On Thursday, 8 October 2015 09:11:32 UTC+1, Steph wrote:
On Wednesday, 7 October 2015 22:52:18 UTC+1, wrote:
On Wednesday, 7 October 2015 21:28:21 UTC+1, Steph wrote:

I was hoping you could give me some advice. I have noticed for sometime there are many feral stray cats roaming around my area. My neighbour who lives a field away killed a cat with antifreeze. He is not a mentally well man. With this in mind, I was thinking of building a shelter for these cats to save them from my neighbour. Would it be cheaper buying a child's playhouse or building my own? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cost the bits up & see. Cheapest would be pallet wood. Not sure what preservatives are & aren't safe to use though.

Would shelters not just inform the neighbour exactly where to go? Might be better to get a rehoming shelter involved. I'd also bring the RSPCA upto speed if they're not already. They might be able to warn him off repeating the trick.

Thank you for your advice. There are two houses where I live in the countryside, my neighbours and mine. Unfortunately, many people seem to dump their unwanted pets around our area. My neighbour Steve hates cats so I hate the fact if he gets hold of the strays he may kill them. This way it at last they will have somewhere to stay instead of wandering onto his grounds.

Right. Well, I'd build them as 4 houses in 1 unit rather than singles. Less than 4x the wood & time for a 4 shelter unit. And I'd scatter the units widely rather than congregate them to minimise territory fights.

Some cats will be familiar with catflaps. Simple flaps on some of the units would be a real help with staying warm in winter, which is a critical issue for cats.

Beware of WBP plywood being sold that isn't WBP, and delaminates rapidly in rain. If you use ply, shuttering ply is probably the grade to go for.

If you build a big shelter near your house it should be possible to get PDSA or RSPCA vet treatment for health problems, treat for fleas to some extent and clean the shelter. I expect not all cats would use it. PDSA would probably neuter when needed too, another core issue.


NT