Tag: stray

Cat Care

How to Help Community Cats in Winter

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Meredith Hemphill

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Encyclopaedia Felidae now has a Patreon! Go to www.patreon.com/EncyclopaediaFelidae if you want to help support this content!

Two cats sitting in snow
Image by Diane Olivier from Pixabay

Community cats can be found in countries all over the world, surviving in all manner of environments. Cats are incredibly adaptable and have fantastic survival skills, but sometimes they can still use a helping paw. Domestic cats descended from Felis lybica, a desert wildcat, so the cold and damp are not their friends. If winter temperatures drop below freezing where you live, your local community cats could benefit from some assistance. This is especially true if your area is prone to lots of ice and snow. There are lots of ways to help out your community cats in winter, amenable to a wide range of budgets and schedules.

What are the Needs of Community Cats in Winter?

For cats that live outdoors, keeping warm in cold winters is an obvious priority. While community cats, especially feral cats, are often capable of figuring things out for themselves, extreme cold can still be very dangerous or even deadly for them if they can’t find sufficient shelter. Despite their fur coats, cats can get frostbite on their extremities just like us, and this can result in the loss of ears, toes, etc. (5, 9). They are also at risk of hypothermia (9). Community cats require warm, dry shelter where predators can’t reach them in order to survive cold winters. The environment won’t always provide that.

Of course, cats aren’t the only animals that want to hunker down. A lot of their prey goes to ground or migrates away in the winter, and cats expend extra energy to keep up their body heat when it’s cold. This means they need more calories but may have less available to them. Community cats may also be at risk of dehydration in below-freezing temperatures, as outdoor sources of water become frozen.

Winter also presents new human dangers for cats. Fortunately, these hazards can be mitigated through simple changes in our own behavior.

Simple Safety Tips

There are a few things everyone can and should do to keep community cats safe during the winter, even if you don’t know for sure that there are cats living outdoors where you live. Chances are, you have at least a few community cats around. With the tiniest of changes, you may save their lives.

Road salt can be harmful to cat paws – Image by petronela from Pixabay

We all know that cars are dangerous for animals, but the danger doesn’t end when the car stops moving. Cats and other small animals are often tempted to crawl underneath cars or inside engine compartments and wheel wells seeking shelter and warmth. A car that has recently been turned off may be especially tempting. Before starting your car on cold days, check under the hood, inside the wheel wells, and underneath to make sure nobody is hiding there (2, 4, 5, 7, 10). It’s a good idea to tap the hood a couple times as well to scare off any critters you might have missed (2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10).

Speaking of cars, ’tis the season for antifreeze. However, antifreeze is both extremely poisonous and sweet to the taste. Animals will gladly drink the tasty liquid, with tragic results. Just a teaspoon of antifreeze spilled on your driveway could kill a cat (2). Store antifreeze well out of reach of any curious kitties, and thoroughly clean up and spills (2, 4, 7, 10). The main ingredient in most antifreeze brands is ethylene glycol (4), which is primarily responsible for both the toxicity and the sweet taste. Some brands use propylene glycol instead, which is still toxic but to a lesser degree (4). Make sure to use antifreeze with propylene glycol to be as safe as possible.

The salts and de-icers we use to melt snow and ice on our driveways can also be hazardous for cats. The chemicals in these products can be lethally toxic to cats if licked off their paws or drunk from puddles of meltwater (2, 4). The chemicals can also injure cats’ paws just by cats walking through the de-icer (2, 4, 7, 9). Many pet stores carry pet-safe de-icer that you can use instead (4).

Feeding Changes for Winter

Are you already feeding the community cats in your area? If so, thanks for all you do! Not everyone has the time and money to take on such a task, of course, especially for a large colony. However, if you’re a community cat caregiver, or you’re thinking about starting, there are some things you need to know about feeding and watering cats in cold weather.

Frozen Food

Image by rihaij from Pixabay

As I mentioned earlier, cats burn more energy when it’s cold, so they need to consume more calories. Make sure to set out larger portions of food during the winter months (2, 4-7, 9, 10). To get an idea of when you’ve got the portions right, try watching the cats eat from a distance they’re comfortable with. If the food is gone in fifteen minutes or less, put out a little more next time (7).

Canned food takes less energy for cats to digest, but it will also freeze solid in very cold temperatures (4, 5, 7, 10). There are multiple solutions to this catch-22, and the best one will depend on your particular situation. In places where winters are bitterly cold and wet food is likely to freeze very quickly, you may want to just put out dry food (5, 6). Wet food would be preferable, but dry food is much better than frozen, inedible rocks.

Other options include heating up wet food before putting it out (4, 7) or using electric heated bowls (2, 4-6, 9, 10). Make sure you use an extension cord rated for outdoor use if you choose a heated bowl! You can also heat the bowl with a pet-safe microwavable heating pad, i.e. a Snuggle Safe, or a homemade version made with rice in a sock (4, 6, 7). You can spray insulation foam on the underside of food bowls to slow/prevent freezing (4, 7, 10).

And definitely let the sun help you out. Set bowls in the sunny places, and use dark-colored bowls that will absorb more solar heat (4, 7, 9). Avoid metal bowls–they lose heat quickly (4). Ally Cat Allies suggests rubber containers made for horses because they are flexible and won’t crack if the contents do freeze (2). Rubber is also an insulator and will hold the temperature of the food well.

A Spoonful of Sugar

It’s also important to keep water unfrozen for as long as possible. All of the above techniques for a food bowl will work for a water bowl, except one. Don’t put out hot water. It actually freezes faster than cold water. You don’t want to give chilly cats cold water, either, so go for room temperature. Then do your best to keep the temperature of the water above freezing. If you want to use a heated water bowl, the brand Solar Sippers makes solar-powered ones, so that is an option (9). Another hack for water bowls is to put a pinch of sugar in the water (7, 9, 10). This lowers the freezing temperature of the water, and the cats won’t mind the added energy boost.

You may need to replace water and food, but especially water, more often than you are used to. A bowl full of anything frozen does the cats no good. If you feed and water the cats at the same time(s) every day, that will help make sure they get to their meals before they freeze (7, 10).

Warm and Safe Shelters

Building a community cat shelter
My dad and I making an ad hoc cat shelter c. 2017

If you really want to go the extra mile to take care of your community cats in winter, then providing them with appropriate shelter is the way to go. There are a lot of ways to approach community cat shelters. You can buy them premade, you can upcycle existing structures, or you can DIY them using varying degrees of construction skill. Whatever route you take, there are some basic requirements for any winter cat shelter.

Size definitely matters, but bigger isn’t better. The ideal size for a cat shelter is about 2 ft x 3 ft and at least 18 in high (61 cm x 91 cm x 46 cm) (3, 4). This will fit 3-5 cats. The cats have to warm the shelter with their own body heat, and a large shelter has too much cold air in it for the cats to ever warm it up. Even if you know you have thirty cats in your backyard colony, go for lots of small shelters rather than one or two large ones.

There is no guarantee that only cats will use your shelters, but you can stack the odds in their favor. You want the entrances of your shelters to only be about 6 in (15 cm) across (1, 3, 6, 10). This will keep out bigger animals and predators, as well as the cold. It’s also a good idea to set shelters up with these entrances facing walls or other structures to make it even harder for other animals to get inside (1).

Shelters need to be insulated with something that won’t get waterlogged, like styrofoam, and they must be elevated at least a few inches off the ground to keep out moisture (1, 3, 6, 10). Place bedding inside to help the cats snuggle up and stay warm. The best bedding is straw, which repels moisture and provides insulation (1, 3, 6, 9, 10). That’s straw, not hay. Hay is a type of animal feed and in fact sucks up moisture like a sponge, easily molds, and can cause allergic reactions. Straw is used as animal bedding for a variety of species. Shredded newspaper will do in a pinch if you cannot find straw (8). It must be shredded, or it won’t provide that heat-trapping effect.

There are LOTS are different kinds of community cat shelters out there. Below I have included a video from Ally Cat Allies with instructions for how to make a version of one of the most popular ones, the storage bin shelter. My dad and I made one of these once. If we can do it, anyone can. You can explore these pages by Ally Cat Allies and Neighborhood Cats for more shelters you can make or buy.

Alley Cat Allies’ how-to for a DIY storage bin cat shelter

Works Cited

  1. Alley Cat Advocates. (n.d.). Building winter shelters for community cats. https://alleycatadvocates.org/communitycat-care-center/creating-winter-shelters/
  2. Alley Cat Allies. (2018, October 29). Help outdoor cats in winter: Top 10 tips. Alley Cat Allies. https://www.alleycat.org/help-outdoor-cats-in-winter-top-10-tips/
  3. Alley Cat Allies. (n.d.). Providing shelter. Alley Cat Allies. https://www.alleycat.org/community-cat-care/providing-shelter/
  4. Alley Cat Allies. (n.d.). Winter weather tips: Help stray cats this winter. Alley Cat Allies. https://www.alleycat.org/community-cat-care/winter-weather-tips/
  5. Animal Humane Society. (n.d.). Outdoor cats in cold winters: How they survive in Minnesota. https://www.animalhumanesociety.org/news/outdoor-cats-cold-winters-how-they-survive-minnesota
  6. Davis, K. (n.d.). Tips to help cats stay warm in winter. AKC Reunite. https://www.akcreunite.org/wintertimecats/
  7. Feral Cat Focus of Western New York. (n.d.). Colony management: Winter weather tips. https://feralcatfocus.org/colony-management-winter-tips/
  8. Neighborhood Cats. (n.d.). Feral cat winter shelter. https://www.neighborhoodcats.org/how-to-tnr/colony-care/feral-cat-winter-shelter
  9. Permenter, P. (2020, April 7). How to help feral cats during winter weather. Cattipper. https://www.cattipper.com/tips/2019/helping-feral-cat-colonies-during-the-winter-months.html
  10. Robinson, B. (n.d.). Winter care and safety for community cats. Petfinder. https://www.petfinder.com/helping-pets/feral-cats/winter-care-feral-cats/

Published January 3, 2021

Culture

Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary: Bringing New Life to Roman Ruins

mehshadoweye

Meredith Hemphill

mehshadoweye

Encyclopaedia Felidae now has a Patreon! Go to www.patreon.com/EncyclopaediaFelidae if you want to help support this content!

Roman ruins
Image by vikgr from Pixabay

In ancient cities, it isn’t unusual for the new to be continually built on top of the old. Rome, one of the most important cities in world history, is no exception. Important archaeological finds are often hiding right under the feet of modern Romans. In 1929, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini unearthed a major archaeological site as part of a campaign to link his regime with the glory and strength of the ancient Roman empire (1). The ruins of the Roman buildings were found twenty feet (6 m) below the current street level. Known as Largo di Torre Argentina, the complex contain four temples and part of the Theatre of Pompey. If the Theatre of Pompey rings a vague bell from your history or Latin classes, that’s probably because Julius Ceasar was assassinated on its steps on the Ides of March (March 15th), 44 BCE.

You might be wondering why I’m giving you a lesson in Italian history on a cat blog. It’s not just because it makes me feel like six years of Latin weren’t a total waste of time. As soon as Largo di Torre Argentina was uncovered, the many stray cats of Rome moved in to the newly unused space. The cats were soon followed by the gattare, or “cat ladies.” Gattare are an Italian tradition (2). The typical gattara is an older woman who sets out food for neighborhood cats (2). In some cities, the gattare are very organized, using volunteer programs to train new gattare and networking with each other to make sure the entire city is covered (2). The gattare who began feeding the cats at Largo di Torre Argentina, and eventually sterilizing and vaccinating them, got so organized that they started a cat sanctuary in 1994 right there in the ruins (3, 4).

Okay, this is actually the ruins of a Greek temple, but there are only so many royalty-free pictures out there – Image by Dimitri Houtteman from Pixabay

Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary officially began with about 90 cats (3). It was common for locals to abandon their pets even if they were just going on vacation, and a pervasive sentiment that sterilization is cruel and unnatural meant a lot of unwanted kittens were put on on the street as well (3). So the number of cats was on the rise, but the resources at hand to care for them were not keeping pace. There was little money to pay for food and medications, as the gattare were paying for everything themselves (3). The only work and storage space was a small, low-ceilinged sort of cave accidentally created under the street by construction (3).

Circumstances have changed significantly for the sanctuary since other organizations and individual donors have made it possible for regular food and veterinary care to be the norm (3). However, tensions have arisen over the presence of a cat sanctuary in such an important historical site. Archaeologists have voiced concerns about the cats negatively affecting the conservation of the site and being and affront to the dignity of the ancient holy space (3, 4). Personally, I find the latter ridiculous and the former irrelevant. Removing the sanctuary would not get rid of the cats. Cats are going to go wherever they see fit. However, the National Archeological Department didn’t see it that way when they launched a campaign to evict the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary in 2012 (2, 3, 4). Petitions in favor of the sanctuary collected over 30,000 signatures, and no eviction took place (3, 4).

Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary has always struggled to exist inside an archaeological site, but they do so because they believe that the cats there need them. There can be no doubt that the organization has done incredible things for the cats of Largo di Torre Argentina. They take in cats of all ages and even take on the veterinary care of cats with chronic conditions, disabilities, and injuries (3, 5). The sanctuary now has a foster program for kittens and an adoption program for local and international adoptions. Cats can also be sponsored as a fun way to help the sanctuary out.

Cats live both in the now much-improved indoor space and outside in the ruins. There is a gift shop inside. The sanctuary is open daily from noon to 6 pm. The ruins are mostly off-limits to visitors, visible only from above. Rome’s mayor announced plans in 2019 to restore the ruins and make them visitor-friendly in time to open by 2021, thanks to $1.1 million in funding from the fashion house Bulgari (1). Given how 2020 has gone, though, who knows what will happen with that project. The ruins may remain the haunt of cats and cat ladies.

Largo di Torre Argentina is at the corner of Via Florida & Via di Torre Argentina in Rome, Italy. To learn more about Torre Argentina Roman Cat Sanctuary, visit http://www.romancats.com/torreargentina/en/ and click on the icon for Largo di Torre Argentina. Please consider supporting the sanctuary if you are able. They also have a YouTube channel where you can meet some of the cats.

Works Cited

  1. Daley, J. (2019, March 5). Site where Julius Caesar was stabbed will finally open to the public. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/site-where-julius-caesar-was-stabbed-will-finally-open-public-180971613/
  2. Spiegel, J. (2017). Italy roundtable: Caesar’s cats. Italy Explained. https://italyexplained.com/italy-roundtable-caesars-cats/
  3. Torre Argentina Roman Cat Sanctuary. (n.d.). http://www.romancats.com/torreargentina/en/introduction.php
  4. Pasquale, M. (2018, May 9). This cat sanctuary in old Roman ruins is a must-visit. The Culture Trip. https://theculturetrip.com/europe/italy/articles/this-cat-sanctuary-in-old-roman-ruins-is-a-must-visit/
  5. Black, A. (n.d.). Torre Argentina (Roman cat sanctuary). Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/torre-argentina-roman-cat-sanctuary

Published September 13th, 2020

Updated October 3rd, 2020

Culture

Cat Beach Sanctuary: A Feline Oasis in Malaysia

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Meredith Hemphill

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Encyclopaedia Felidae now has a Patreon! Go to www.patreon.com/EncyclopaediaFelidae if you want to help support this content!

Two white cats on beach
Cats on the beach – Photo from Cat Beach Sanctuary

There are a handful of things that have the power to relax me without fail. Two of them are being on the beach and petting a friendly kitty. Cat Beach Sanctuary in the fishing village of Teluk Bahang, Malaysia is a kind of paradise I didn’t know existed on Earth. Up to 300 rescued cats roam the seashore sanctuary, sunning themselves on the sand. Many of these cats have been saved from difficult lives or almost certain death. Now they are fed and cared for, and as many as possible will be adopted. If not, however, they can stay here for the rest of their lives. Cat Beach is truly a sanctuary.

The sanctuary was founded in 2014 on the island of Penang by an American expat, Teviot Fairservis, and a local community cat caregiver named Mr. Nana. They were inspired by the work of 4PAWS, a dog sanctuary on Penang with a similar set-up. Fairservis began volunteering at 4PAWS after moving to Penang, but quickly realized that there was nowhere for people to take rescued or unwanted cats. Then Penang enacted a “Zero Strays Policy,” effective July 2014. This meant that any cat or dog rescued from the streets could not be returned from whence they came. If there was nowhere to house these animals, they would have to be euthanized. There were some shelters available for cats to go to, but all were kill shelters that couldn’t keep animals indefinitely without euthanizing them. Fairservis felt she had to do something to help the cats.

4PAWS founder Barbara Janssen introduced Fairservis to Mr. Nana Bin Wanchik, a man in Teluk Bahang who had been feeding about eighty community cats. He and Fairservis built Cat Beach Sanctuary together. They also founded the Cat Lovers International Society to help advance the feline cause beyond the sanctuary.

Tropical beach
Penang, Malaysia – Image by Zsofia Daranyi from Pixabay

The sanctuary currently consists of a simple wooden beach house and several smaller outbuildings. The main house is where the most vulnerable cats are housed in individual cages, i.e. mothers with kittens and sick or injured cats that need a lot of care. Other shelters exist on the beach for cats that are healthier and can be allowed to come and go as they please. The sanctuary also features the Traveler’s Bookshop and 2nd Chances Charity Store. Their cat cafe suffered major damages after a monsoon in 2018 but is on the mend. Visitors are welcome. They can just hang out with the cats or join in activities such as cat-themed craft projects or volunteer opportunities.

Cat Beach takes in stray, abandoned, rescued, or surrendered cats from all over the island. Although the people of Teluk Bahang generally have a positive attitude toward cats, not everyone in Malaysia does, and they have witnessed horrifying mistreatment of cats in their work. Veterinary care is difficult to come by on Penang, but they do as much as they can on site and make the hour-long trip to the nearest clinic whenever necessary or possible.

Cat Beach has a goal of sterilizing and vaccinating every cat that comes to their doorstep, but it can be difficult. Cost and transportation make it hard to vaccinate and sterilize many cats at once. However, they are still trying, and they are also doing educational outreach programs to inform the community about the importance of such measures as well. Their educational programs also aim to change the perception of cats in Malaysia, so that people will no longer think of them as a nuisance. Hopefully, if more people love cats, less cats will be abused or abandoned to begin with, and more of the cats at the sanctuary will be adopted.

Cat and woman on beach
Ocean view – Photo from Cat Beach Sanctuary

Cat Beach is doing amazing work, but they need help to do it. They are a volunteer-run organization. You can volunteer during a single visit or apply to volunteer for an extended period of time. Long-term volunteers can be lodged on-site. They need volunteers for every part of running the organization, from cat care to maintenance to administration. They accept volunteers from anywhere in the world, and students may be able to receive internship credit for their service. Fairservis used to be a university professor. She understands the struggle. If interested in volunteering, email [email protected] or see the Cat Beach website for more information.

If you aren’t able to volunteer, there are other things you can do. Donations, either monetary or in-kind, are always welcomed. They go through a LOT of supplies with all those cats. Donations of funds can be sent via PayPal to TeviotCatBeachPenang, through their GoFundMe at www.gofundme.com/catloversintl, or through direct deposit into CIMB Bank Malaysia Savings Account # 7063481337 in the name of Mohd Iqbal bin Zainal (the president of the Cat Lovers International Society). In-kind donations can be ordered from Tesco Penang or Lazada.com and sent to Cat Beach Sanctuary, 778 Jalan Teluk Awak, MK 2, Teluk Bahang, 11050, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Their wish list can be found here.

Finally, you can adopt a cat from Cat Beach. They do support international adoptions if you aren’t local, but it can get complicated, as you might expect. Don’t let that stop you if you really want to give it a go, though. You can also sponsor a Cat Beach cat to pay for their care. Cat Beach has a foster program as well.

You can find out more about Cat Beach by visiting their website at https://catbeachpenang.com/.

Published May 16, 2020

Updated December 19, 2020

Behavior

The Difference Between Feral and Stray Cats

mehshadoweye

Meredith Hemphill

mehshadoweye

Encyclopaedia Felidae now has a Patreon! Go to www.patreon.com/EncyclopaediaFelidae if you want to help support this content!

Stray cat hiding in tunnel
Image by Yolanda Coervers from Pixabay

The words “feral” and “stray” are sometimes used interchangeably, but feral and stray cats are in fact very different. It’s important to know how and why if we wish to help both of these types of community cats.

First, we need to know what it means for a cat to be socialized. All cats in the species are considered domestic cats, but not all domestic cats are socialized. Socialization is the process by which a kitten becomes accustomed to human interaction–being pet, held, spoken to, etc. Socialization teaches a kitten that humans are providers and friends, not something to be afraid of. Kittens must be socialized early in life. The window in which a cat can be socialized varies somewhat from cat to cat, but by the time a cat is an adult, it is almost always too late.

Strays are community cats that are socialized to humans. They are former pets which have been lost or abandoned. Stray cats may be friendly to people or approach them seeking food or help. Or this may also not be the case, especially if they have had negative experiences with people or been on their own for a long time. Regardless, the distinguishing feature of strays is that they have been socialized at that crucial time of life and are therefore capable of living with humans again. Stray cats should be rescued and adopted because they are not well-equipped to survive on their own. They would be safest and happiest in a loving home, although they might require some time to adjust.

Feral cats are wild animals. They are not socialized and exhibit fear and aggression toward humans, which they view as a threat. Feral cats may learn to tolerate a human caregiver who feeds them, but they do not become friendly and trusting, and they are not happy indoors. They are very in-tune with their home territory and have grown up learning how to survive outside. An adult feral cat cannot be socialized, and animal shelters know this. If ferals are brought in, shelters typically euthanize them, knowing that they are not adoptable. Feral kittens as much as a few months old can be fostered and socialized, although they should be kept with their mother until they can be weaned whenever possible.

The most effective and humane way to help feral cats is to provide food, water, and shelter and to practice TNR: trap, neuter, return. TNR consists of trapping feral cats with humane traps, getting them sterilized (and sometimes vaccinated), and then returning them to their territory. This way, the cats can live longer, healthier lives as individuals, without producing more homeless kittens. When ferals cats are neutered, it is standard practice to clip the top quarter inch of the left ear. This is known as ear-tipping and lets others know that this cat has already been sterilized. It prevents cats from the trauma of being trapped and transported to a clinic unnecessarily.

Ear-tipped cat laying on bench
Ear-tipped cat – Photo by Michiru Maeda from FreeImages

Since the best way to help strays and ferals is different, knowing how to tell them apart is important. Unfortunately, that can be extremely difficult, especially when the cat is scared. An adult cat which approaches you, acts friendly, or allows you to touch them is almost certainly a stray. Strays are more likely to assume tail-up, welcoming postures and to meow or purr around humans. A feral cat will avoid or hide from you, won’t let you touch them, and will stay low to the ground or make themself small. A stray may make eye contact, but a feral will not.

Feral cats usually live in groups called colonies. They are bonded with the other cats in their colonies and are often seen with other members of the group. Strays usually live alone and don’t tend to hang out with other cats. Strays are more likely to be seen during the day than feral cats. Feral cats may keep to their natural crepuscular or a nocturnal one that avoids people as much as possible. And perhaps the most obvious difference is that feral cats keep themselves well groomed as part of their daily routine, but stray cats, especially new strays, are very stressed and have lost their routine. It’s much more common to see a stray with a dirty or disheveled coat.

We all want to do the best we can by our feline friends. In the case of feral cats, however, they live their best lives outside. It’s important to know that not all street cats are the same. Keep in mind that some wish they could snuggle up on the couch with us, while others would be thrilled if we would just throw a bowl of food on the lawn.

If you are worried about the cats in your community, many places have local organizations that rescue strays and/or TNR ferals. If there is not one in your area, there is a plethora of online resources to help you determine the best course of action for your situation. Alley Cat Allies (https://www.alleycat.org/) is a personal favorite. Your local animal shelter, even if they cannot take in feral cats, may be able to provide advice or humane traps.

Published March 5, 2020

Updated June 23, 2021