Speak Up For Paws

10/03/2025

It's ! 🌬️❄️🏠🌡️🐱 When we teach folks how to build winter shelters for stray and feral community cats, we insist that these shelters should be lined with straw for bedding. NO hay, blankets, towels, or cat beds — no exceptions! Why is this so important?

Hay and straw may look similar, but they're very different materials. Often still greenish, hay is dried grass or alfalfa that is used as animal feed. Because it's food, hay can attract other animals to cat shelters. It also easily absorbs water from rain, snow, or breath condensation. Like hay, cat beds, towels, and blankets (even fleece!) easily absorb and hold water. Wet bedding can make cats sick from mold or hypothermia, and may even freeze solid.

Fresh straw is yellow and glossy, and it consists of the hollow stems of grain crops like wheat or oats. Unlike hay or fabric bedding, straw tends to stay fluffy and dry, creating toasty pockets of warm air where kitties can snuggle. Cats can burrow into straw, making a cozy custom nest that hugs their bodies and holds in their body heat.

October/November is a great time to get straw for your winter cat shelters! Ask your neighbors, community festivals, local stores, restaurants, religious organizations, orchards, and others that use straw as autumn decorations if you can take it when they're done. And hardware, garden, craft supply, and other stores often sell straw at reduced prices after Halloween.

For more cat shelter info, check out our recorded webinar, "Building Shelters for Outdoor Cats":
Recording: https://bit.ly/BFCIBSV
Handout: https://bit.ly/BFCIBSH

Or to get started quickly with our Super Simple Foam Box Shelter, watch our all-ages step-by-step video: https://bit.ly/KidsCatShelter

10/03/2025

❓Have you ever wondered if the cat you see in your neighborhood is a STRAY cat or a FERAL cat?

Being able to distinguish between the two allows you to determine how to best care for that cat.

🐈 A stray cat is typically a cat who lived indoors and/or was socialized to people at some point in its life, but has left or lost its home, or was abandoned, and no longer has regular human contact.

🐈 A feral cat is an unsocialized outdoor cat who has either never had any physical contact with humans, or human contact has diminished over enough time that the cat is no longer accustomed to touch.

🐈 Note that there are semi-feral cats that have both stray and feral characteristics. Semi-feral cats typically trust their caregivers over time but still prefer not to be touched or to live indoors.

‼️ No matter if it's a stray, semi-feral, or feral community cat, please make sure the cat is spayed/neutered and vaccinated so the cat doesn't contribute to the cat overpopulation crisis and to end the suffering.

If you need information about Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR), please see our "How to TNR" information on our website ... https://www.friendsofferalfelines.org/how-to-tnr.

IF there are resources and rescues in your community, finding an indoor home for a friendly community cat is an option.

Feral/unsocialized community cats should be returned to where they were trapped. If resources aren't readily available to find a friendly stray cat an indoor home, return that stray kitty to where they were trapped as well.

(Content courtesy of Alley Cat Allies)

10/02/2025

A big shout out to Tenthline Animal Hospital for taking 9 cats that were trapped without any warning. Dr. Patel is always amazing at taking last-minute emergencies. Two cats ended up being 5 and then at the last minute 9 in total. I do understand that this will impact his Friday greatly, and we are grateful for his flexibility. Today we got 4 kittens, 4 teens, and 1 mom. We have two moms left to trap.

TNR is very unpredictable, some days you plan to get many and get none and other days you’re hopeful to get one and get many. That was one of these days.

10/02/2025

Jane Goodall 1934-2025

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”

Her actions made a difference, every day.

09/28/2025

This awesome group of people assisted in building winter shelters for this upcoming winter. A shelter can be the difference between life and death to a stray cat.

09/27/2025

Follow us on TikTok

2408 Followers, 635 Following, 39.4k Likes - Watch awesome short videos created by speakupforpaws

09/23/2025

09/22/2025

I need of 2 bales of straw for winter cat shelters ASAP.

Speak Up for Paws builds and distributes winter shelters for colony cats. If you would like guidance and want to build a shelter for a community cat or colony you are welcome to join us this Sunday afternoon. We have spare containers, tools and straw but you will need to supply the 1.5 inch blue or pink insolating foam board.

09/22/2025

The bingo event was a great success! We greatly appreciate the venue taking us in last minute, the location was spacious and accommodating. A great big thank you to Courtney to help organize and take some load off me and Josh and sons to be the bingo collar/MC🤣. The videos were a nice touch for the night. Thank you to the Speak Up For Paws Gatineau ladies who came all the way to kanata to help us out These events will not be possible without people purchasing tickets, showing up and believing in our cause. We had 58 participates for the event. For all the cat supporters out there you are greatly appreciated! 😻

I did try to speak to everyone to get some on future fundraising ideas. I came home with a some ideas, so stat tuned for 2026. 😏

I know everyone would like the grand total of what was made for us and honestly, it was more than I originally projected.
We made $2160! This includes a 50-50 that almost everyone participated in and the winner donated it back!

This money helps us spay 8 female cats and 1 male. ❤️

09/21/2025

📢 How to encourage an outdoor cat to use a shelter...

In most cases, cats will figure out how to use shelters on their own. Here are a few things you can do to attract them if it doesn't seem like your cats are using the shelter:

▪️ Be patient. Some cats need a lot of time to get comfortable with a new shelter.
▪️ Loosely fill the shelter ½ to ¾ full of straw, NOT HAY. Replace the straw every year.
▪️ Remove any door flaps on the shelter. While doorway flaps help keep cold air out and warm air in, they should not be added until after your cats are used to going in and out of the shelter.
▪️ Do not place food in or near the shelter. Cats instinctively avoid sleeping near food as it attracts other cats and wildlife (predators).
▪️ Location is important. Place the shelter where your cats are already hanging out. More feral/less social cats typically want to shelter farther away from humans. The more secluded the shelter, the more likely cats are to use it.
▪️ Place the shelter near natural cover, as opposed to out in the open where your cats may not feel safe. Cats prefer to move along walls, hedges, or other natural barriers and boundaries. Place the shelter under or up against a building, fence, tree, porch, bush, or some type of overhang.
▪️ Place the shelter with the entrance facing away from the wind, rain, and snow.
▪️ Make sure the shelter is on a flat surface. A wobbly shelter could discourage cats from entering.
▪️ It’s possible that your cats have another shelter where they feel safe. They may already have a shed, crawlspace, or some other shelter they prefer.
▪️ When all else fails, try a new location, but only after giving your cats plenty of time to explore and get used to the current location.

(We thank FeralVilla.com for this great advice!)

💛 THANK YOU to the caregivers who have taken the time to build a feral cat shelter. Protection from the elements is critical, especially during the cold months, and your thoughtfulness will no doubt save many lives this winter. 🐾❄️









(source of photo unknown)

09/21/2025

Reminder to all who have purchased their tickets, bingo is tonight at 6 PM sharp. Arrive early and have dinner HWe have a couple spaces for people who would like last-minute tickets.