The Kitty Condo

We have a really sweet neighborhood kitty that hangs around the back of our house. She's black and white and looks a lot like my Lucy did in her younger days. Whenever any of us steps outside she hears our voices and comes to say Hi and get pets. Technically she belongs to a guy who lives in the flats behind us. I know he feeds her cause she looks really healthy but he never lets her inside. With winter coming on the temperatures have dropped significantly around here. Add to that the winds that have kicked up lately and you can imagine the chilly days and really cold nights. Nighttime temps hover just above freezing.

And then there is this poor sweet kitty who is outside at all hours of the day and night, no matter what the weather. So Sandy (one of my housemates) and I decided to give her some kind of shelter. I cut a hole in a cardboard box yesterday, then covered the box with plastic to keep it dry and put a fluffy towel inside. Since kitties prefer to be up high, we put the box on top of a metal cabinet that sits outside our back door where the side fence meets the corner of the house. We've actually seen our little kitty friend sitting up there before so we were hoping she would find the box there. We had no idea if she would actually use it but it was worth a try.

When I came home from class this afternoon Sandy said, "Guess who's using the box?" He said she was in it when he stepped out there about 7 this morning. She poked her head out and meowed at him as if to say hello but wouldn't leave the box. I was so excited that she had found it and was actually using it. I went out to look and sure enough, there she was...all snuggled in her box! I reached in and petted her and she talked back to me but showed absolutely no inclination of wanting to come out.

We'll come up with something a little sturdier and more permanent when we can but, at least for now, we know she's warmer than she was before with no shelter at all.