Saturday, November 23, 2013

Heat for the Cats

It's cold in Oregon's mid valley.  Shivery cold nights. Frosty cold.

The garage is freezing.  But that's where the big cage is holding the unplaced Lebanon colony cats until the Heartland staffer takes those she will take.

Not that they are not used to harsh conditions, coming from where they came from.  There, the only place they could get out of bad weather, cold or rain, was if they crammed into a tiny utility room where she fed them.  I asked her where the cats went in the rain or cold.  "In the feed room, " she said.  "That's why I put two chairs in there."

Really.  Two chairs.  Not beds and blankets, something warm?  Two plain chairs.

It's been tough, but I am happy I went for it, and helped these cats.  Soon the last ones will be leaving and I'll be back to doing nothing.  I'll have nothing to complain about then either, which is really awful.  (chuckling)

I set up a space heater, but cringed to think of the electric bill that would bring later.  Yesterday, I decided enough of the monster electric bill nightmares, and unplugged the space heater.  I disconnected the dryer vent tube where it comes through the wall into the garage from the dryer, then travels down the side of the garage wall to vent the heat and lint outside, wasting it. I connected a hose from the vent to the plastic bucket I got online, for recycling dryer heat.  I used it last year also.  It works well.

You add water to the bottom part.   You attach the dryer vent tube to the top and the heat escapes through holes in the top.  You can very easily disconnect the base filled with lint and water, to dump daily.  The cats love the heat!


I attached curtains to the sides of the cage with wire, that I can drop, to better contain heat also.

You can't use the dryer heat recyclers if you have a gas powered dryer.  You might then recycle carbon monoxide into your garage which is not good.  Mine is electric thank goodness and this thing heats the entire garage after a couple of loads.

There's no need to waste heat when heat costs a fortune and cats are cold.
 
Also, it's time to make a cat wheel.  I won't make the elaborate one I want to make, not yet, as money right now is very very tight.  Instead, I'll use the dead neighbors' old outside round patio table top, that has been drying in my garage since August, and make a circular one.  The financial obstacle I have with cat wheel production is a lack of a belt clamp.  I will need to belt clamp the perimeter, after gluing, and the table is 12.52 ' in circumference.  I don't know how much belt clamps that long cost.  The only other item I will need to purchase is a sheet of masonite, which might come to about $9 to $11. I already have a wheel mount that will do, to allow it to spin.  I will remove it from a cart I made and later find another to replace the one removed from the cart.  I think I have enough spare wood to make the base.

I am very excited about the cat wheel project.

I also one day want to make the 8 sided cat wheel and also a cat wheel that rests upon and moves on foot long casters and that one I think will be fabulous.  I have it all planned out but I just have to find the "ingredients", as I can afford them or scrounge them.

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