One cat in particular, a black cat, likes to sleep on the warm sunny side of my house where on the coldest of days the sun and protection from wind is best. Sometimes it sleeps in our front doorway as the wood is a dark color and soaks up the warmth from the sun.
Our Township has a program in which they will spay or neuter feral animals, but we must first catch them, and take them to the animal shelter. Once the surgery is complete and they have recovered, they are returned to the wild. Their ears are notched while they are in surgery so that we can identify the ones that have been spayed or neutered.
There are two cat lovers in our neighborhood who have managed to catch each one and have this surgery done, which has saved us from having many kittens born...that used to happen pretty regularly. These neighbors have been feeding the cats as well, putting out dishes of food and water. I never got in the habit because Aspen, when she was still with us, would chase them away, but am grateful to the neighbors that do.
I have heard that you can make shelters with, for example, a large Styrofoam cooler that you cut an opening into, and place it somewhere where they are likely to roam, or near where you put out food if you do that. But our property and house seem to provide natural shelter to our "wild" feral cats.
Image via Pixabay
