Heh, there’s a cat I’m leasing that I did this for. When he first started coming around I put out a box with some old towels in it. When it started getting really cold I remembered my old heating pad. No matter what setting it was on it just got a little bit warm. I ran the wire out and put the heating pad in the box. He liked it, and I saw him in there frequently. I started letting him in in the evenings later, and took the heating pad out of the box after that. I left it on the floor by the patio door, unplugged. He loves sitting on it.
We had a similar situation a few years back when we moved into a house which came with a beautiful Maine Coon cat whose owners had moved away and left him. :rolleyes:
Mrs. J. likes cats but is highly allergic to them, so we set him up on the porch with a cardboard box and heating pad for the winter. When he wasn’t out doing cat things he’d stay in the box. We kept a towel on top of the heating pad so he wasn’t resting directly on it, but it gave him some extra warmth (on the coldest nights he got to stay in a pen in an unused bedroom).
In a garage I might be a little concerned about leaving a heating pad on unattended all night, due to the slight fire risk (heating pads usually aren’t all that solidly constructed).
Okay, I gotta ask: how’s the finance rate on a cat these days?
I have a “Lectro-Kennel” brand heating pad for my dog. It has a thermostat that’s supposed to keep it just above 100F. It barely feels warm to the touch, but I tried lying on it myself for a few minutes (with the fleece cover attached) and it definitely felt warm. It appears well built too (ABS plastic, not flexible/chewable materials).
By the way, the heating pad should be arranged so that the animal can choose whether to lie on it or off. Don’t cover the whole bed/box/doghouse with it.
Thanks so much to all who posted! Kitty made it through another night none the worse for wear, and ate about a metric ton of cat food this morning.
I even found someone today who wants to adopt him permanently, and I have a 2nd person lined up in case it doesn’t work out with the animals the first person already has. Although Mr. Cherry 2000 has fallen in love with him and would build an addition onto the house if he could to be able to keep him 
Before we found someone to take him, we checked with the local cat rescue. They said that this time of year is very hard for them, because so many people leave animals outside thinking they will be “just fine”, and they are not. She said that by taking him in, we probably saved his life.
I love a happy ending
That’s great. He’s a lucky guy.
I have a boy who was dumped and had been living outside in an alley for a couple of years and since I took him in he thinks every day is the happiest day of his life. I really believe he knows he’d be in that alley, or worse, still if I hadn’t gotten him. The love he gives me has been worth all the money I spent on him. Thanks for not just ignoring your little guy and waiting for someone else to step up.
>^خ^<
Check out SnuggleSafe disks. They are hard plastic disks about the size of a Frisbee and maybe an inch thick. You heat them in the microwave and they stay warm for hours.
Our outdoor cats have a little winterized “cathouse” (small plastic doghouse) tucked up against a sheltered corner of the house. We stacked some plywood around it to further cut the wind and put a sheepskin pet bed and a sheepskin pet blanket in there, layered. I tuck our two heated SnuggleSafe disks under the blanket every night, and they’re still warm the next morning. When it’s really cold I put the disks out during the day too. With the disks and three cats snuggled up in the blankets, it stays pretty warm in there.
Shortly before my elderly ferret died, she was cold all of the time. She often wanted to be held on our laps because our legs were warm, but it wasn’t always practical. The solution we came up with was to fill a hot water bottle and wrap it well before putting her on it when we couldn’t hold her. It must have felt like us because it kept her calm. Hot water bottles stay warm for a fairly long time so you might try adding one to the cat’s box. He probably won’t rest directly on it, but it’ll help warm his bed.
Thought I’d add my happy story . . . last year at this time a stray kitty started meowing on our porch at night. One night, in the midst of a terrible ice storm, he literally knocked on our front door. His poor fur was frozen into ice dreadlocks and we took him in and warmed him up in blankies. He lived in the basement until he was certified disease-free and has joyfully joined us and our herd.
On the heating pad thing: we have a very elderly and ill kitty who is cold all the time. I put the pad on low and bury it underneath several towels for her.
newspapers are great insulation. so if this should happen again you could make a thick pad of newspapers to get him out of floor contact. then a box on the newspapers, with cozy things inside. you can make a hot sock; fill sock up with rice and warm in a microwave. then place the hot sock into the box. kitty can cuddle up to it.
poor little kitty. i’m very glad y’all found the wee one. i hope all works out for a new home.
just can’t figure out some people.
Well, he’s a stray I’ve been taking care of. He doesn’t want to stay permanently (I tried), so I don’t really own him, but I seem to still be paying the bills. He’s too friendly & clean to be feral, and too skittish & independent for it to be recent. I let him into the apartment whenever he comes around, which is becoming more and more often, but he always wants to leave after a while. Although, now that it’s getting really cold out, he wants to stay longer.
And the cat can use the mason jar in the sock to hit over the head anybody trying to break into your house!