Wintery weather can be beautiful, but it can also be brutal when temperatures dip to frigid levels, not just for humans but for animals as well. Stray animals are generally pretty good at taking care of themselves, especially stray cats, but kind-hearted people still want to make sure they have a place to go to escape the elements when harsh conditions hit.
One woman took that desire to the next level with an elaborate cat apartment she built for the many stray cats in her neighborhood. We’re not just talking about a shelter; it’s like luxury hotel living for her feline friends. The apartment has multiple rooms, cushy blankets that get taken out and cleaned, and even a temperature-controlled water source so they’re always able to find drinking water in below-freezing temps.
Check this out:
The woman who built the apartment actually lives in China and was sharing her videos on TikTok, but it seems her account has since been deactivated. This hasn’t stopped people from talking about her and her impressive project, though. This thread on TikTok contains updates about the cat hotel from people finding and reposting the adorable story.
Welcome to the Meowtel Catifornia
Of course, the clever hotel jokes and puns started rolling in first thing:
‘Welcome to the hotel catifornia.”
“Such a lovely place.”
“They can check out any time but they won’t ever leave.”
“I prefer Hotel Calicofornia.”
“Meowriott.”
“Given my skill, mine would be more like Meowtel 6.”
“Pawliday Inn.’
“The Fur Seasons.”‘
“Meowne Plaza.”
@linette303z Building house for stray cats #fory #fyp #wild #nature #animals
People loved seeing the care and ingenuity she put into the “meowtel,” as well as how happy the cats seem with the arrangement. In fact, some people were sure their own house cats would move out just to go live in this kind of cat commune.
“My cat just looked at me and sighed…”
“All the neighbours be looking for their cats and they’ve bailed to live at the kitty motel.”
“They’d pack their little bags and move in without a second thought.”
“They wouldn’t even wait to pack their bags.”
“Alright Carol it’s been real but we’re gonna head out. Found a great deal on a luxury apartment so yanno… take care.”
Cats live where they want, when they want
Those people may have been joking, but several others shared that their cats really did ditch them to go live with neighbors who had more desirable living situations.
“I’ve had two cats do this. One was annoyed at our second dog’s puppy energy so she moved in with an older lady a street over. We used to see her all the time until she passed. The other missed our kids being little so she moved next door where there’s a little girl. We talked to both neighbors and said if they get sick of them to let us know and we’ll take them back but both lived the rest of their lives with their new families.”
“One of our cats moved next door because he loves children and wanted to be with the little girl next door. Because it’s a very small village, he goes to the school most days to wait for her and they come home together. School is 3 buildings away.”
“We had a cat do the same thing about 20 years ago. She hated the barks of our new puppy and would put her paw on his mouth to try and stop it. One day, she slipped outside and I found her a month later, two streets over, hanging with a couple who didn’t have a dog. They said she just showed up at the door and moved in. I gave them all her cat food and hope she had a nice quiet life.”
Is it a bad idea to feed and shelter stray cats?
People have differing opinions about whether it’s good to feed stray cats or not, as cats can cause problems for local wildlife, and it’s not great to encourage an increasing stray cat population. According to Catster, in the United States alone, an estimated four billion birds and 22 billion mammals (such as mice, voles, rabbits, and shrews) are killed annually by both domestic and stray cats. In Canada, cats are the number one killer of birds, killing “between 100 and 350 million birds every year.” These numbers are staggering, but the bird and small mammal populations can be protected if stray cats are cared for responsibly: namely, spaying and neutering those in your area to cut down on the population and finding homes for those who are friendly and comfortable with humans.
Stray cats should be spayed and neutered. Photo credit: Canva
According to the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, here are the best practices for feral and stray cats:
– Spay/neuter to prevent additional litters
– Find homes for friendly cats
– Feed outdoor cats on a schedule
– Remove food & dishes when they are done eating
– Pick up scraps and keep the feeding area tidy
– Provide fresh water
– Provide a warm place for the cats to sleep
So, go ahead and care for those kitties and keep them warm through the winter, just make sure they can’t make any more kittens.
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
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