WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — “I grew up with animals my whole life, I just love all animals,” says Sarah Garcia. She’s sitting on her living room floor. In front of her is a Styrofoam cooler, a knife, a big trash bag, and some tape. They are the beginnings of a shelter that a feral Colorado cat will soon get to call home.
Garcia first started making the shelters around 3 years ago, when she started to notice feral cats around her house.
“My heart was shredded when it would be snowing, and you’d see these little paw prints in the snow…that’s when I was like, ‘okay, what can I do?’” Says Garcia.
She began researching homemade cat shelters online, and found that a lot of people used coolers and storage bins lined with Styrofoam. She decided to simplify, and made hers using Styrofoam coolers.
Colorado Voices
Homemade Shelters Keep Feral Cats Warm
Garcia began posting her cat shelters on social media, both on Nextdoor and in a Facebook group that she runs, asking for Styrofoam cooler donations.
“Everyone was just so in love with the idea,” says Garcia. “You know, you think of all these cats outside just trying to survive. We have so much ability as human beings to help, why wouldn’t we?”
Garcia says each shelter takes around 30 minutes to make. She starts by cutting a circle on one side of the cooler, as the entrance. She cuts it near the top, so that the cats have a full corner in the box to stay warm, and to protect them from snow drafts and other animals. Then she wraps the whole thing in a heavy duty, black garbage bag for extra insulation. Finally, she stuffs the box with straw and sprays catnip scent near the entrance.
“This is my magic trick, it’s what kind of gets their attention,” says Garcia as she sprays 3 pumps on the scent into the box. “They peak their heads in and then they go ‘oh, it’s nice and warm in here…yeah this is home.’”
Garcia stands in her garage, which is full of donated Styrofoam coolers that will soon be made into feral cat shelters.
She’s not sure the exact number, but Garcia estimates she’s made around 150 feral cat shelters over the past three winters, and has no plans to stop. They go to community members who reach out via social media.
As a huge animal advocate, Garcia also spends her time capturing stray cats to be spayed or neutered at the vet, then re-releases them. She brings food to cats in need, and helps reunite lost pets with their families through her lost-and-found Facebook group.
“My biggest thing is really giving back for so much that [pets] do for us as humans,” says Garcia. “Feral cats, they get a bad rap unfortunately. They’re trying to survive like us. We have a short time on this earth so why not make it a better, happier place for neighbors and animals to coexist.”
A group of feral cats gather behind a building in Denver.
Alexis Kikoen is a senior producer with Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at alexiskikoen@rmpbs.org.
