k.a.  storage tote) with a removable lid. It’s important the brand is Rubbermaid otherwise the plastic walls may crack in frigid temperatures. You’ll also need an eight foot by two foot sheet of one inch thick hard Styrofoam, a yardstick, box cutter, and insulating material such as hay or straw.

To assemble:

1. Cut a doorway six inches by six inches in one of the long sides of the bin towards the corner. Cut the opening so that the bottom of the doorway is several inches above the ground to prevent flooding.
2. Line the floor of the bin with a piece of Styrofoam, using the yardstick and box cutter to cut the piece. It doesn’t have to be an exact fit, but the closer the better.
3. In a similar fashion, line each of the four interior walls of the bin with a piece of the Styrofoam. Again, perfect cuts are not necessary. Leave a cap of three inches between the top of these Styrofoam “wall pieces” and the upper lip of the bin.
4. Cut out a doorway in the Styrofoam interior wall where the doorway has been cut out all ready in the storage bin.
5. Stuff the bottom of the bin with straw or other insulating material (no blankets or towels!) to hold the wall pieces in place.
6. Cut out a Styrofoam “roof” to rest on top of the Styrofoam wall pieces.
7. Cover the bin with its lid.
8. This shelter is easy to clean by taking off the lid and the roof. It is lightweight and may need to be weighed down. A flap over the door way is optional.

Build a Shelter Using a Styrofoam Cooler

An adequate shelter for one cat can be made from a simple Styrofoam cooler available at any hardware store for about $6. Glue the lid onto the cooler, turn it upside down and cut a hole in one side (anywhere but in the middle of one of the long sides). The Styrofoam containers used to ship meat can be turned into shelters in the same way and can, depending on their size, house 3 to 4 cats. If you want to get fancy, get a large Igloo cooler and, with a jigsaw, cut a hole towards the left or right of one of the long sides. The attached lid will allow for easy cleaning.

Interior Insulation  - Insulating Your Cat Shelter

Putting insulating materials inside the shelter will increase the comfort and warmth of the cats. Insulation materials should only be used if the shelter can be periodically checked to see if they have gotten damp or too dirty and need to be replaced. If regular checkups are not possible, leave the interiors bare.

Straw, Hay and Other Good Insulating Materials

Straw and hay are good insulating materials to use. Straw is better than hay because it can absorb more moisture and is less prone to mold or rot.  Shredded newspaper will also work. One innovative idea is offered by Ellen Perry Berkeley in her book, “Maverick Cats.” Loosely fill a cotton pillow case with Styrofoam peanuts, the kind used to pack fragile items during shipping, and tie the pillow case closed. Then put the stuffed pillow case inside the shelter. The pillow case will conform to the cat’s body and wrap her in heat capturing peanuts.

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Here is another simple shelter idea from one of our volunteers, thanks Jean!

Need to provide shelter for several cats? Purchase a 54” deck box (used to store deck furniture cushions). Cut a hole in the side for cat access. Then cut a board, fitting down the center, to separate the box into 2 sections.  One section can be filled with bedding, and the other section is used for feeding. Do not place water inside the shelter. Should the water spill the bedding and cats will get wet. When winter arrives, purchase a sheet of insulation board and cut it to fit the entire inside of the box. This shelter is lightweight and will need to be weighed down.

Source:  Alley Cats Advocates