Porch Project Long Version
I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but wasn’t sure how to make it work.
Right now I feed the feral cats under the porch and on the side of the house. Most of the cats go under the porch to eat. Probably because I put food there first and because it always stays dry. It isn’t a big area, so it gets crowded fast when nobody eats outside.
I started noticing three of the cats (Grumpy, Little Man & Sir Gray) would not stay to eat if too many cats showed up under the porch. These three cats have been with me the longest, so I felt an obligation to make sure they got to eat. I noticed that if I stuck around, these three cats would stay and eat. So I got in the habit of waiting for them to finish their breakfast and dinner.
My idea was to clean up the back porch (which is enclosed), add a cat door and then see if any of the cats would come in to eat or sleep. But then I decided to first see if any of the cats would bother coming in the porch before I cleaned anything. I did, though, have to stop my indoor cats from accessing the porch. Then I had to make sure my two dogs could still go in and out the back porch door and at the same time not bother any cats in the porch.
The last thing I had to do was install a cat door. I recently put up two cat houses outside. None of the cats would go through the plastic cat door to enter the outdoor houses. I put food in the houses, but the cats would only eat the food close enough where their back feet were still outside. This probably was my fault. I used towels in some places to keep out the cold air under the porch, so they are only familiar with poking their heads through fabric to eat and sleep. They might also remember getting trapped (to be fixed) in a cage where a hard material door was used.
So once I installed the cat door (using a cat door kit) on the back porch door, I waited to see if they would come in and the answer was no. The cats refused to push open the plexiglass door. So I then took off the pre-made cat flap and replaced it with 3 small towels. I was really shocked how fast the cats starting coming in the porch. It was actually a matter of minutes from when I put up the small towels over the cat door to when they came right through it into the porch. I was hoping I would get more than the three cats I mentioned, but that hasn’t happened yet. Maybe the other cats are afraid of them and the dogs.
Right now I feed the feral cats under the porch and on the side of the house. Most of the cats go under the porch to eat. Probably because I put food there first and because it always stays dry. It isn’t a big area, so it gets crowded fast when nobody eats outside.
I started noticing three of the cats (Grumpy, Little Man & Sir Gray) would not stay to eat if too many cats showed up under the porch. These three cats have been with me the longest, so I felt an obligation to make sure they got to eat. I noticed that if I stuck around, these three cats would stay and eat. So I got in the habit of waiting for them to finish their breakfast and dinner.
My idea was to clean up the back porch (which is enclosed), add a cat door and then see if any of the cats would come in to eat or sleep. But then I decided to first see if any of the cats would bother coming in the porch before I cleaned anything. I did, though, have to stop my indoor cats from accessing the porch. Then I had to make sure my two dogs could still go in and out the back porch door and at the same time not bother any cats in the porch.
The last thing I had to do was install a cat door. I recently put up two cat houses outside. None of the cats would go through the plastic cat door to enter the outdoor houses. I put food in the houses, but the cats would only eat the food close enough where their back feet were still outside. This probably was my fault. I used towels in some places to keep out the cold air under the porch, so they are only familiar with poking their heads through fabric to eat and sleep. They might also remember getting trapped (to be fixed) in a cage where a hard material door was used.
So once I installed the cat door (using a cat door kit) on the back porch door, I waited to see if they would come in and the answer was no. The cats refused to push open the plexiglass door. So I then took off the pre-made cat flap and replaced it with 3 small towels. I was really shocked how fast the cats starting coming in the porch. It was actually a matter of minutes from when I put up the small towels over the cat door to when they came right through it into the porch. I was hoping I would get more than the three cats I mentioned, but that hasn’t happened yet. Maybe the other cats are afraid of them and the dogs.
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