Originally Posted by
Phamilton
”Feral” in Zesty’s case refers to how she was processed by the local SPCA, people bring them strays and they spay/neuter the cats, give them shots, and clip their ears before releasing them back into the “wild”.
Zesty only tries to come inside the house when she’s hungry, she’s very happy living her life outdoors and sleeping in the garage or one of the outbuildings. We provide her with a little space heater and blankets when it’s cold.
She likes to hunt and she’s good at it.
My neighbors feed a very skittish feral cat (with the ear clip). I can't get closer than 15 feet from her, but they can occasionally pet her, briefly, before she darts away again. They set up a box with blankets on their porch, and she stays there only when it's cold. Last winter, forecasts were below 10F, and I got them one of these 100W "lizard" infrared heaters, and a cheap aluminum clip light to mount it in.
I had used one of these years ago, with my very old, frail indoor cat. She quit sitting on the furnace's floor register (which wasn't on all the time, of course) and stayed comfortable on her pad.
The infrared heat goes right through their fur, and is quite effective for just 100 watts. They set it up about a foot from the bed. When it was really cold, the cat stayed there all day instead of roaming.
In the warm sunshine from last spring. "Don't come any closer."
