Plenty of cats live outside. It’s not a safe life for them, but without enough people to care for them, there aren’t many other options.
If they have to live on the streets, that doesn’t mean there aren’t creative solutions to keep them from harm, especially in more inclement weather.
When winter comes, there’s always a chance of animals freezing to death, even with those fur coats.
And frostbite is a less serious risk as well.
But one man in Utah is doing his best to keep the feral cat population from feeling the worst effects of winter.
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Philip Rogich, nicknamed the “Batman of Ogden,” recently found out that he could make shelters for stray cats using only a couple of cheap items like old coolers and straw.
Well, of course, coolers are known to keep things inside them cool, but they can also work the other way around, keeping what is inside them safe from what’s happening on the outside, be that very high or very low temperatures.
So “Batman of Ogden” set off on his project in the autumn, when temperatures started to drop.
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Soon realized that if he sped up production, he could save many feral felines with his invention.
“Straw has been used for hundreds of years for bedding for animals and that’s because it has the ability to dry out. Two or three cats can fit inside these coolers- sometimes five or six.”
As he says, it is important to repurpose these coolers that would normally end up in a landfill. His purpose this year is to make 250 of them and help thousands of cats this way.
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Where does he find the coolers? Well, he mostly finds them at thrift stores, but there have been many people who have donated old coolers that they used to keep in their garage for no reason.
Rogich also started a fundraiser on Facebook in mid-November looking to raise enough money so that he could go to second-hand stores and buy more coolers.
According to Batman of Ogden, it is super easy to make these “cat coolers” at home.
You only need a cooler, pipe insulation, and straw. He has even made a how-to video and some notes that he shared to Facebook in order to help people from all over the world to make such shelters for stray animals in their neighborhoods this year.
“They [the coolers] are already insulated to keep things cold, but they can be used to keep things warm as well. Old ones end up in landfills and they don’t decompose. I’m giving them another use,” he told Bored Panda. “So far, I am the only one making them for my project.”
But that wasn’t the case for long. Pretty soon others were following his lead.
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This is a remarkable act of humanity, an example to follow. While we should be thankful for what we have, we should also think of other creatures that do not have the privilege of a warm place to spend the winter and try to do something to help them.
So, if you do have a spare cooler, why not try to repurpose it and create a nice home for a little furry friend in need?
We guarantee that not only will this act of kindness help a stray animal, but it will warm your heart, too.
Be sure to scroll down below to hear more from this creative animal lover!
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