Made a new outdoor shelter for Angel.

[Bertha Venation]

Angel came to us in the summer with his ribs practically showing. With months of care, food, and shelter, he has shown himself to be a gorgeous - and huge - cat.

He started hanging out on the deck, even though there are four heated kennel pads in the garage. So I put a fifth one out on the deck for him, but it was just in a shallow box, out in the elements. Still, he slept there, all the time that we were in Florida, it seems.

Last night I took a large box, taped open the flaps to make it deeper, taped a big trash bag around it, and put Angel's kennel pad in there, far in the back away from the opening. I also took a square from the shallow box he had marked and put it in the box, just in case he needed his scent.

I scared him away when I took the big box out there, so all night I was in a sweat: did he come back to it? Did he take to it? I finally went out with a flashlight, bent over and looked in - and there he was, looking back at me sleepily.

Angel wants to come in but he won't because the other cats intimidate him. Thank god for small favors. We'll do the best we can to take care of him as an outdoor pet.

Sigh.

[Arkansas Granny]

1. You've provided him with a place to escape the wind and rain. Since he's

acclimated to being an outdoor cat, that will probably be enough to keep him very happy.

[Bertha Venation]

2. I do so hope he's happy.

From the way he wants to come in, it seems clear that he was somebody's indoor pet. And I'm not sure, but I think he's declawed. :mad:

[Arkansas Granny]

4. Poor baby. I'm sure you've made him pretty happy with his new accomodations.

Maybe he will get to a point that he's not so intimidated by your other cats.

[FedUpWithIt All]

3. We did this for a couple of winters. We tried bringing the cat in but he was MISERABLE.

And as a result, we were miserable. He would urinate EVERYWHERE. He would fight us to get outside and after we would bring him back inside would start the whole process over once he had a quick bite to eat. Finally we let him "go home" so to speak. We took an old carrier and lined the sides of it with an old foam yoga mat. We used another small piece as a sort of door flap to keep out the wind and laid a thick blanket on the bottom. We kept this on our porch and he would often use it. After a short time he invited a female (and far more feral) "friend" over. :rofl: He would bring her up to the porch and sort of keep watch while she ate.

There were a couple of cold days when we ran an extension cord so we could put a heating pad underneath the carrier. Eventually we stopped seeing him.

You are good to do what you can for Angel. :hi: He is lucky he found you.

[applegrove]

5. You are so thoughtful. Angel is lucky.