Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Stealth on January 15, 2007, 02:43:14 pm
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we've had a stray cat that's lived outside our house for like 2 years now. none of us can get close enough to touch her, (she's wild), but my mom feeds her every day, etc.
well in Houston, the next 2 or 3 days it's expected to drop below freezing, with ice and sleet, etc. i felt bad for the cat outside (usually she just sleeps under one of our cars, where it's warm, but it's going to be too cold for that, and the cars aren't going to be driven for like 2 days, so the engines won't be warm, so she'll freeze)
so i went to petco and got a 100w heat lamp, and came home, and took some tape, newspaper, two cardboard boxes, and a couple of trash bags, and made her a shelter for the next couple of days :)
(http://www.swooh.com/lorenzo/hlphosted/mycatshelter1.JPG)
that's a picture of the shelter. the 'outer chamber' has a hole she goes into, and then there's a hole inside leading to the second box (the 'inner chamber'). i did that so the cold wind doesn't pierce right through into the inner chamber. should help retain the heat, you know. the inner chamber has a thick layer of newspaper around it, to insulate, and has the heat lamp mounted into the top of the box (so the bulb is pointing right into the inner chamber). i've also got trash bags taped to the outside in case the rain comes down at an angle or something, so it's protected. there's newspaper on the floor of the inner chamber, and a blanket that she can lie on.
(http://www.swooh.com/lorenzo/hlphosted/mycatshelter2.JPG)
a picture of the heat lamp mounted :) keep in mind i did this with minimal supplies, and 20 minutes :)
(http://www.swooh.com/lorenzo/hlphosted/mycatshelter4.JPG)
that's her following the food into the shelter... exploring it. i apologize for the shoddy image quality, but this picture was taken from far back, and through a (fogged up) window, so i didn't scare her.
(http://www.swooh.com/lorenzo/hlphosted/mycatshelter5.JPG)
this is her coming out after exploring it :) she saw me with the camera, and was looking right at me, heh.
(http://www.swooh.com/lorenzo/hlphosted/mycatshelter6.JPG)
and another shot of her coming out.
(http://www.swooh.com/lorenzo/hlphosted/mycatshelter3.JPG)
that's her eating... i put food leading up to the entrance of the shelter, and then a bowl of food outside the shelter too, in case she gets hungry
hopefully if it gets cold enough she'll remember the shelter and will go into it :-/
i'm also going to set my car to remote start every hour for 5 minutes, to keep the engine warm juuuust in case she doesn't want to go into the shelter, at least the engine warmth will help her
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That's really nice of you
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Nice :yes:
Umm.. I guess you have tested how hot it gets inside? :)
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yeah and it has a dimmer switch... so i did it so it's just nice and luke-warm. i'll turn it up at night though, when it drops 15 more degrees.
he can adjust the temperature by moving into the outer chamber if it gets too hot though
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take her to the vet, get her checked out and bring her ass inside.
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Like he already said, no one can get close enough to touch her. Trying to actually catch her (for any reason) is more likely to scare her off for good, and then she wouldn't have the shelter at all.
Well done, Stealth. It really warms my heart to meet someone else who cares about these critters.
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what traps have you set up ?
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/me likes what you've done, but can't get the phrase "Cat Oven" out of his head.
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no traps. my mom actually managed to set a trap for her in an attempt to take her to the vet to make sure she wasn't sick. turns out she had something, so they gave her shots and stuff. when we brought her home she went INSANE though... until we opened the door and let her out. she ran off into the front yard, and was so traumatized we didn't see her for like 3 days.
we figured... she's wild, probably grew up in the wild, so as long as we feed her and take care of her, it's all good. besides which we have a cat flap (or whatever you call it. the thing that lets the cats go into the house), so if she ever wants to, she can come right in. my mom tries to get closer to her when she feeds her every morning, but no luck.
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/me likes what you've done, but can't get the phrase "Cat Oven" out of his head.
it's not a heat lamp, like, to heat food. it's a heat lamp that you're supposed to use to keep reptiles warm. back in the days when i had a snake, i had one like it too. it has a bulb that shines a dark red (which reptiles can't see), and it doesn't bake (lol), it just warms it up. i plugged it in for 15 minutes before deploying it, and when i put my hand through the opening it was nice and warm. not boiling or anything
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it's not a heat lamp, like, to heat food. it's a heat lamp that you're supposed to use to keep reptiles warm. back in the days when i had a snake, i had one like it too. it has a bulb that shines a dark red (which reptiles can't see), and it doesn't bake (lol), it just warms it up. i plugged it in for 15 minutes before deploying it, and when i put my hand through the opening it was nice and warm. not boiling or anything
I know, I know, I had one for my pet turkeys when they were little.
But STILL, "Cat Oven" keeps popping into my head.
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I salute your selfless efforts for our furry little friends.
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Pet turkeys? :nervous:
Were you really keeping them as pets or did you just grow them?
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instead of a heat lamp you could use the inside of an old microwave
that should work better
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pet turkey!? wtf?
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Pet turkeys? :nervous:
Were you really keeping them as pets or did you just grow them?
Really keeping them as pets.
pet turkey!? wtf?
I can go get a pic, if you'd like. They're hanging out in my backyard.
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yeah please do
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(http://www.nukelol.com/images/forumimages/happycatavy.gif)
Hope it's a happy cat.
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you are quite certain this is not going to catch fire? I would have used a heating pad.
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no. i'm very certain.
i can put my hand in and hold the the bulb... it's not hot... just warm.
trust me. i had a snake for 5 years, and went through dozens of these heating lamps. all different types and sizes
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you are quite certain this is not going to catch fire? I would have used a heating pad.
As long as there isn't any doom music, the cat's fine.
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Well done Stealth! there should be more like you in the world!
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Excellent fellow animal love, good job
umm Pet Turkeys. No wonder your thinking "cat oven"I thought a pet pig was different.
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That looks remarkably like my Mary. She was a stray too. She's half indoors, half outdoors, and an excellent mouser. So like her, this one may not need to be totally indoors, but I would definitely get her to a vet if possible. I recognize you may not be able to, as I was only able to get Mary to one because her personality is the polar opposite of what you describe here.
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Well done Stealth! there should be more like you in the world!
Indeed. Mucho kudos. :)
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That's really nice from you Stealth. You've gained my respect.
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Good for you man. My family adopted a stray once, years ago. In fact, she looked almost exactly like the one in your pics. We ended up keeping her and she mothered one of the cats we have now. My parents also have these friends who are just crazy for animals, which means that they have 5-10 pets living with them at any one time, most of them adopted or rescued. Good thinking putting in the second chamber and the heat lamp. Sounds like a cozy shelter. Just put some cat food and milk/water out there every once in a while.
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oh i do. there's a bowl of water and a bowl of food out there at any given time :)
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That cat looks like one of mine, but leaner and with lighter fur. Has the same attitude as well, from what can tell. :p
My poor cat... elderly, arthritic, and unable to do much jumping anymore... :(
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I demand pictures of Turey's pet turkeys. ;7
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yeah same.
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Poor kitten...
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shes a nice looking cat for a stray. hopefully she will be your pet at some point.
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yeah well she pretty much is. we just can't touch her. lol.
at least i can't... maybe my mom can and i just don't know about it
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Wow.
Nice work Stealth. I remember doing something similar to this, though the cat was actually smaller and much more tame; she only stuck around for a couple of days though.
Major kudos on giving this one a warm place to sleep and food. :yes:
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Yes, three chears for Stealth....
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the local stray cat/diseas carrier/****-bag ate the sparrow-chick I had adopted when I was eight (or something). :shaking:
I only had it for an hour :(
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That's heartwarming. :)
and another shot of her coming out.
I caught a glimpse of that sentence for a brief moment just before the picture loaded and pushed the text out of the way. I thought it said "I shot her while coming out."
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Hey where are Turey's Turkeys damnit wait a minute Turey's Turkeys :wtf:
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If you were in Australia, I'd say feeding and sustaining a stray cat was a terribly bad thing, since it's almost certainly not been desexed and with thus probably just add more stray cats and **** with any local native wildlife. But you're not. So I kind of have to just say 'meh' and hope that by feeding it, you'rer at least stopping it from going for natives to some extent.