09/07/2025
Time goes so fast. It’s not too soon to think about winter shelters.
"HAY is for HORSES, STRAW is for STRAYS!" 😻
On your next trip to the garden center or farm store, pick up a bale of straw! It's inexpensive, will last you a long time and the perfect bedding for your cat shelters so the kitties stay warm and cozy overnight. Always use STRAW -- and here's why:
✅STRAW is tough, thick, dry leftover stalks from crops. It's lightweight and golden in color. Straw has a hollow center which makes for great insulation. Straw will reflect body heat back to a cat as well as repel moisture.
🛑 Hay is green and heavy. Hay is typically used to feed animals, like horses. It absorbs moisture, making it damp, cold and uncomfortable for cats and has the potential to get moldy. Do NOT use hay (or blankets) for bedding in outdoor cat shelters.
👉For an easy way to remember which to use…
"Hay is for Horses, Straw is for Strays."
You can easily find and buy bales of STRAW inexpensively at your local co-op, farm/ag supply store, local garden center/nursery, Home Depot, Lowe's, Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware or local landscape supply. Farmers who sell pumpkins often sell bales of straw, too.
Thanks for keeping those outdoor kitties warm and comfortable!
(Original content by Stray Cat Project. Source of image unknown.)
