Tips for Feral Cats and the Harsh NEPA Winters

Posted on January 11, 2025

Do you provide care for feral cats?

Here are some tips that can help our feral cats during cold weather.

Leave fresh food and water for them to access. If you know snow is coming, place it in an area where they can access it. If several inches of snow accumulate, make sure they have a path or a dry area to access food if they are in their shelter.

To keep water from freezing, rubber bowls are resistant to cracking. You can also take a piece of Styrofoam, cut a hole in it and place a bowl inside. This can help prevent the water from freezing. I recently purchased a heated water bowl set, and it works great for both water and wet food! Both items can be found on Amazon or Chewy.

Always make sure your cat shelters have plenty of straw, not hay in their shelters. You can add excess warmth to a shelter by covering it in trash bags and taping the overhang. You can also line the inside with mylar emergency blankets.

If you provide wet food for your feral cats, a plate warmer that you can heat in the microwave or hot hands packets inside of a shallow box can help the food from freezing. Both of these products can hold heat for several hours.

I always worry about the feral cat population especially with our cold winters do every little bit you can do helps to keep them safe and warm!