By Lori Kalef
The recent cold snap brought in record breaking below average temperatures prompting many severe cold weather warnings across the country. The extreme weather brought on many flight cancelations, school closures and forced businesses to close down. Many scrambled to find heat and comfort from the outside, while others suffered frostbite, hypothermia and even fatality.
Sadly, many companion and wild animals suffered the same exposure and were found frozen to death or with frostbitten ears and paw pads. One shelter in Ohio did their best to protect their 100+ dogs and cats, but unfortunately they are operating with an inadequate heating system and poor insulation from the cold. They are doing all that they can now to keep the animals warm and save new arrivals from the freezing temperatures, but they could really use your help. Please read on…
From Holmes County Humane Society (HCHS):
Our cats are cold! “Cool” is great but cold is not! The Holmes County Humane Society, Inc. (HCHS) needs emergency funds to seal and insulate the cat and kitten room portions of the shelter. HCHS, a no-kill shelter, is the only non-profit organization in the county that accepts adoptable cats and kittens. The funding goal for this project is $3625.
The shelter is located on a farm, donated in part to HCHS in 2006. It is located in a very rural area in Holmes County, Ohio. The barns, previously used for horses and farm equipment, were in no way adequate for dogs and cats. Converting the barns for companion animal living space has been a time consuming process.
The barn that houses the cats is a very large steel pole barn with a 13' X 24' room on each side, each with a large sliding door on the front. Screens over the sliding door openings allow fresh air for the cats in the summer. The adult cats live on one side and the kittens live on the other side. The large center section has a laundry/restroom and an office/surgery room plus a very large area used for storage until next steps are planned and funded.
Because the kitten room cannot be adequately heated, all cats and kittens are living in the cat room. On very cold nights, the kitten room was just above freezing, forcing closure of that room. The cat room is better insulated and has a lower ceiling. By supplementing with electric heaters and using the gas heater in the cat room, that room is between 50 and 60 degrees on a 'reasonable' winter day. The number of cats/kittens that can come in for adoption is seriously limited as long as we are using one room.
The work that will seal and insulate both rooms is:
• Build a wall on the end of the room that has the sliding door. Put windows in it for airflow in the more temperate seasons. Leave the sliding door intact so it can be pulled shut during periods of extreme cold. Both rooms need this modification.
• Put bat insulation in the walls in the kitten room.
• Install a ceiling with insulation in the kitten room.
A FundRazr account is active to help us reach our goal of $3625. Help us keep the kitties warm by donating today!