With cold weather fast approaching, you might find yourself wondering how to care for your own outdoor pets or help out an outdoor stray or other animal that spends a lot of time outdoors.
Provide shelter:
Obviously, the best case scenario is bringing an animal indoors when temperatures drop. But, when that’s not possible, for cats and dogs and other animals that are outside, warm and dry shelters are super important.
Although there are a variety of outdoor pet shelters available online, shelters don’t have to be expensive. Building them often just requires a little time and creativity when it comes to use of materials.
Alley Cat Allies provides this video on how to build a do-it-yourself cat shelter:
In addition to plastic bins, plastic barrels are in expensive option.
A North Carolina resident, recently went viral on Facebook with over 16,000 shares to date when he came across a number of plastic barrels, which he had holes cut into and offered up for free for those who need a dog or cat house but can’t afford it. He even offered to deliver them! We think this is absolutely fantastic and hope other follows suit to help keep animals warm all over the country and all over the world (while also helping keep unused barrels like this out of landfills).
Whatever shelters you provide, straw is good insulator, according to the Alley Cat Allies press release. Straw is inexpensive and easy to come by (just check your local pet supply store or garden center), and repels moisture. Blankets or towels can absorb moisture and make an interior colder.
For related information:
Check out our article: Tips for Caring for Outdoor Cats in Cold Weather: https://wowmypetdidthat.com/tips-for-outdoor-cats-in-cold-weather/
For extensive and helpful information about caring for chickens in the winter, check out: https://milefour.com/blogs/learn/chickens-in-winter
And, for a look at keeping your indoor reptile warm during cold weather, check out our article on that topic at: https://wowmypetdidthat.com/960-2/