to bad you could not rig up something that had a solar battery or solar
powered
or use a battery center that stores power and has outlets to plug into

Was it you that was looking at cat doors  Wal-Mart had an electronically one
that your cat wears an id tag on it  that is the only way the door will open

I have the heated pad. Actually, I bought the dog one because it is
identical to the cat one, only a few inches larger. It stayed plugged
in my garage for weeks and worked wonderfully for a feral stray I was
keeping.  The extra fleece cover is kind of a rip-off though; it is
simply a square of fleece material with elastic on the corners, and
cost $15. You could buy a fleece remnant and make one a lot cheaper.
You could still build a box and use the pad inside. It doesn't get any
warmer than 102 degrees. Good luck.
Sherry

Hi, that's great news.

You are probably going to get a pad of some sort right? not an electric
space heater...
sounds like all you need is a low powered heating pad. And with that,
for now, I would
put it on it's lower setting...

If the shelter is around 150 feet away you say...?
That sounds like two chords. 100' and then a 50' chord.

I would just get lite duty chords. like the orange tubular type...
be sure to insulate where one chord hooks into the other
especially where rain can fall into the connection.

(if you go with electrical space heater, yule want medium or heavy duty
chords....electric is just like sound...the further you get from the
source the weaker the useable power on the other end..a lite duty chord
would just melt at 150', if you go the space heater route)

I ran a 100' chord out of my back window, to the block bldg I told you
about.
I gave them a little electric cube. It's actually pretty warm in there.
I keep it on the low setting.
I have been checking the electrical socket here in the house, to make
sure it doesn't get hot.

If you leave any portion of the service chord rolled up...it will
gather heat and can catch fire...spread any excess chord around, but
not coiled or rolled up.

Cool Beans!

I wouldn't use a heated pad.  Ferals do fine outdoors in a small insulated
shelter with some straw over a space blanket.

If you decide to use a heated pad, use something like this- its only 6 watts
and covers only half the
bottom of the shelter so the cat still has a place to lie if she gets too
warm.  Otherwise, she might leave the shelter.

http://tinyurl.com/887jr

Phil

a cord.

Personally, I would be leery about leaving any type of heating element
running for 2 to 3 weeks without supervision - but then again even if you're
there you couldn't watch it every second.

Unless you live on the Alaskan tundra, I don't think the electrically heated
shelter is necessary.

What I would do is to get two boxes, one much smaller than the other.  Open
the top of the larger box so you can work on the inside.  Cut an entrance in
the larger box about 3 inches from the bottom then put a layer of either
insulation, styrofoam popcorn, hay, or even shredded newspaper about 2 or 3
inches thick on the bottom (any material that has pickets of air in it will
act as insulation to trap warm air inside) then cover that with a sheet of
newspaper, a blanket, or any other material that a cat can walk on top of.

Cut an entrance in the smaller box and place the smaller box inside the
larger box with the entrance facing the side from the entrance of the larger
box (to make an entrance "hall" that goes around the corner from the main
entrance.  Fill the sides away from the entrances with the same insulating
material you used on the bottom.  Fill the smaller box with hay or shredded
newspaper that a cat can burrow down into.

Place the whole "house" on blocks to keep it off the cold ground and turn
the main entrances away from the direction from which the wind is blowing.
Then tape down the top of the large box with duct tape.

With all of this, plus the cat's own fur coat, they should be quite warm
without the need of an electrically powered heating element.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Thanks to everyone so much. I think you have already helped me as much
as it is possible from a distance...

My options have undergone a superficial change but remain the same in
substance. The landlord does not want me to prop open the door of the
room I was thinking of because though unused and unheated, it is still
connected to the heated building. However he has agreed to let me use
an unused garage and, if I want, run an extention cord from his
adjacent garage. Both garages are unheated, not attached to the
building, so he will let me prop open the door of the empty one. I have
to check out how protected this space will be from drafts etc, but it
will be better than outside and I can always create extra protection
inside.

As I said, you have alreay helped me more than I could have hoped for.
Now I have to decide what to do and then actually do it. I willl let
the group know how it all worked out.

Anil

What is

I think you are right to be concerned about unattended electrical
appliances, especially those that intentionally generate heat. No
experience with heat pads so not sure what the specific safety issues
are but my aunt's electric blanket blew up last year and her bedroom
was gutted by the subsequent fire. Fortunately she had just got out of
bed and was in the bathroom when it happened and she had the presence
of mind to shut the door when she saw the fire or the whole house could
have been burnt. If it is possible to go with a non-electrical option I
would definitely go with it.

Kate

what a nice way to zap kitty into a briquette!

In Houston's coldest winters (25F with icy nites and high humidity) my
ferals stay toasty warm in Xerox® boxes w/lids--stuffed with cast-off
clothing and open in the end so they can ingress and egress.   I put them in
a wind-proof enclosure and/or storage room with the door fixed ajar.  A few
boxes are under wind-and-rain-protected, plywood A-frames with plastic
sheeting under and around them for damp proofing.

A cat's normal body temp is a notch above 101F, so they keep each other
warm.  And as long as wind does not hit them, their fur will insulate them
from temps that would make we humans shudder.  It is not unusual to see them
in cuddled in pairs.

I protect about 10 or 12 ferals in this manner, with their food and water
placed close enough for a quick snack and then back into the shelter.
During the day when the sun heats the environment, they wander around at
will, nearly always staying inside the brick-walled manor grounds.

My insiders enjoy more humankind comforts (a heated home and a few
individual heating pads for the oldest ones of the brood).  They also enjoy
a screened-in covered patio with similar open topped boxes placed in areas
where they enjoy daytime snoozing.

It's a cat's life.

--Catmandu
www.royergovernance.com
http://mastersfitness.royergovernance.com/fitlog/archives/000022.html
http://mastersfitness.royergovernance.com/fitlog/archives/000020.html
www.churchboardleadership.com