building projects

Cat isolation shelter progress, and a productive day

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I must say, I’m pretty happy with how today went! It was a lot more productive than expected.

Aside from the triple harvest I wrote about in my previous post, I was scheduled to go to my mother’s to help her with errands.

I left earlier, as I wanted to stop at a store to find something I needed, then hit a bank machine before picking up some Chinese food for our lunch. My mother told me she’d had their steamed rice and vegetables for lunch after church and really liked it, so that’s what she wanted me to order.

I am not sure what she ordered, though, as that is not a typical menu item. At least, not as a combination meal for one. She also said it was “brown rice”.

They don’t serve brown rice.

They did have the steamed rice and mixed vegetables as separate items, so that’s what I ordered for her. Another reason I am not sure what she actually ordered that she liked so much; the mixed vegetables alone were more expensive than any of their combination meals. It, and the steamed rice, is meant to be shared by several people!

She’ll have enough to last her for a couple of days, at least!

I ordered a meal combo for myself.

When my mother saw the food, she was surprised by the rice being white rice. It was supposed to be brown! Sure enough, she had eaten stir fried rice, and somehow thought it was plain, steamed brown rice.

The vegetables were what she wanted, though.

They did, however, include small amounts of meat, which had my mother hesitating. She even asked me at one point, do you think it’s okay? before eating it.

She is still completely convinced that the Chinese restaurant serves cat meat. She’s given me several different stories as to why she thinks this. The first time, she told me one of her neighbours had told her this. Then she said she saw it in the news (though that turned out to be about a restaurant in the city, who know how many years ago). Then it was because she saw more stray cats around, so that must mean they’re serving cat. Talking about what she wanted me to order last night, she said that their prices are so much lower than the restaurant the specialized in deep fried chicken, so in her mind that must be proof they’re serving cat. *sigh*

She likes their food, their prices and their generous portions a lot, though, so she just can’t resist going back.

We had an excellent lunch.

My mother had her first home care visits to help with her medications last night. She would have had two visits last night, and one in this morning, by the time I saw her, so I asked how it went. That set her off into talking about how she couldn’t sleep last night, and it had be because of “all the pills” they gave her.

They’re the exact same pills, from her bubble packs.

Then she said she’d gotten up in the morning and had a bit to each, then went back to bed. Just as she was finally falling asleep, there was a knock at the door. Home care was there for her morning meds.

I asked my mother if she had taken her pills at 5am, like she usually does (she’s already been instructed not to, but to wait for home care).

I didn’t quite get a straight answer out of her, but I think she did.

Which has me wondering; did she take a second full set of pills when the home care person arrived, or just the new supplement for her eyes, which is the only one that’s still separate?

The whole point of getting home care to help her with her medications is because, even with the bubble packs, she is getting confused about them.

Hopefully, she will remember to NOT take her morning pills at 5am (there has never been any reason for her to take them that early), but to take all her morning pills, including the new supplement, with breakfast, when the home care person arrives.

After lunch, we went over her list and added a few things she had forgotten. She needed to go to the bank for cash, though – the one thing I can’t do for her. She really didn’t want to go out at all, with how she was feeling, but she had to. I told her that, after going to the bank, I could take her home again and do the rest of her shopping. She liked that idea.

For someone who wasn’t feeling well, my mother was pretty darn spry!

Getting in and out of the truck was hard for her, as usual, but once she was at her walker, she just took off like a shot! I actually had a hard time keeping up with her! I honestly don’t know how she does it, at times!

After she was done at the bank, she decided to come along to the pharmacy, but to stay in the truck. Her bubble pack refills were set to be delivered today but, since I was there on her behalf, anyhow, I could pick them up, then pick up some other stuff she needed from the pharmacy.

That was her limit, though, so I took her home from there.

Talk about timing.

She was unlocking her door when her phone started to ring. It was the eye doctor, following up on her. They’re already tried calling me and left messages, and were trying my mother’s next.

My mother now has an appointment to see the eye specialist in the city.

The clinic is in the opposite side of the city from us. The drive will be well over an hour, plus the appointment is expected to take about 2 hours in total for all the tests they need to do.

This is going to be a very long day for her!!

She’s going to have her eyes dilated, and they wanted to make sure she had sunglasses. I have extra sunglasses that fit over regular glasses in the truck, so that’s taken care of.

The appointment is on the day I was planning to go into the city for our first stock up shopping trip for next month, but that’s okay. My mother’s appointment is more urgent!

We were very happy about the timing with all this!

The call done, I headed out to get my mother’s groceries, then put everything away for her. There wasn’t anything else she needed for me to do, and she was more than ready for a nap, so I left soon after. Gas and a stop at the post office was in order. The items that were supposed to arrive yesterday, but then tracking said they would arrive on the 26th, were all in.

After I got home, I was soon back outside. After harvesting the winter squash, I started working on the cat isolation shelter.

I was able to finish tacking down the mesh covering the pallet floor with pieces of wood lath. There was just the back that still needed to be done but, with the wire mesh already in place on the back, it was the more difficult one to do. There is now nowhere any tiny kittens could squeeze through the pallet floor and get out.

Then it was time to start enclosing the top level. The not-door sections needed to have insulation cut to fit, then covered.

Here is a slideshow of how things went.

The first section I worked on had the shelf across the back to work around. I had cut it to fit snuggly, but it was a bit too snug, and the insulation snapped at the shelf cut. A bit of trimming, and the pieces were fit in.

Yes, there’s a gap at the angled corner support. It was large enough that I could cut a strip from the corner that had been removed and fill it in.

I don’t have enough paint to pre-paint the pieces anymore, so that will have to be done later. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get a colour match.

I had a number of wood lath pieces left from my last bundle that weren’t all the same length, or had damage in areas. I cut 14 pieces to 16″ lengths, which left me with a 15th piece that was just a touch short. I wasn’t sure if I’d needed it, though.

This first side has floor boards that are ever so slightly too long. I hadn’t bothered to trim them. I made use of the excess length to hold the first piece of wood lath in place. Then each piece was lined up with that first one and nailed into place.

If you look at the second picture of the slideshow, you can see I had to use that slightly short 15th piece! That corner has the brace in it, so there was extra material to hammer the nails into, to secure it. Plus, it overlapped the top frame piece that it could be nailed into.

The other side was easier to do. The insulation for there just needed a 45° cut in one corner.

If you click through to the third photo, you’ll see I didn’t quite get the angle cut right! 😄 That shouldn’t be a problem, though.

I had to start a new bundle of wood lath to cover this side. They are supposed to be all 4′ long, but a few were just a little bit short. After finding 5 pieces that were all the same 4′ length, I was able to cut the stack into 16″ lengths, then nail them over the insulation.

In the last two photos, you can see how it looks on the inside.

It can be assumed the cats will try to use the insulation as a scratching post. There’s something about this insulation that they just love for that! In fact, in the photos of the insulation pieces before they were covered, you can see all the cat scratches!

I didn’t want them to pull the insulation right out if they did scratch at it. I had some nails just barely long enough to go through the insulation, so I used some of those to tack it to the wood lath from the inside. You can’t really see the nails in the photos.

The problem is, these probably won’t hold against cat scratching. Using any longer nails would just go right through the wood lath. I’ll have to think of some other way to keep them in place. I even tried nailing a piece of wood lath vertically on the inside, but I’m left with the same problem. Any nails long enough to secure it in place would go right through the wood lath on the outside. Any nails short enough to not do that can be easily pulled out.

I am more than open to suggestions in the comments!

After this, it’s time to cut that clear plastic I brought up from the basement. I found out from my brother that these were used to cover windows in the house, on the inside, to stop drafts. All but one of the windows were replaced before we moved in here. He thought these were from what is now my bedroom/office/craft room, but that window still has a covers over each half, as it was the one window not replaced. The frames on them are quite different from the frame of what I brought to the garage, so I still don’t know where these came from. It does tell me, though, that it is probably Lexan, which is good, since it can handle UV light and weathering better.

I’m going to have to be careful cutting it, though. My brother tells me there’s a possibility of shattering!

The first piece to cut will be to cover the front of the shelter’s upper level. That should leave enough material to use as clear doors on the sections that did not get covered today.

Hopefully, that will be a job I can work on tomorrow.

Little by little, it’s getting done!

Aside from all that, we got some good news today.

The electric company is currently doing a lot of work in the area, replacing power poles, doing over due maintenance and repairs, etc. – and clearing trees away from the power lines.

We got a call from them today.

They would like to come onto the property some time in the next while, to clear any trees or branches near their power lines.

We had to pay a tree company to do that, about 5 or 6 years ago. Things are starting to grow back and getting too close to the lines again.

The power company will be doing it, and there will be no charge.

They will only clear around their own lines; not the lines to the house, garage, barn or pump shack. Which is fine. The lines to the garage and barn don’t have trees near them. The one to the pump shack is something we can keep clear ourselves. The one to the house is almost directly under the main line to the pole the meter is on, so it’ll be cleared by default.

The guy I spoke to couldn’t tell me when they’ll be doing this, but it doesn’t really matter, except for the gate. I asked if they could call ahead, so we can unlock it for them. We’ll see how that works out.

So… yeah. It’s been a pretty productive day today! We’ve got all sorts of things falling into place. 😊

May things continue to go as smoothly and productively!

The Re-Farmer

A bit of cat isolation shelter progress

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We’ve been focusing so much on getting the catio fixed up and useable, it’s been slow going on the cat isolation shelter build.

I was actually able to get a bit of progress done on it last night.

The torn fabric from one of the catio’s floating shelves was badly frayed where it had torn loose while being transported, as were all the edges once the rest of it was torn free of the staples. The fabric, however, is very durable and there was still a decent amount of it.

So it got washed, then my daughter hemmed it and attached grommets to the corners.

Last night, I added screw hooks to attach it to the isolation shelter.

Here, you can see it set up over the main opening between top and bottom levels. It’s too short to fit all the way across, so I’ve got it secured at five points. Three, directly to hooks in the frame, one with a loop to reach a forth hook. I’d actually put loops on both grommets on that side, but added the fifth hook to the frame near one corner as well. The loops are just Mason’s twine, which should be strong enough to last a long time. If not, have other cordage we can try.

Having it there means a cat wouldn’t be able to jump straight up from the bottom, but they could still use the scratching post ramp to get to the second level. Plus, since it’s just on hooks, it is easy to remove for cleaning, or if it turns out to be in the way. If I can find suitable clear plastic to cover the front of the shelter, I can see cats quite enjoying being able to hang out on the hammock, looking outside.

Today, I got a couple more things done.

The first was a start on securing mesh onto the pallet floor on the bottom level. It would have been much easier if I’d caught on to the potential problem before the frame was attached to the pallet, but… oh, well.

I had intended to use a rather fine black plastic mesh that I have, but that would have required two rolls to cover the bottom. I had a section of mesh that was used for a garden bed cover left over, so I checked if it would fit.

It fit rather well. A bit short on the sides side, but not enough to be a safety concern, should we ever had to keep very small kittens isolated in there.

I centred it as best I could, then used streel strapping to secure it on the sides.

The front and back have a gap running from one side to the other that needs to be covered, so the mesh will be folded upwards and attached to the inside of the frame. Attaching the back is going to be harder, since I added the wire mesh to it before I realized the openings in the pallet were a potential problem.

Bending and reaching in to screw in the strapping was very painful, though. I’m going to have to ask a daughter to secure the front and back.

I think we can get away with using wood lath nailed in place for that, though.

Since I wasn’t physically able to finish that job, I got a start on another. Assembling the pre-painted boards for the main door/ramp.

This is how it will be used until we have to isolate a cat inside. It will need hinges added to the bottom, plus something attached to the frame at the top to keep it from falling inwards. It will also need a latch to secure it closed when we’ve got a cat that needs to be kept inside.

The rest of the bottom level will have wire mesh attached to the openings. This door way is large enough that we can reach inside to take a litter box in and out, or the non-insulated box nest that’s too tall to fit under the shelf on the second level.

The upper level will have two access points on the sides. I was thinking of having one near the front and the other near the back. These will allow us to reach in for the food and water bowls that will be in there, remove the hammock if we need to, or move the insulated box nest around.

Or, hopefully, reach a cat that needs to tending to. That might be a bit more difficult, it it really doesn’t want to get got!

I’d rather have sliding panels, for better control of the opening, in case a more feral cat tries to escape, but I think I’ll just have to settle on hinged doors, instead.

I brought over another leftover sheet of rigid insulation. I plan to cut pieces to fit the side openings. If I’m going to have hinged doors, anyway, they can have insulation added to the insides. The other sections will be walled off, so they can have insulation laid over the openings the same way it was done on the back, a week ago, which you can see below.

It isn’t a lot of progress today, but it’s something!

Hopefully, I’ll get some actual sleep tonight, and will be able to get more done tomorrow.

Little by little, it’s getting done.

The Re-Farmer

The catio has a roof! Plus, that vandal update

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With my brother and his wife on the way, I made sure to have the gate open for them, then started working on things outside, so I could keep an eye on things.

I didn’t realize until late last night that, in one of my posts yesterday, I’d said I would give an update on what’s going on with our vandal, but completely forgot about it when I hit publish.

Our vandal is out of the hospital, and I’m suddenly seeing him on the trail cam files quite frequently.

Granted, he has to go past our place to check on his fields, but considering he just had major surgery, it’s rather odd that he’d be doing this so often, when he’s just back from the hospital. I’ve seen his wife doing it while he was in the hospital, so it’s not like he’s the only one that can get it done.

There’s more to it than that, though.

Other than seeing him go by on the cameras, we’ve had no contact with him, even after the restraining order expired. He knows that I am willing to do things like that, and press charges for his vandalism. He’s not used to having someone stand up to him, rather than make excuses for him, so he stays away. I’m happy with that, as I really didn’t want to apply for it again. With the horrible messages and calls to my mother he’d been making, his number was blocked on her phone. My brother also blocked his number.

Yet, somehow, he was able to leave a message on his voice mail a few days ago.

We still don’t know how.

I have a copy of the recording, but could barely make it out. Probably because I was trying to listen to it on my phone. My brother was able to transcribe it, though.

Most of it was the usual weird stuff. He has invented scenarios in his head about what he thinks we are doing, and yells about it. This time, apparently my brother has a thousand dollar bottle of wine with which to celebrate our vandal’s death that he will have to put away for now. Oh, and my brother wants to put him in jail, apparently.

As always, he’s obsessed with this farm.

The property we’re on consists of two quarter sections. The one we’re on is all rented out except for the corner the house is on, which we are responsible for (and to keep an eye on the rest, in general). The other quarter, which is a half mile up and across the road, has no buildings or even fields on it and the whole thing is rented out to the same person. He, the renter, uses it for pasture and rotates his cows from there to here, regularly, along with other pastures he’s got for them. He’s very responsible when it comes to the land, whether it’s how he takes care of our field he grows crops on, or ensuring the pastures are never over grazed.

Well, our vandal had driven past the other quarter section recently (I only know this because my mother had tried calling him – which she should not have done – and spoke to his wife). In the message to my brother, he said that there’s a particular weed taking over and was ranting on how he took care of that piece of land for years – but also that he was fighting this weed on his own property. He was conflating the two things, so it’s hard to tell exactly if he meant he picked this weed on that quarter, as well as picking it on his own property right now, or just on his own property right now.

Either way, how could he have been taking care of that property for years, when it’s been rented out to the same farm family since my parents mostly retired from farming? I mean, we’re talking two generations renting from our family at this point. Plus, with the renter having his cattle grazing there, he would be on top of any invasive weeds that would affect the quality of the pasture, if they were there. So I honestly don’t know if this weed is actually there, or if our vandal just thinks that’s what he saw as he was driving by.

It’s also none of his business.

Either way, he ranted about how it’s going to ruin the farm, and that my “porkchop” daughters should go out there with a push mower to get it under control.

Yes. He said we should be mowing a pasture with a push mower.

Then he had a whole bunch of nasty stuff to say about me and my daughters (apparently, my husband doesn’t exist), with his usual lies about us having never worked a day in our lives (and by “work” he means a job he thinks is a “real” job, apparently), and trying to put him in jail, while demanding to talk to my brother about me, face to face.

It was how he ended the message that was the most concerning.

It was with a threat.

But of what?

Whatever it is, apparently he has something planned for before he dies, or after he dies, that is so big, even “the Pope will read it in a magazine,” about what we’ve done to him.

So his cancer scare and brush with death certainly hasn’t changed him in any way. If anything, he seems even more obsessed with the property – he is an example of what it means to “covet” something – and me, and my family. He has convinced himself we are trying to destroy him, so he is planning something to harm us as some sort of revenge.

*sigh*

I was hoping we’d be able to start relaxing a bit, but nope.

So while the gate was open, I wanted to be outside to make sure our vandal didn’t just suddenly show up.

One of the things I did was finally unwrap the sheets of clear plastic roofing material. I set up the saw horses and cleared space on the work table to support their 8′ length. They needed to be cut to 4′ lengths.

I marked out the centre of the panels, but wasn’t sure of the best way to cut it. I left it be, though, and went inside to have breakfast before my brother and his wife were supposed to arrive.

I timed it just right, too.

After they got here and my SIL was loaded up with tomatoes and a cantaloupe, she headed back home, and I went to help my brother.

He had a surprise for me.

One of the last times he was he, he checked on my mother’s car. We were able to get the compressor hose through a hole in the wall on that side of the garage, across the middle, section, and just reach the flat front tire on her car. We couldn’t reach the back tire, though.

He got me an extension for the compressor hose. One of those coiled ones that can stretch to 50′!

We can now easily reach the back tire on my mother’s care (which is starting to look low again), and I can even top up all the tires on our truck, without having to turn it around to reach the other end.

He is so thoughtful!

Meanwhile, since he was there, I asked for his advice on how best to cut the roof panels in half. After asking and seeing what I had, he suggested the jig saw, but to put painter’s tape over where I’d be cutting first. The jig saw, I had considered, but I would not have thought of the tape.

The hose extension set up and done, I helped him tie down a new tarp on the box of his dump truck, to keep the elements out, and the old tarp was getting worn out. The winds get really high out here, so we really wanted to make sure it was solidly tied down.

He’s already unhooked the piece of equipment he’d hauled out here, so as soon as the tarp was secure, he was off again. He wanted to come back with another load on his trailer before it got dark.

As for me, I followed his advice and used the painter’s tape over the line I’d marked. I could still see the line through the tape, so I didn’t have to measure and mark it out again.

Using the jigsaw worked, but WOW did it vibrate like crazy! So much so that the jigsaw blade and the line I was trying to follow were like trying to see with double vision! I was able to get it done, though, and pretty straight, too.

The cut edges were rough, though, so after removing the tape, I sanded the edges.

Leaving the panels still on top of each other, I left one end on top of the isolation shelter for later, then took the other end out to the catio.

Before starting on the roof, though, I brought over some of the wire that was used to hold the welded wire mesh rolled up. The bottom half of the catio is new mesh, with about 9 or 10 inches of overlap between old and new wire mesh. My daughter felt that some of the smaller kittens, should they require isolation in there, could potentially squeeze between mesh and get out, so I wanted to use the wire to “sew” it closed across the top.

I had help.

Gouda is no longer being kept in the catio.

Once he got over the scare of not being able to get out, he seemed to really enjoy his time in there. The Cat Lady thought she might have someone that could adopt him, but hadn’t heard back from them yet, so there was no point in keeping him in there longer.

When I opened the door for him, he didn’t even try to leave right away. As I was going back and forth with things, I suddenly realized, he was back in the catio, watching me!

Him and several kittens.

The cats quite like the catio! Especially the kittens.

Interestingly, after letting him out, Gouda seems to be extra calm, and wanting human attention more. He reaches out to my hands to get me to pet him – but if my hands are busy and I don’t pet him, he reaches out with his teeth!

He was not the only helper.

This little kitten was all over the top of the catio! When I was bent over to lace the wire through the mesh, she kept batting at my hat.

Yes, this is a she, and she is friendly!

I had other cats rolling around on the top of the catio while I worked, but this one, I sent pictures of to the Cat Lady, mentioning that she’s friendly. She seems to be the only female kitten that is friendly. All the rest of the friendly ones are male, as far as I can tell.

The Cat Lady responded that we should get her fixed soon, while she still is young enough to qualify for the special pricing for spays at the vet clinic we took Gouda to. That would be awesome! So, maybe next month, we’ll be doing her instead of two males.

I did as much as I could with the wire wrapping, but had to stop for a while. I ended up going into town to refill three of our big water jugs. I should have done a dump run, too, but after driving over that glass jar last time, I really don’t want to risk my tires. People on the local RM Facebook group I’m on have been talking about how bad the conditions at the dump have become in the last little while.

So I decided against going today.

Since I was not going to be around to supervise, I had to make sure the gate was closed up.

The good thing is, my brother has his own key.

By the time I got back, my brother was hear and had already started to load. After unloading our truck and leaving a daughter to put things away, I went to help my brother unload his trailer. He didn’t stay long after that, as he needed to start loading the trailer again when he got home, before things got dark. Nothing that’s coming here, though, so we shouldn’t be seeing them again this weekend.

Once we were done and he left – and the gate was locked again – I went back to the catio. I finished off with the wire wrapping, then brought over the hose. It had taken Gouda a while to figure out the litter box, and he’d made a mess on the cat hammock. I got that cleaned off before finally starting on the roof.

That catio now has a roof again!

The screws all have washers with neoprene seals on them, so water shouldn’t leak around them.

Since no cat will be in there overnight, I removed the empty food bowl, but didn’t bother removing the water bowl. The box nest went back in, though, as did the litter box, just to keep it out of the elements until I empty it and clean it for the next time it’s needed.

After this, we can finish painting the rest of it black, and replace the torn cat hammock that was removed. It will then be officially done!

Then I can get back to working on the isolation shelter. I really need to get that finished. Not just for the cats, but so I can get everything out of the garage and cleaned up, so we can park the truck in there again.

For now, I’m just glad to have that roof on. We’re supposed to get thunderstorms at around 5am. This gives the cats a bit of extra shelter they can tuck into.

After two weeks or driving all over, I’m happy to have one week of almost no driving at all, before it’s back to running around. This coming week, I expect to do grocery shopping for my mother at some point, but that’s about it. That will give me time to work on projects, but also get caught up on things like lawn mowing, and getting the loppers out to clear away saplings that are starting to take over some areas again.

Maybe even finally get back to working on those raised garden beds we’re supposed to be harvesting trees for!

If the weather holds. We may not be expecting frost, but by phone’s weather app is predicting thunderstorms on at least three days next week.

We shall see how it goes!

I’m just happy with whatever progress I manage to get right now.

The Re-Farmer

Cat isolation shelter progress – a bit of painting, and putting on the back

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I honestly didn’t think I was going to get more progress on the isolation shelter today. After helping my brother and SIL unload their trailer, I went back to watering the garden, then stayed to do as much weeding around the winter squash as I could. I was feeling the heat and probably should have called it a day. I didn’t want to push myself too much, which I apparently did yesterday.

I was finishing up on my computer when I tucked my foot under my chair, only to get hit with a Charlie horse in the back of my thigh! Thankfully, I was able to stretch it out before it got bad, and managed to hobble over to take some ibuprofen. I was eventually able to sit down again.

Then I moved to tuck my right leg under my chair, and got another one!

I was able to stretch that one out, too, but I spent most of the night having to sleep with my legs stretched straight. Any time I tried to bend my knees, I could feel the muscles starting to cramp again. I even ended up sleeping on my back, which I never do, because it hurts.

Not as much as a Charlie horse, though!

In the end, though, as I was putting something away in the garage, I figured I could at least do the painting.

The other side of the ramp/door pieces were done, as where the last sides of the box “nests”.

In the second photo of the slideshow, you can see that I also decided to secure the scratching post/ramp to the second level.

At which point I figured, may as well keep going!

I moved the shelter to the doorway, so I could work in the sunshine. The light was much better, but by the time I was done, I was really feeling the heat!

The first image in the slideshow, I just tacked on the sheet of insulation I’d cut to size previously. You can see a patch I made near the top left corner. A piece was broken off there, so just cut it more or less square, than cut a piece from some of the excess insulation to fit. One edge of the sheet needed to have a bit of excess trimmed off to make it straight.

The insulation has a crack in it, and a few holes but, for the purpose, it should work fine.

In the next image, you can see how I’ve attached the first piece of 4′ wood lath. Once I made sure it was straight, lined up with the width of the shelter and secured with nails, I trimmed the rough edges of the insulation to be flush with the top of wood lath.

After that, each piece of lath was lined up with the one above and nailed in place, first in the centre, then on each end. I just found it easier to start in the middle.

In the next picture, you can see how it looks with the back completely covered.

The next thing to do was to secure the wire mesh in the lower level. For that, I had some painted wood lath that were a quarter inch shorter than they should have been. I cut one of them in half for the sides, then checked the length I needed. I wanted them to be flush with the pallet at the bottom, and the top edges extended a bit under the lath above, where there was a gap where the insulation ended. They were then lined up with the inside edge of the shelter frame and nailed in place. I positioned the nails as best as I could estimate where the mesh was, so that if the mesh gets pulled or pushed on by critters, the nails will prevent the wire from getting pulled out from between the wood.

Once those were secured, I measured and cut my last two painted pieces of wood lath to fit in between the side pieces. Those were also lined up with the inside edge of the frame, and nails were placed to ensure the wire mesh can’t be pulled loose.

You can see the finished frame in the next photo.

I then spent a bit of time considering what to do about the middle. There were only a couple of staples holding it in place. With the frame in place to secure it, there really wasn’t much concern that the wire mesh could be pulled off. However, if the middle were pushed loose from the inside, a cat could potentially get stuck between the vertical support and the mesh.

I could have added more staples, but I don’t trust those.

I decided to add one more piece of wood lath. The next image shows the entire back of the shelter, including the extra piece. The next time I will be painting things, I’ll paint that piece, too.

There is so very little paint left, though! I would be amazed if there was enough to finish painting the upper level, when it’s enclosed. Unless I manage to acquire the clear plastic I’m looking for to use instead of wood, to use as windows.

Here is how it looks now, on the inside.

That brick on top isn’t supposed to be sitting on the frame. I had to move it while I was rolling the shelter out of the garage, because it was bouncing. I have the painted piece of wood that was originally going to be part of the floor up there. It will be used to raised the roof slightly in the front, to create a low slope – and will be what I attach hinges to, so we can lift the roof from the back. What I noticed is that the piece of wood is slightly bowed in the middle. If it had been used in the floor, as originally intended, that would not have mattered. It would have been screwed to the floor joist in the middle, which would have pulled it flat. As the hinged part of the roof, it might make a difference. So I’ve got it sitting across the top of the shelter, with the brick weighing down the bend, to slowly straighten it.

The next photo is of the upper level. The insulated box “nest” can fit under the resting shelf, or can be moved wherever is needed. Food and water bowls can go under the shelf as well, accessible through one of the access panels/door – whatever I ended up making.

When the doors/access panels are added, I plan to have one in the opening near the back and the other in the opening near the front. I’m still hoping to be able to make sliding doors as access panels, rather than hinged doors, but it will depend on what materials I find.

The bottom level is shown in the last photo. The sides will be enclosed with mesh, as well as the non-door half of the front.

I’m debating adding a mesh to cover the floor. It occurred to me that, if we ever have a mama with kittens in there, really small kittens could squeeze through those gaps between the pallet boards. I have some plastic mesh a friend sent to me that would be perfect for this. The mesh is fine enough that it won’t be a problem for little toe beans, but will also allow debris to fall through, such as anything kicked out of the litter box that would be on this level.

The non-insulated box nest will fit in this level. Eventually, both levels will get cat blankets or beds.

I’m still thinking of where to add a cat hammock of some sort. As I look at the photo of the shelter from the front, I’m thinking across the larger opening, maybe covering half of it, would work. This would help keep the upper level warm in the winter, and if I can cover the entire front with clear whatever I find, a cat could lay on it and enjoy looking outside.

Winter is something else to think about, when it comes to keeping things warm. The mesh on the bottom can be wrapped with plastic sheets to keep the weather out, and at least some of the cold, in the winter. As long as the top has a heat lamp or something similarly safe, it will be a welcome shelter for the cats, in addition to what we already have. If no cats need to be kept isolated, we plan to just leave the door/ramp on the bottom open, so they can go in and out any time they please. That way, when we do have to isolate a cat, it will already be familiar with the shelter, and not afraid.

At least, that’s the theory!

I’m glad I was able to get at least this much done on the shelter, since it will be a while before I can work on it again. I’ll be away most of tomorrow, I’ve got one day at home, then two days of driving around. In that one day I’ve got, I need to find a way to secure the broken mesh on the catio. The girls and I will be moving the swing bench away from the house and into a spot I prepared for it in the garage, in front of my mother’s car. It will finally be out of the weather, and kittens can still enjoy sleeping on it in there.

Once the area the swing bench is currently on is cleared and cleaned up the catio will be moved there. Any last work that needs to be done on it can be done on site. Plus, we should be able to see into it from the kitchen window.

Knowing the yard cats, they’ll be climbing onto the top and looking back at us!

I’d hoped to have the isolation shelter done by now, but it will be some time before we have all the materials to finish it. If we need to isolate a cat, the catio is what we have to use. All it needs is to get that torn mesh secured. It’s unlikely a cat would go through there, but it is possible.

We’re booked to get one male’s nibs nipped in a few days. If we can get one of the males in there for the overnight fast, with one of the carriers in there as a bed, that might make things easier for us!

I hope.

Next month, the rescue has us booked for two males. If all goes well, they’ll be able to lend us a trap (I think the last person they lent it two is still ghosting them) and we can start getting the females before they go into heat in the spring!

It’s slow going, but we’re finally getting some progress on getting more yard cats fixed!

This clinic also has a new program they’ve started. Any females up to 5 months old will be spayed for only $150, including shots and tattoos. Cats can go into heat as early as 6 months, so they’re trying to encourage people to get them done young. Getting a spay typically costs about $350 – $375 – some places almost $400! Which makes it really difficult to get strays, ferals and semi-ferals done. Especially at a time when people can barely afford to buy food for themselves. Neuters are typically half what a spay is, so this deal is pretty much getting a spay for less than the cost of a neuter.

Some of our kittens may already be too old for this program; the ones born in late April/early May, like Kohl and Rabi. Some were born in June and would qualify for another month or so.

Which would be a good time to remind readers that there is a donation button at the top of the page! The rescue has been very helpful in covering costs, but they are struggling, too. If we can take advantage of low cost spays, that would be amazing.

The irony is not lost on me that, if we weren’t spending so much money on cat food, we would be able to do at least one spay a month, if we had to, and we wouldn’t have this over population problem!

What can I say. We’re sucks for the cats! We’re certainly not going to stop feeding them. Given the condition of some of the cats we see when they come back for the winter, they wouldn’t last long if they had to live on their own hunting, and starvation is a horrible way to go. Nope. Not gonna happen here.

Ah, well. It’ll all work out in the end!

The Re-Farmer

A bit of cat isolation shelter progress

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I’ve actually been working on fixing up the donated catio today. I’ll cover that in another post, but at one point I had to wait for a board I had to scrub clean to dry. That gave me time to work on a scratching post/ramp for inside the lower level of the cat isolation shelter.

In the first photo of the slideshow above, you can see the piece of scrap lumber I cut to fit into the space. It had started out as a 2×4 but had been cut in half at some point.

Once I determined it was long enough, I used the vertical supports it would be set against to determine what angles to cut off, so it would be flush. You can see the bottom cut in the second photo. I cut that one first then, once it was set in place, could mark off the angle for the top cut.

In the next photo, you can see the materials I used. I had picked up some hemp cord from the craft section of a dollar store. Usually, sisal cord is used for scratching posts but 1) I wasn’t finding any that was a good thickness for a scratching post without buying online and 2), the hemp cords price for the amount in the hank was right.

One of my frustrations with scratching posts is that, once the cats tear through a strand, the whole thing comes undone. With that in mind, I dug out a can of spray glue I’ve hung on to for years. This actually came out with us when we moved here, almost 7 years ago. This is the first time I’ve used it, since.

Sometimes, being a pack rat, has advantages!

I sprayed the board in sections of about 6 or 8 sections. The first few inches of the cord was secured under the initial wraps, and making sure to press the cord against the spray glued surface, I’d wrap until I was a couple of inches from the end of the sprayed section, spray the next section, then keep on wrapping. The final few inches of the cord was secured with a couple of large headed roofing nails. That end will be the bottom of the scratching post.

In the last photo, you can see how it will be set up in the isolation shelter. As a ramp, it’s really more for any kittens we might had to keep in there. Larger cat would be able to jump straight up the large opening, or use the shelf “step” in the front to get to the small opening.

There will still be room for a litter pan under there, and even an insulated shelter box as well.

By the time this was done, I could start working on the catio again. After my daughter came out and we took care of supporting the tomatoes together, she mentioned that she was going to be making herself a breakfast. That made me realize I was feeling hungry. I was a bit surprised. I’d had a large breakfast. Why was I hungry already?

Then I realized, more than 5 hours had passed!

Uhm… yeah… time for food! I’d say lunch, but it’s past 3pm, sooo…. lupper? 😄

Once that’s done, I’ll head back to continue on the catio. I want to get as much done as I can, since it’ll be a day or two before I can work on it again.

Which means I should probably stop writing blog posts, and finish eating!

The Re-Farmer

Cat Isolation Shelter, and decisions to make

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I was not expecting to be able to work on the cat isolation shelter at all today, but with my afternoon appointment cancelled, I was able to get a bit done.

There really isn’t a lot left that I can do right now. I installed the larger shelf across the back of the shelter, then the small one in the front that is meant to act as something a cat can use to climb up to the second level.

Then I dragged the whole thing outside for pictures in better light.

I’m hoping that shelf across the back will hold up without a support in the middle. It seems sturdy, but this is salvaged wood, and there is some damage on the underside.

In the front view, you can see the little shelf on the bottom right – and the areas on the second level floor boards that will need paint, since that all got changed quite a bit!

The cats have definitely been checking it out when I’m not around.

Syndol likes to hang out with me while I’m working. He kept very politely asking for attention! I’d be working on something and feel a paw gently grab and pull on my arm.

I pet him, of course.

With the shelves in place, I took the time to take the bits of wood and nails off the 2x4s left from the pallet I’d cut apart to use for “nesting” boxes. The wood is pretty damaged, but I might be able to salvage it for something.

Syndol was my helper.

Right now, I’m trying to figure out what to use to support the roof. I want just enough of a slope for rain to drain off. I might have come up with a solution, but I’m not sure, yet. I’ll have to grab out the sheet of metal roof I’m hoping to use and take some measurements, too. I might need to find a second matching sheet in the barn.

Until I figure out and acquire what is needed to make the main door/ramp and the access panels on the second level, I’m not going to put a roof on, though putting the supports in place first might be useful.

At this point, it looks like I’m going to have to start buying material, and that will have to wait until pay comes in.

I am quite happy with how well the whole thing moves around. It is better on the grass than the dirt floor of the garage. I can foresee a time when the wheels would need to be replaced, but it would take a while before that becomes necessary.

It’s not a lot of progress, but I’m happy with it.

I think the cats will like it, too!

The Re-Farmer

Cat Isolation Shelter Progress – with many goofs!

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I am so, so tired!

I’m glad I set up shop in the shade of the garage to work on this, because even in there, it got so very hot!

I got progress done on the isolation shelter, but also discovered some things I neglected to take into account. I am definitely getting tires, though, as I made some pretty silly goofs today, too. Nothing that couldn’t be worked around, but still… Yikes!

I won’t be able to do much on it over the next few days, though. I will be heading out over the next three days, and while I might have time to do something before I have to leave, I don’t want to be getting covered in paint or sawdust or getting all sweaty before I need to go out in public!

Anyhow.

The first thing I needed to work on today was adding the verticals. They are not needed, structurally, but they will be needed to attach things to, whether it’s a door or access panel, or to support the welded wire, etc.

I’m not going to go into too much detail right now, but gosh, some of them were a pain to put in! I had painted the cut ends, and on a couple of them, I had to sand the paint off to get them to fit. In others. I actually had to use the miter saw to shave off some of the wood.

I did want them to be very snug, and most of them were. I used a piece of scrap wood and a hammer on some of them, to tap them into place without damaging them.

Then I had to cut out a chunk from the floor board that was to go against the back wall.

I don’t really have the tools to do that properly, but I managed.

That was my first goof.

I measured out the hole to fit around the vertical, forgetting that the board was not intended to fit flush with the back, but flush against the next board. So I ended up cutting a deeper opening than needed.

Ah, well. It’ll still work.

After setting the long floor boards across the back half of the shelter, I realized something else I didn’t take into account. I’d added an extra, narrower, board that straddled the center line, with the vertical 2×4 placed in the middle, the 1×4 boards fit exactly in between the new vertical and the outside frame.

The long, narrow board could no longer fit.

A 1×4 could fit, but there was nothing to support it at the vertical.

After debating it for a while, I ended up attaching one of the triangle blocks I’d made out of regular 2x4s (not the true to size 2x4s) and attached it to the horizontal bar, to support a floor board, and I just had to cut one of the pre-painted boards a bit shorter. That worked out fine.

But I was then left with a gap.

If I cut a new floor board to fit the space between the two “floor joists”, I’d have to just barely trim off a bit at one end, to fit around the corner post. That would leave a gap between the frame and the front horizontal piece. Or the wide board was cut to fit between the frame could still be added, with a corner cut out to fit around the front vertical piece, but that would leave a gap between it and the next floor board.

At that point, I decided to leave it and work on other things while I decided what to do next.

Which was to make a shelf.

I had a short length of true-to-size 2×4 that I could cut in half with opposing 45° angles to make shelf brackets.

I had piece of 1×8 board that I’d brought from the barn some time ago, with plans to make a shelf against the garage wall. It was pretty damaged and needed to be scrubbed down with water. I was able to cut a 4′ length, and the most damaged part will be the underside.

At that point, I decided to leave a large gap in the floor at the front, but to add a small shelf under it that a cat could use to access the second level like a step. So I cut a piece to fit, and will use a couple of 2×4 triangle blocks to support it.

Then, since I had to wait for the board I scrubbed to dry in the sun, I started working on the “nesting box”.

I measured the space under the shelf that will go across the back, as I wanted to make the box to fit under the shelf. It was 11 inches, so I decided to make the box 10.5 inches tall.

I took some of the 12.5″ long pallet wood pieces I cut yesterday, picking out the least damaged ones, and cut them to 10.5 inches. The longer pallet wood pieces are 13.5 inches, so that would be the length of the board.

After some consideration, I decided to make the box 3 of these boards deep. I had some scrap 1x2s and I cut a bunch to match the width of 3 boards to be used as cross pieces. I was going to make 3 short sides and two long top and bottoms, so I cut 8 cross pieces. The idea is that the cross pieces would be on the outside, and rigid insulation would be cut to fit in between them.

I started by using cross pieces to join the shorter boards using glue and nails. All those finishing nails I’d sorted out of the pile the cats spilled on the garage floor came in handy, but I had to watch not to grab any that were too long – after accidentally nailing it to the table with my very first nail!

After the two side pieces were done, I was going to do the same thing with the 13.5″ pieces, but realized I could just attach them across the top and bottom of the short pieces, using the same cross pieces.

Which worked perfectly fine…

Except…

Yeah, I goofed.

With the longer pieces attached this way, the whole thing is now higher than will fit under the shelf.

No matter. It can still be used. It just won’t fit under the shelf across the back.

I also decided it will be a “summer” nesting box, and not have insulation added. I’ll make another one – this time, one that will actually fit under the shelf – another day.

By then, the shelf board was dry, so I painted the new pieces, as well as the shelf supports that were already attached, then went around finding spots to touch up. After the painting was done and put away, I added a back to the “nesting” box.

I still wasn’t sure how to do the front. This is supposed to be a closed up, cozy space for a nervous cat do feel secure in – but also fully accessible. After showing the photos to my husband, he suggested leather. He has some really thick leather that he isn’t able to use for the projects he had in mind that I can use. A piece cut large enough to cover the front, then cut into strips or flaps that a cat can easily push through, would work just fine!

The inside of the boxes will also get something soft put inside. We’ll just have to make sure whatever we put into the insulated box is breathable, since the insulation will hold in moisture as well as warmth.

Once the shelves and boxes are built, I need to work on the door and access panels. I took measurements of what will be the main door/ramp in the front, but I have absolutely nothing suitable to make it with. There was one thing I thought I could salvage, but it’s full of nails that won’t come out, and it’s not worth it to cut them, either. Of all the things I have that are large enough, they are too thick and heavy. I might have to get creative with the lath that I picked up, but that is really thin. For a door that will double as a ramp, it would break too easily, I think.

I’ll figure something out. I’ll have a few days to think about it. Since I’m going to meet with the Cat Lady in the nearer city tomorrow, I might do some window shopping and look for inspiration.

So that is my progress on the isolation shelter for today. I still have to track down some half inch welded wire for the open sides, and figure out what to use for access panels on the second level. What I’d really like to do for the upper level is enclose it more. The question is, how to do that, and still be able to see inside. None of the salvaged windows I’ve looked at will work. Ideally, I’d just use some Lexan or Optix (both handle UV light better than Plexiglass), but even Optix is pricey.

Ah, well. We’ll figure something out.

As long as it gets done before we start trapping cats for spays and neuters!

The Re-Farmer

Cat isolation shelter progress, and salvaging wood

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I think I got a decent amount of progress on the cat isolation shelter today.

The first thing I wanted to do today was measure out and cut the remaining floor boards for the second level.

I started out with more of the 1×4 boards, but found a bit of a problem at the edge. The remaining space was too wide to use another of these boards by around an inch.

I did have a single 1×6 board, left over from when I guilt the low raised beds in the east yard. This one was never used because it has some damage and is rather warped, but I only needed 23 inches.

The board was too wide, though. I marked the overhang from below, but was stuck with how to cut the excess off. I wasn’t about to drag the table saw out of the sun room for just one cut, and the piece was too small to use the circular saw. I ended up getting my jigsaw and using that. The cut was a bit wonky, but it’ll do!

The next step was to paint the floor boards and half the verticals. I didn’t have a lot of room on the saw horses, so I painted the verticals on their edges, as well as their ends. I supposed the cut ends didn’t need to be painted, since they’ll be hidden once they are screwed into place, but I did them anyway.

While those were drying, I needed to figure out what to use to build the removeable insulated shelter box. Inspired by a comment, I decided to see what I could salvage from the remaining pallet.

This pallet has some charring on it, and quite a bit of damage. I used the circular saw to cut along both sides of the 2×4 supports (I can’t remember what these are actually called), doing one side, then flipping the pallet to do the other side. Some of the pieces were already split, or split while being cut, but most of them stayed intact.

That worked well until the very last section. The remains of the pallet kept wanting to move and jump about, and using the circular saw was just too dangerous. I ended up using the jig saw for the last pieces.

That left me with a completely uneven stack of short boards. I wanted them to be even and equal in size, so I made use of the screw clamp on the miter saw to cut stacks of them. I could fit 7 of these pieces at the same time. The screw clamp could hold a higher stack, but any higher and the top pieces would be above the guide that the stack is pushed up against, to ensure cuts are straight.

With the first stack, after shaving off one end to make them all even, I measured what was left and decided to cut the stack to 13.5 inches. This was a length that all the pieces were long enough for.

When I started the next group, though, I found some were shorter than 13 inches!

I continued to cut stacks of 7 to 13.5 inches with the longest pieces, then did then did the last short ones at 12.5 inches. In the Instagram photo, the two stacks in the foreground are 13.5 inches, and the one stack at the far end are the 12.5 inch pieces.

Some of these will not be useable, but that can be sorted out later. At this point, my thought is to make the box, then add insulation around the outside. That can be tacked into place with just enough pieces of lath to make sure the insulation doesn’t get scratched at. The cats like using the rigid insulation for scratching! The main thing will be to keep the box light and easy to move, while still being large enough for a cat to enjoy hiding out in it.

I haven’t quite decided how to do the entry. I could just leave one side open, but that won’t give a convalescing cat that cave-like feeling of security. So it will need to be at least be partially covered, but not so much that we see or can’t reach inside for cleaning.

I’ll work that out, later.

For now, though, I at least have the materials to get started.

It is now time to head out to do my evening rounds. The paint on the uprights should be dry enough to flip them to paint the other half. By morning, they will be dry and the uprights can be set in place, then the floor boards on the ends can be cut to fit around the verticals.

I think, before the floor boards are added permanently, I’ll see if I can added a lounging shelf or two, about half way up one or both levels. Just a little something extra. We shall see.

For now, though, it’s time to get back outside and get the other half of those verticals painted.

I’m starting to get quite low on paint, though I’m honestly surprised I still have any at all at this point!

The whole thing is coming along quite nicely, though. I’m no carpenter, but I’m happy with how things are working out.

The Re-Farmer

More progress on the cat isolation shelter

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As soon as I was done tending to sick kitties, doing my morning rounds and grabbing a quick breakfast (a piece of pie my daughter made using that winter squash we had to harvest early – breakfast of champions!), it was back to work on the isolation shelter.

The horizontal piece that will be supporting the second level floor needed to have its other side painted, plus I needed to cut the horizontal pieces and paint them, too.

Well, I didn’t quite get to start on that right away. I had to clean up a cat mess, first!

Among the things I brought to the garage, just in case I might need them, was a container full of odds and ends that the cats had knocked onto the floor over the winter. When the girls tried to clean it up in the spring, they didn’t have the chance to try and sort through everything. When I brought it to the garage, I dug out the cardboard base that had been under the wood chipper when we unboxed it – a large, flat surface with sides on it that I could use as a tray. I dumped it all into there and took a look, then set the whole thing on top of the stack of scavenged lumber I’d brought over.

Of course, I had to move it while digging for pieces I could use, and set it on top of the lath bundles above.

Then forgot it there.

Some time during the night, some critter – likely a cat – knocked it upside down.

I immediately had a new game to play.

“Find all the nails before my tires do”.

Since I was picking them up anyhow, I brought over a bunch of repurposed sour candy containers (my husband had bought a case of them) I had intended to use for seed and sorted them as best I could. Some odd things ended up back in the cardboard “tray”, some of the screws were the same as what I was using on the isolation shelter build but, mostly, it was finishing nails of various sizes – some ridiculously tiny. I ended up filling three containers of those!

Getting them out of the dirt floor was the worst. Eventually, though, I was able to grab handfuls and just lay them on my work table. Once everything was clear of the lumber, it was much easier on the back to go through the last of them on the table!

I think it took me at least an hour, just to clean up all those nails. When I’m done building the shelter and cleaning up so we can park the truck in the garage again, I’m going to have to make sure to rake the dirt floor towards the walls, and triple check to make sure nothing got missed. The last thing we need is for a nail or screw in one of our tires!

That done, I could finally access the lumber I needed! Specifically, the two pieces of standard size 2x4s.

Unfortunately, both pieces were so dirty, I had to bring the hose over and actually scrub them clean. One of them looked like it was covered with ashes.

I first measured around the bottom half of the shelter, where the verticals will go. Those were all about 18″. I say “about”, because one side is, for some reason, slightly different, and I had to cut one piece about an eighth of an inch longer. Then the top half got measured. It was the same thing; I needed 22″ pieces, except for one, that needed to be just a tiny bit longer.

I was able to cut all the 18″ lengths, but after cutting three 22″ length, I ran out of 2×4 The remaining piece left over was way too short. I did have one piece of true-to-size 2×4 left that I could have cut a 22″ piece out of, but I didn’t want there to be a single piece with different dimensions.

So I went hunting in the barn.

I didn’t find any scrap 2×4’s, but I did find a pair of large baking trays, like the one we found in the basement and are now using under the water bowl shelter for kibble. I figured we might find a use for them, so I brought them out. Then I checked the shed near the barn. Happily, I found a single piece of 2×4 long enough that I could cut a final 22″ length. It needed to be scrubbed clean, too.

Once all the pieces were cut, I set them outside to dry in the sun.

Since painting them was out of the question until they were fully dry, I decided to drag out the leftover boards from when we build the raised bed frame covers, and start cutting floor pieces. For some reason, I had it in my mind that they were 1×6’s, but they were 1×4’s. They’ve been stored against a wall in the side of the garage my mother’s car is parked in. Normally, that would have been fine, but we’ve had such wet weather, the dirt floor got damp, even that far into the garage, so they needed to be brushed clean, too.

At least they weren’t as bad as the 2x4s I had to scrub with water!

I thought I would have to rotate my work table to fit the 12′ lengths, but it turned out I didn’t have to. I was able to move the miter saw to the far end of the table, which gave me just enough space to fit a board. Most of the floor pieces for the back of the shelter needed to be 4′ long. Once the first cut was made, space was no longer an issue.

With the first board I used, though, there was too much damage in one area, so one of the 4′ lengths couldn’t be used. I might still be able to use part of it, though, for something else.

One board needed to be cut shorter, as it will go between the frame pieces. With these being standard 1x4s, while the frame is true-to-size 2x4s, that one board has a bit of wiggle room. I set the others where they will go in the shelter, and found they were about 2″ short of the centre line.

I then had a decision to make. I could leave it as is, and have a slightly larger opening for a cat to access the second level, or I could cut another piece and have a smaller opening.

Then I remembered, I has some old 1×3 boards we found in a shed some years ago. Was one of those long enough to cut 4′ off of it?

Why yes. Yes it was!

So now the floor will extend just an inch past the centre mark.

Once those were all cut, I painted them, along with the second half of the 2×4 that will run across the centre, to support the floor boards. The floor boards only need to have their tops and ends painted, except for the two boards that will be at the ends, which needed to have one of their edges painted, too.

At that point, since the verticals were still drying, I was pretty much done for the day – but I was then left with a conundrum.

I was expecting to use triangle blocks to attach the vertical pieces, but I would need 32 of those. I had a few from earlier cuts I’d set aside, and cut as many as I could out of some of the other scrap ends I had left. I ended up with 16 triangle blocks in the true-to-size 2×4 scraps, and only 4 in the regular 2×4 scraps. The vertical pieces are all regular 2×4, so if I used those 16 pieces, they’d all be wider than the pieces I was using them to join.

Plus, I’d have to cut gaps in floor board pieces to fit around the verticals. If I were to use the triangle blocks, I’d have to cut much larger gaps, and I am not about to try and go all journeyman on things, to cut them to fit over the angles on the blocks.

There was an alternative, though.

Inside I went, did some searching, then made a call to the local hardware store, for a pocket hole jig.

Then had one small kit in stock! Plus, it was only about $20, so quite affordable.

I asked them to set it aside for me, then headed into town.

Once I had the kit, I just had to use it right away!

I did a few test drills on some scrap wood, then drilled pocket holes on all the vertical pieces. They’ll be joined from the narrow sides.

Tomorrow, they’ll be painted, including inside the pocket holes.

That done, I checked on the boards painted earlier. They were pretty much dry!

So I set the horizontal piece that will support the floor in place at the centre marks. Unfortunately, it turned out to have just the slightest twist to the board, but not enough for it to be a problem. It’s still a nice, tight fit, so I didn’t need to add wood glue, or even anything to hold it until I could screw it in place.

I then laid the floor boards on top. They won’t be permanently attached for a while yet, but I’ll be able to measure things and see how many boards will be needed to cover one side of the remaining space.

While working on all this, I decided to make some major changes to the inside of the shelter.

My original plan was to have an insulated shelter box, with an access door, on one side of the back half, while the other side, with an access door, would have a litter box. The front would be open screen, except for the front door, which would swing down to form a ramp when open.

Then I decided to make a separate insulated box that can be taken in and out of the shelter for cleaning. That way, it could be smaller and more cozy.

The top half was going to be open, with spaces for cat beds, food and water bowls and whatever. It would also have an access door to reach the food and water bowls.

Altogether, that would have made for three access doors on the bottom level, and one for the top level.

As I was setting the floor boards and seeing how things fit, it occurred to me.

There’s really no specific reason to have the shelter box on the bottom, other than I happened to draw it that way.

Building all this on the bottom level would be rather more difficult than on the top level.

Instead, the bottom level can be screened in on all sides, except for the door/ramp. The litter box can still be kept in the bottom level. Any spilled litter can just be swept through the gaps in the pallet base. If I want, I can still add a shelf or two between some of the vertical supports for a cat to lie on, but nothing that would need more than reaching with a brush to sweep off through the doorway.

The top level can have the solid back wall, plus an access panels on each side. One to take the shelter box in and out. We can even make two of them. One, an insulated winter one, and the other a more airy summer one. A second access panel would be to reach the food and water bowls. I’m still trying to work out how to make these as sliding doors, rather than swinging doors. I still don’t know what I have available to make the doors out of.

I wonder if we have some small pieces of half inch plywood hiding in one of the sheds somewhere? I’ve gone through them so often, looking for specific things, I would not necessarily have noticed other things.

All that, and I’m still not 100% decided on how to do the roof of this. Ideally, it would be hinged for access, too.

That can wait, though. Gotta do the interior stuff, first!

In the end, I had to force myself to stop and leave painting the verticals for tomorrow. I’d been out there for most of the day and was getting really tired and hungry, but I wanted to keep on going! I want to get this thing ready as quickly as possible.

Oh, that reminds me. While at the hardware store, I looked at their supply of hardware cloth (welded wire mesh). They only had quarter inch size. I am looking for half inch. That will be the one thing we have no choice but to buy, as there is nothing suitable that we can scavenge here. I think I do have a small amount left in the sun room, but not enough for the entire shelter, that’s for sure. We probably won’t have a budget for until the end of the month. Still, that’s one of the last things that will need to be done, so that’s okay.

I’m rather pleased with today’s progress – and with my new “toy”!

The Re-Farmer

Finally visible progress on the isolation shelter!

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For the past while, all the stuff that’s been done on the cat isolation shelter has been preparing pieces before assembly.

Which meant that, while progress was being made, it didn’t really look like much progress was being made!

Well, today, all that prep work finally paid off.

Assembly has begun!

I’m not going to go into too much about the assembly now; I’ve decided I’ll be making a voice-over video of the process when it’s done, so I can go into more detail. For now, here’s the short form.

The first thing I did was mark the centers of all the cut lengths on all sides. I even remembered to bring my carpenter’s triangle this time – and I got a lot of use out of it, today!

The front and back panels, which will be 4′ square, got assembled first. These used the true-to-size 2x4s for the outside, with a single regular 2×4 across the middle.

Of course, that didn’t turn out as easy as expected.

The regular size 2x4s turned out to be a fraction of an inch too long. With the first frame, I ended up recutting it too short, but was able to use the piece I’d cut off, sanded down until it fit, to fill the gap. With the second piece, I used the miter saw’s blade to basically shave off a bit at a time until it fit, so I didn’t have to fill a gap again!

Once the front and back panels were done, I used the side pieces and the centre marks to work out where to attach the triangle blocks. Once those were attached to the front and back panels, the panels were attached to the pallet, with the cross pieces to make sure they were spaced properly.

Once the first panel was attached flush with one edge of the pallet, that officially became the front of the shelter. The bottom cross pieces were set in place along the short sides of the pallet – making sure all the corners were at 90° – before the back piece could be attached, then the side pieces were attached to the pallet as well.

The top cross pieces were then added, which also set the front and back panels correctly, and finally the middle cross pieces were added.

Once it was all together, I rolled the whole thing out of the garage and through the grass. The wheels handled the grass just fine, and it was quite easy to move around! One of the last things I’ll do is add some handles to use to move it around but, for now, I can just grab the frame.

None of the joins are prefect, of course. In fact, some of them are downright messy. But, the corners are square and the whole thing is extremely solid and stable, and that’s what’s important!

Once that was done, I was able to use the funky calipers my daughters got me for Christmas a few years ago to measure the distance inside the frame, at the centre mark. A 2×4 was cut, checked and double checked for it, then got half painted. Since I had the paint out anyhow, I covered a few spots on the frame that needed touching up.

This cross piece will support the floor. The floor in the back half will be from one side to the other, while the front half will be from one side to the middle, leaving an open space for any isolated cat to access the upper level.

That was as much as I could get done today. Tomorrow, the other half of the cross piece will be painted. Until that’s dry, I won’t be able to measure and cut pieces for the floor, but the bottom half of the back panel will be walled in, so I should be able to start measuring, cutting and painting boards for that, as well.

The boards I have that are left over from another project are 12′ long, though. I’m going to have to rotate the table I have the miter saw on, to have the space to work with them!

As I’m doing all this, I’m always turning things around in my mind about what should be, or can be, done on the inside before the whole thing gets the welded wire mesh added, since none of it can be done once the mesh is in place. I find myself thinking of adding something across the front or side to hold food and water bowls, slightly elevated and secured somehow, so they don’t end up knocked about. If I do that, I might change things up so that the front door, which will be made to swing down and become a ramp when left open, is in front of where the litter box will be, instead of in front of where the sleep cubby will be.

I’ll think more on that, as the floor boards are added, as well as the vertical pieces that will need to be added to support the access doors and panels. I also want to include things like a scratching post and other spaces for cats to lie on.

I wonder if we have any scrap carpet somewhere that can be used for this? I know we have a roll of carpet in the barn, but it’s been sitting there for probably at least 10 years, of not longer, and I doubt it would be useable. There might be something in the storage shack, but it would be hard to find anything under all of my parents’ belongings.

Still, it might be worth a look!

If we have cats that have to be in this thing for possibly weeks at a time, I want it to at least be fun and interesting for them!

Have I mentioned that we’re sucks for the cats?

The Re-Farmer