Just returned from the rescuer’s home. I have to give this woman props- she has been able to place 40 of her 50 rescues (which is not easy to do!) The ten kitties left are all over 9 years old. They have been living inside this very large dog kennel for over two years now. Some of the cats were of course in hiding as they are feral, but her other cats were pretty sociable and not in bad shape. There was one with heavy ear mites and another had a suspicious bump on her head and one had a runny nose, but considering the weather they have had to endure lately, they were in good weight and looked pretty good.
Mike and I have been discussing how we can do this and the shed idea was quickly discarded. It is prohibitively expensive to buy these sheds (that would be big enough for ten cats) plus there is a transport fee and an installation fee and the bottom line is, the cats would be left in a dark place and that isn’t good- unless we run electricity to it. So we nixed that idea fairly quickly.
I can get the kennel from the woman at a pretty low cost and the only way I can see this working is to put a proper roof on it. The wire at the top keeps them inside, but not the rain or snow out-because the tarps just become full of water and have to be dumped. Half the water ends up in the cats enclosure and makes a mess.
So now that I have seen this enclosure, Mike and I need to do some discussing and figuring to see if this works. I hope it will because the timeline on these beautiful cats is now 2 weeks-
Here is their current shelter: 
What a sad sad picture. That poor lady is devastated. What will happen to her when the last of her world is gone?
Here in Oregon and I know probably all over the united states, we fall into the hands of landlords with no hearts. They believe that having cats inside a rental house or apartment is a catastrophe waiting to happen! Many of them won’t rent to someone with one cat, let alone two or three. Or they stick the renter with such a high “pet deposit” that cats just get tossed aside or euthanized. They don’t understand that cats as pets help their owners lead better, stress-free lives.
I wish I had an “I don’t give a dang” button, but so far that isn’t happening. I woke up this morning thinking about the events of yesterday and I looked up at God and said “What did I just do?”
What I did was give this woman hope when she had none, and these cats lives when theirs were running out. That’s what I did and now I just need to prepare for their arrival in two weeks.
What a sad situation all around. You have stepped up once again, you haved saved so many. And my heart breaks for her, to be in rescue is a selfless life. I feel so badly for her and for her cats.
If my assumptions are correct, what’s needed is something to get you and the cats through the rest of the winter until better weather for outdoor construction arrives.
The most difficult portion will be taking down and re-erecting the pen. Where will the cats be kept while this happens?
For the remainder of March into April – get some outdoor rated plywood and just lay it over a portion of the top to create a no-snow area. If you are concerned that strong winds will flip it off, drill some holes near the edges and zip-tie the plywood to the pipes at the top. In better weather something more “engineered” can be accomplished.
Can also attach some exterior grade plywood to the sides in the same area that now has a roof. Place these vertical pieces of plywood inside the pen, drill and zip-tie for now. It should be relatively easy to attach shelves too.
Just a suggestion. Hope it helps.
Judy in snow-covered NJ
It may not be pretty but it should work.
Mike and I are going to put a roof on it in much the same way as you suggested. We will also be putting wood down for flooring to try and keep them off the muddy ground and to stop them from using the dirt as a litterpan. We will cover the roof with splashguard to help keep the rain and snow from soaking through the wood. The cats will be kept in carriers in the barn until we make this weather-proof and we hope to have a crew of friends and volunteers available on the day to make the work go faster- but weather is definitely a factor at the moment. Not sure how we are going to shore up the sides yet- we get some mighty strong winds here being so close to the cascades- those tarps won’t hold for very long. We’ll just have to see what happens.
Tarps should hold out for a month or two for you, if you can keep them from whipping around in the wind. That would at least give you a chance to do something more permanent.
Kind of hate we are so far away. We got all kinds a stuff we could donate if we could find a way to get it to you that wouldn’t cost more the buying it new out there.
Good luck, for you and the kitties both.
if someone had a horse trailer that they no longer needed and you could get it donated or cheap maybe that would be something that would help, build it out a bit maybe some cat towers or modified book shelves for them to lay on.