download/print - Neighborhood Cats

Types of shelters• The Neighborhood Cats Winter ShelterOur favorite shelter was invented by KarenHancock of Port Washington, NY. It’s made from asingle 8 ft. x 2 ft. sheet of hard, two-inch thickStyrofoam, which is pink or blue in color and availableat most lumberyards and large home supplies storeslike Home Depot or Lowe’s (but call first!) It’slightweight and made for home or building insulation.The exact, step-by-step instructions on how tobuild a shelter from the Styrofoam sheet are inAppendix B. The first step - cutting the 8 foot sheetinto smaller pieces - is the only one where you mightneed some help. In order to keep the edges straight so the pieces will fit togetherproperly, a table saw should be used. It’s difficult to get straight cuts by hand because ofthe thickness (2”) of the material. Once the pieces are cut, all that’s needed is to carveout a doorway, apply self-sticking linoleum tile to the floor, glue the pieces together, sealthe seams and put on a couple of coats of paint.When completed, the interior space of the shelter measures 18” W x 20” L x 12” H.Three or four cats can fit comfortably inside, but even with only two cats, there isrelatively little air space and the two-inch Styrofoam is excellent insulation. In anexperiment one cold winter night, a volunteer taped a thermometer to the interior roof ofone of these shelters, which had a plastic flap over the doorway. The outdoor temperaturewas 11 degrees Fahrenheit. After two cats had been inside for an hour, the thermometerin the shelter’s interior read 56 degrees Fahrenheit.Out on the colony’s site, the shelters should beweighed down – they are strong but light. A largerock or heavy board can be placed on top. If apair of shelters is being used, place them about afoot or two apart with the front doors facing eachother. Bridge the gap between them by resting aboard two feet wide and at least a few feet long onthe roofs of the two shelters. Then weigh downthe board. This arrangement cuts down on windgetting inside the shelters and offers moreprotection from rain. The covered area betweenthe shelters can be a good place to put food andwater.photo: Cecilia PollakThe shelters should be coated with Latex deck paint, using a color like grey, green orbrown, that will blend the shelters in with their surroundings. The paint will make theshelters less noticeable and longer lasting.45