Rescue Me

What to do about outside cats...I do not approve of pet owners who let their cats roam the neighborhood.  It is not healthy for the cats and it is not healthy for my birds who frequent my feeders.  Having said that, I have noticed 3 skinny little cats in my yard off and on all winter.  At first I assumed that some owner was letting them roam, but last week, when they were trying to get a drink of water out of the bird bath, I changed my mind.

Here they are trying to lap up a little water out of the bird bath.

Once I saw them up close, I could see that they were skinny and obviously very thirsty.

And so it begins...

I don't want the cats competing with or eating the birds, so I decided to put a dish of food under my front porch to lure the kitties away from the birds.  

The food disappeared nightly, here is one of the orange kitties having a snack.

But what about water...so, then I hopped on Amazon.com and ordered a heated water dish.  Planning to provide food and drink under the porch.   Then Mother Nature sent a wicked cold spell.  When the water dish came the temperature was hovering around zero, I knew I had to do something more.

So, I cut a door into a plastic tote that I had turned upside down, using the lid as the base.  I laid a piece of carpet in the floor of the new cat house.  

Cat rescue house

Inside I added a cardboard box that I lined with those air filled pillows used for package packing.  I added some hand towels for bedding.

Trying to add some insulation.

Then I taped the lid on the tote for stability and now I have a cat house.

Since the food and water needs to be someplace where I can easily do refills, I set up the rescue spot under my front porch steps.

Porch kitty accommodations

So, now I am committed.  The food and water needed to be refilled the next morning.

Today I am setting up my trail cam to monitor the comings and goings under the porch.

Sometimes doing for others helps yourself along the way.

"Love of animals is a universal impulse, a common ground on which all of us may meet. By loving and understanding animals, perhaps we humans shall come to understand each other." 
-- Louis J. Camuti