Читать книгу Cats For Dummies - Gina Spadafori - Страница 74

While many caretakers don’t worry about shelter for their community cats, especially in warmer parts of the world, you may be in a location where your cats need shelters. While there are ready-made cat shelters on the market, the DIY route is probably cheaper and works just as well. You’ll find all kinds of ideas for community cat shelters with a simple internet search.

A very basic and very warm shelter can be made from an old cooler chest, which you might be able to find at a tag or garage sale or even just ask around for free ones hiding in the garages of friends and family members. Cut a cat-sized hole in the side, put some bedding material inside, and you’re all set. Dog houses can also be picked up cheaply and repurposed for cats, as can large, lidded plastic storage boxes. With the latter, if you live in an area with cold winters, you may need to put one box inside a larger one with insulation between the boxes.

Alley Cat Allies is the most prominent group advocating for care-in-place for ownerless cats. On their website (alleycat.org), they offer all kinds of tips for caring for cat colonies, and they have lots of info on ready-made and DIY shelters.