South MS temperatures will dip into the 20s. Free shelters for feral cats are available
Warm hearts will be the only hope for many feral cats unable to escape South Mississippi’s coldest temperatures this winter, expected to hit early Monday and linger through Wednesday morning.
The Humane Society of South Mississippi is prepared. The nonprofit will hand out free cat shelters Friday morning on a first-come, first-served basis. For those who are able, the shelters are easy to make from storage containers.
Retired law enforcement officer Joe Pevey made his own cat shelter during the last cold spell, sharing his tips for a cozy retreat on Facebook. He’s re-shared the post now that more frigid temperatures are going to arrive. The National Weather Service on Friday forecast lows in the 20s overnight Sunday through Wednesday morning, with the possibility of snow.
Katie King, developer at the Humane Society, said smaller containers are better because the cat’s heat helps keep them warm. “You don’t want anything too big or clunky,” King said.
Making an animal shelter for freezes
Pevey cut a hole in one end of an insulated ice chest for his cat shelter. He set it under a covered porch and put a heating pad inside.
Shelters that are not in covered areas should instead be filled with pine straw, the Humane Society advises, because blankets or heating pads can get damp or wet. Hay also is a bad idea because it holds moisture and can make the animals even colder.
Heating lamps are never a good idea. Harrison County Fire Services Chief Pat Sullivan said they might tip over. Space heaters also should not be left unattended for a cat shelter.
In addition to tipping over, if the heaters get too warm, they can ignite material in the cat shelter.
Sullivan has seen more than one house go up in flames when someone was trying to keep an animal warn with unattended heaters, he said.
Sullivan advises heating pads used in covered areas should be set at low temperatures.
“You’ve got to make sure it’s in good condition before you use it,” he said.
Cat family can produce millions of kittens
Stray and feral cats are everywhere. The Journal of Veterinary Medicine published a graphic, widely circulated on social media, that shows one male and female cat, with their offspring, can produce more than 2 million cats over 10 years.
Mary Ann Strickland, owner of Coastal Hardware in the Kiln, has rescued more than her share of feral cats. She’s able to eventually tame them and coax them indoors, both at her house and the hardware store, where three cats reside in the store.
She doesn’t plan for any of the cats she cares for to be outside, but she knows plenty of other cats will be freezing early next week.
A lover of all animals, Strickland donated the pine straw the Humane Society will distribute Friday. She gave the group six big rolls of pine straw, which the Humane Society will distribute in the plastic containers.
“It’s a good cause,” Strickland said. “We’ve got all kinds of cats around here we take care of. I think between here and the house, we probably have about 10 cats. We’ve got a new one now.”
Where to get a Humane Society weather shelter
If you want a shelter for the stray or feral cats in your neighborhood, the Humane Society will give them out for free on Friday. Donations are always helpful. The shelter is currently housing more than 300 animals.
The shelter will have on hand plastic containers and pine straw at the society’s Pet Resource Center, open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at 2615 25th Avenue in Gulfport
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
