more projects

I've been busy recently working on all sorts of house projects. One interesting trend I've noticed is that projects that somehow involve the cats seem to rise on the priority list and thus get done first. Weird, must just be odd coincidence.

Here are a few of my recent projects:

The new built in feeder in the garage needed shelves under it to store extra foods.

before

As you can see, the space where the feeder went was wasted space before. Lots of crap piled high on an old wood stove that the former occupants used but I never touched. So, stove and crap go bye bye, feeder and shelves get constructed and ta-dah, space is useful!

after

Oliver's guest house was occupying the back porch as a means to keep the red cat bed from sitting on the floor. When it got moved back outside, I needed something to hold his day bed off the floor. So, I scrounged up some old shipping pallets and used the materials to build a simple sturdy piece of feral furniture. The beauty of this project was that it cost me only a few hours time, all the materials were reused scrap, even the nails!

feral approved!

Most kitty guardians work hard to keep their cats from getting on the kitchen counters, so why would I build a special folding step to assist the cats to get onto the counter?!

The shelf is for Buddy. After watching him try to jump onto the counter numerous times and fail to make it, I thought I had better figure something out before he hurt himself. So, I built him this folding shelf. It folds down so the cabinet can be accessed. Now, Buddy can go up and down from the counter without fear of injury.

One of the bigger projects I have been working on now for awhile is to wire the house and property for a secure computer network. The purpose is two-fold, a wired network will provide faster access to external hard drives which store photos and backups of my personal files and I am planning to install network cameras around the property, so you all can watch Oliver and his feral family play, eat and do whatever else ferals do! I suppose, I might watch too! :)

Future project that is in planning stages:

Oliver's family sleeps during the day somewhere on the property of the house across the street from me. They only come here during the night, where they spend the entire night hanging out with Oliver. The house across the street is a rental has recently has been undergoing a significant remodel in anticipation of a new family moving in. I fear that if a family moves in with younger children then Oliver's family may not feel safe sleeping there anymore. So, I want to be prepared for that possibility by having a suitable comfortable housing option for them here.

Behind the garage is currently wasted space, with a pile of old lumber. My plan is to clean out that space and convert the pile of lumber into feral housing. The location is hidden and relatively undisturbed, so hopefully it would be quiet and safe.

Site of new feral housing project

I'm also planning to build some holding pens in the garage for TNR cats who are either waiting for transport to the spay/neuter clinic or are recovering after visiting the clinic. So much to do, so little time!