In our last article, we told you about our photo projects documenting the secret lives of street cats in Riga. But when the weather gets colder, we worry about the cats we see around our neighborhood.
They may be pets whose owners let them outside, or they could be homeless cats, who are afraid of people or who have been lost or abandoned. No matter how resourceful these outdoor cats are, they need help surviving winter. Every day we receive a cry for help, looking for a temporary or permanent home for abandoned and homeless cats. That is why we created a project: Outdoor Cat Houses.
These safe and inventive structures offer cats refuge and protection from the bad weather and outside world. All the houses are built by a native Latvian master, using donations made to our non-profit cat protector organization Cat Care Community. The native Latvian Facebook blog Es Esmu Kaķis is also helping to bring this project to life.
Now the outdoor cats have a safe haven in which to spend the cold winter nights. Usually, each house is set next to an apartment house. It is designed for four or five cats, built from woods with internal insulation, sturdy with two exits. The first cat house was built last year for one district in Riga. Now there are already more than 80 houses built for outdoor cats in Riga all around the city.
The team at Cat Care Community comments about the project:
‘We wanted to build a nice structure where cats could spend the time, and that would keep them warm and dry at night. Providing such a shelter is a great way to keep cats safe and help make the area tidier. We hope that this way, people around the area will think to care for and sterilize the outdoor cats.’
Find out more, and how you can help us build houses for cats, on our Facebook page.
If you’ve got time to help, the kitties will thank you!
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