July 15, 2010
Fancy Digs for Ferals
Blueprints for a custom-designed feral cat condo
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Betsy McFarland's dad works on the feral cat condo. Betsy McFarland/The HSUS
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The feral cat condo begina to take shape. Betsy McFarland/The HSUS
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Check out the blueprints for this custom-designed feral cat house here. Mike McFarland/The HSUS
They may never be lap loungers, but feral cats can still revel in the lap of luxury—especially if they’re lucky enough to enjoy a double-insulated condo complete with window, perch, and heating mats.
With help from her handyman dad, The HSUS’s Betsy McFarland built just such a condo after she began caring for a colony of feral felines near her Maryland home. Soon after, Bacon Group, an architectural firm that specializes in animal shelter design, prepared a blueprint based on McFarland’s model.
If you’re caring for feral cats, be sure you implement a managed trap-neuter-return program that will stop the cycle of breeding. Then take the next step and provide them with a custom condo that you and the kitties will be proud of. (If you don’t have the time or construction skills to attempt the condo, never fear: a simple shelter created from a 35-gallon plastic storage bin will keep the cats warm and dry.)
Download the Bacon Group’s blueprint for a feral cat condo»
