keeping barn cats warm in the winter

we have 3 barn cats that have access to our barn and the garage. We have pet doors for them in both. We have heated water bowls, and make sure they have plenty dry food and also canned food at night. I bought a dog house, and insulated the floor with foam for them. What kind of bedding would be good for them to keep them warm and dry? I put the dog house inside the garage for them.

 

when I watch the animal cop shows they always tell people to use hay rather than fabrics as the fabrics retain the cold and if they get wet the freeze. Hay retains warmth better.
And they can burrow/snuggle down into it. Problem w/cats would be most likely getting them used to it. We all know how fickle they are!!

 

Hay is a geat idea! You need to change it frequently because fleas and other unmentionables get trapped in the hay. :mrgreen: You can cover the foam with cloth or small blankets/ towels. If you have a cat like Rene, it'll eat foam. :shock: Kudos to you for caring for them! :y_the_best:

 

Gracie has an insulated little cat bed from Petsmart that sits in her carrier, but for the dogs I got some pine shavings from wal mart (you can get a HUGE bag for $6) and filled their old beds with it. It works great, and helps ward off that animal odor too. They really like it, and they can sift it however they want.

 

We always had barn cats when I was growing up. My dad would break open a bale of straw and stuff boxes for the cats to make beds in. We'd also find cats curled up in the hay racks the horses ate from, and little depressions where the cats had made beds in the hay loft. So hay or straw works pretty well. We certainly never had a cat freeze, lol. Straw is probably cheaper and cleaner than hay, though.