Animal Habitats Archives - Trap and Return

How To Make An Outdoor Cat Shelter

How To Make An Outdoor Cat Shelter Making a DIY outdoor cat shelter or outdoor cat house can be cheap and easy. It can also be a lifesaver for feral and stray cats, especially during the winter months. A DIY cat house gives your furry friend protection from the elements and a safe space they can call home. The simplest shelter consists of two bins stacked inside one another. Insulate the interior walls using straw or styrofoam, and avoid using cloth materials inside, as these can get wet and freeze. Set up your food and water stations outside the shelter to avoid spills. You can also put a litter box outside in another storage bin. If you are a cat lover looking to help neighborhood cats, making shelters is a great way to help. Keep reading for a more in-depth guide to making a DIY outdoor cat house for your community cats. DIY Outdoor Cat Shelter In 6 Easy Steps Step One: Gather Your Materials You’ll need the following: Step Two: Cut entrance holes in both bins The entrance holes should be small to prevent predators from getting inside and raised from the ground for the same reason. Typically, holes 5.5-6 inches in diameter work well. My outdoor cat gets chunky in the winter, so I did a 7-inch hole. A smaller hole will also prevent wind and rain from getting in, helping to keep a winter shelter insulated and the cat warm. Using a 6-inch planter that’s straight down the sides will help, as you can then use it as a connecting tunnel between the bins. Simply trace the diameter of the pot onto each bin before cutting. This will also make it easier to create a perfect circle! Step Three: Drill Holes In The Bottom Of The Bins Drill a few drainage holes in the bottom to allow water to escape if it does accumulate inside the bin. However, the shelters will ideally be covered enough to prevent flooding or accumulation inside. Step Four: Place Styrofoam In The Large Bin If you use two storage bins, you can easily put insulating material between and all around the bins. This will help you align the entrance holes to align up precisely. Once your insulation is set, you can place the smaller bin into the larger one. Step Five: Heated Winter Shelters Straw—not hay—should be stuffed between the durable storage bins to insulate the shelter. It may be tempting to add blankets or old towels to the bin at this point, but these can freeze if they’re rained on. Please stick to the straw! There are several outdoor heating pads available for your winter cat shelter. Outdoor heating pads usually run for 24 hours, and you can use an extension cord if your outdoor shelter is further from your house. If you don’t have a heating source, then you want to make a small, cozy space inside with minimal air space to conserve the cat’s body heat. A cat-sized styrofoam cooler would also be a safe and warm place for community cats. It’s always a good idea to add insulating materials to allow the cat to burrow for warmth. Avoid using a cardboard box in the winter due to the moisture which will cause them to mold. Step Six: Add The Planter And Lids Place the planter into the hole of each bin to create your kitty tube entryway. The small entrance hole offers extra protection from predators. Then, put the lid on the small interior plastic storage bin. Double-check that the straw is well-packed, and place more straw or styrofoam over the top of the smaller bin, then close up your finished cat house by placing the larger bin’s lid on top. Where To Place A Cat Shelter Cat shelters should be placed out of sight and be inaccessible to predators. For instance, you may want to place them inside a fence to prevent stray dogs or coyotes from getting to the cats. Use wood or another object to lift the shelters from the ground to help with insulation, weather-proofing, and predator-proofing. Place straw beneath the shelter for added insulation and protection from snow. You can place the shelter under an awning to protect the roof from the weather. You can also place the door entrance facing a structure so that other animals are less likely to enter. Outdoor cat shelters for multiple cats Rather than making one large shelter for the cats in your area, we recommend you create several smaller ones. The larger a shelter is, the more cats will be needed to keep the area warm. Your neighborhood’s colony is likely larger than you think. Try creating two shelters more than you think are needed, and you’ll be surprised by the new visitors you see! Outdoor Cat Shelters For Hot Climates The design above, with less cozy insulating material, can also be used in the summer. Here are a few ways to keep your feral cats safe and cool in hot climates include: Conclusion Providing your outdoor cats with shelters or houses is a great way to make a difference in the lives of outdoor cats, offering them extra warmth and comfort, protection from predators and bad weather, and a sense of love and security. Making a DIY cat shelter is easier than you think! A durable storage bin or a building with strong wall pieces, four interior walls, a sturdy floor, raised above ground level, and a six inches or more opening will be perfect for cats inside to rest comfortably and safely. You can find all these materials online or at your local hardware stores. Thank you for your dedication to helping cats! We hope you enjoyed these cat house ideas for your feline friends. If all else fails, the outdoor cat houses on Amazon.com are pretty good.

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The Impact of Renewable Energy on Animals and Their Habitats

The impact of green energy expansion on animals The earth will run out of fossil fuels this century. As a society, we are incredibly dependent on fossil fuels. However, we are not making the transition to renewable energy quickly enough to outpace our reliance on fossil fuels. Not only are we impacting our quality of life by not switching to renewable energy, but we are also damaging the environment and impacting animal habitats. Conservative estimates show that we will run out of oil by 2052 and gas by 2060. Renewable energy is the way of the future because we are running out of sustainable and clean options. As more homeowners and businesses switch to renewable energy, we are seeing a net positive impact on animals and their habitats. (source) Solar Power Solar energy utilizes solar panels to capture the energy from the sun and turn it into a usable form of electricity (source). Solar energy has a large upfront installation cost but pays for itself in approximately 8 years. Solar energy has an efficiency rating of 15% to 22%, depending on the type of solar panels installed. Newer solar panels, such as monocrystalline solar panels with microinverters, boast efficiency ratings up to 22% and are capable of producing electricity in the shade (source). Depending on the amount of electricity needed for a home or business, solar panels are easily scalable. They are mounted onto the roof to make use of dead space or installed on ground mounts if a larger solar panel array is needed. Residential solar panels have little to no impact on animals or their habitats. Most homeowners install roof-mounted solar panels, which do not have an impact on the animal populations. However, large-scale solar farms are linked to negative impacts on the environment (source). Large-scale solar farms clear out animal habitats for solar panels. Solar farms cause intense, high heat in the air space directly over the solar panels. Insects or birds that fly into this space will die due to the intense heat. Hydropower Hydropower converts the immense power of flowing water into a usable form of energy. Hydropower has an efficiency rating of 90%, which makes it incredibly efficient compared to other forms of renewable energy (source). Hydropower does not collect or impact the water flowing through and does not emit air pollution. This has a high upfront building cost, but hydro plants have a long life span of 50 to 100 years and require little maintenance (source). Hydropower does not come without impacts to animal habitats. When a hydroelectric plant is first constructed, the water source must be dammed. This diverts the natural flow of water through the river which has an impact on local animals. Animals must change their migration paths and search for new food sources. Hydroelectric dams also create new flood zones which impact animal habitats. Wind Power Wind turbines convert the power from wind into a usable form of electricity. The Wind Power rating is 20 – 40% efficient, which makes it more efficient than solar energy but less than hydropower (source). Commercial wind turbines have a life span of 20 years and require ongoing maintenance every 6 months. This is a highly labor-intensive form of renewable energy. Wind turbines must be installed on windy, flat ground. The optimal location for wind turbine farms often coincides with the migraine path of birds. Wind farms are liked to bird and bat deaths as they fly near the turbine blades. Advances in wind turbine technology was working at decreasing bird deaths. Biomass Power Biomass power creates energy by burning organic waste that would otherwise be sent to the landfills (source). Biomass energy burns materials such as scrap lumber, manure, leaf debris, etc. As the materials are burned in a kiln, the steam that is produced powers a turbine. This process has an efficiency rating of 70 – 90% (source). Biomass does have emissions that are produced because it is actively burning materials. However, these biomass kilns have extensive catalytic converters and filter systems to cut down on air emissions. In theory, biomass power should only burn the materials that would be sent to landfills. However, companies are clear-cutting forests to provide the fuel for biomass kilns (source). This is highly detrimental to animal habitats. Farmers also grow certain crops that are only used for biomass fuel, using a tremendous amount of water and farming space. Conclusion Humanity must move to renewable energy sources out of sheer necessity due to the declining supplies of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are highly detrimental to the environment and directly contribute to the climate change crisis. However, renewable energy sources are not without their fair share of drawbacks. Overall, the net impact of using renewable energy is positive for animals because it takes away all the negatives of using fossil fuels. More research is needed to further the advancement of renewable energy to where it will have a smaller impact on animals and animal habitats. In addition to advocating for green and renewable energy, here are a few other things you can do to get involved in supporting animals and their natural habitats.

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Why We Should Protect All Animals

Protecting animals and their habitats Although humans view themselves as being on top of the food chain, we do not integrate well into the natural ecosystem. We often disrupt fragile animal habitats without blinking an eye because a new shopping mall must be constructed. However, altering the natural habitat comes with consequences. We are in the midst of the 6th great extinction event, and everyone must help do their part to protect animals and help with wildlife conservation. What animals need help in your community and globally? Countless wild animals face the threat of extinction. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintains a list of endangered and threatened animals. To protect these endangered animals, citizens and businesses must comply with the Endangered Species Act. This list is not all exhaustive, because it only lists the animals that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is aware of. It is estimated that globally 24 – 150 species are lost daily (source). This is a huge loss of biodiversity in the plant. You will also find domestic animals that need help if you look closely within your community. Approximately 6.3 million cats and dogs enter animal shelters annually within the United States (source). Of these, 920,000 are euthanized due to a lack of available homes and resources. You could make a large impact on these animals by adopting or becoming a foster parent for a local animal shelter. Do animals have rights? Within the United States, animals are viewed as property and do not hold rights of their own. Therefore, an owner could legally euthanize a perfectly healthy pet. Owners and businesses must comply with animal anticruelty laws, however, outside of the anticruelty parameters, animals have no other rights. You can find out more about the history of animal rights here. What happens to the ecosystem if an animal goes extinct? Ecosystems are incredibly fragile. Each ecosystem has keystone species that must be protected. Once a keystone species is removed, it has overwhelmingly negative effects on the environment. For example, a famous experiment by Robert Paine indicated the effects of removing a top predator from the food chain. When Paine removed all starfish from a local coastline the starfish prey, barnacles and mussels, flourished. However, due to the enormous boom in barnacle and mussel populations, their primary food source was wiped out, which caused a rapid decline in local biodiversity levels. Every organism, no matter how small, fulfills a niche. A niche is a role that an organism plays within an ecosystem. Having an animal go extinct has cascading effects on the remaining microorganisms in the local ecosystem. What animals are endangered? An animal is endangered if it has a threat of going extinct. Animals are primarily endangered due to a loss of habitat. Once an animal population reaches a certain threshold, it will also be endangered due to a loss of genetic diversity. Without genetic variation, the animal species will become inbred and have a greater predisposition to health concerns. You can protect endangered species by following these easy steps: Do not support businesses that contribute to the destruction of the environment, such as the businesses that are clearcutting the Amazon Rainforest. Plant native plants around your property to attract native pollinators. Limit the use of herbicides and pesticides Do not purchase animal products, such as ivory, or exotic animals Support a local wildlife refuge Why it’s important to protect animal habitat Habitat destruction is one of the main reasons for animals becoming endangered or extinct. Once an animal is gone, it is gone forever. You cannot bring back an animal from extinction. Furthermore, when animals are faced with habitat destruction, they begin to encroach on human habitat. Predator animals, such as bears or wolves, become more intertwined with society as their habitat dwindles. It is beneficial for us to protect their habitats, so they do not pose a threat to people. You could protect animal habitats by planting native plant species in your backyard. Avoid using pesticides and herbicides in your gardens as well. Pesticides will kill native pollinators and other native insect species, not just the intended pest insect. Native insects are needed to maintain local populations of reptiles and birds. What is wildlife conservation? Wildlife conservation attempts to protect both animal and plant species and their habitats from being destroyed. The greatest threats to wildlife conservation are habitat destruction, pollution, poaching, and climate change. Over harvesting is also detrimental to animal species because it depletes their populations faster than they replenish. You could get involved in environmental conservation and preservation by living sustainably. Your spending dollar has the biggest impact on business practices. Do not support businesses that are wiping out animal populations through habitat destruction or over harvesting. For example, opt for farm-raised fish rather than fish caught in the oceans. You could also donate to organizations, such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The WWF uses its donations to petition for legislation that allows humans and animal species to coexist. Farming and animal agriculture are at the top of the list for worst impact on natural habitats. Conclusion Do not get discouraged when you hear the great number of animal species going extinct daily. There is still time to protect animals and save biodiversity on this planet and mitigate the effects of climate change and habitat destruction. However, these changes cannot be completed overnight. Enlist the help of your family and friends to make small changes in your day-to-day lives to co-exist sustainably with local animal populations.

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