Indy Neighborhood Cats mission is “To improve the quality of life for unowned neighborhood cats and the community they live in by reducing overpopulation through trap-neuter-return”.

Indy Neighborhood Cats takes in stray cats found on the streets, or brought in by families and neuters then releases them. Most of the time when cats are brought into the animal shelters they are not adopted so this is the best way to help them.

“Once we get cats trapped, neutered and fixed we have to make sure that they have warm winter shelter, we collect Styrofoam coolers from a lot of different companies throughout the year that get stored and we have made at least 1400 this year” said Dawn Benefiel Executive Director Of Indy Neighborhood Cats.

These Styrofoam made cat houses filled with straw help keep cats keep warm throughout the cold temperatures and keeps them away from dangerous crawlspaces. The Styrofoam made homes are a better alternative than pillows and blankets because those can get wet, freeze and cause cats to get hypothermic.

Benefiel also explained to us how cats during the wintertime often die of dehydration instead of starvation. It is important if one wants to help a cat, to make sure they have access to warm water.

Learn more on how you can help stray cats in need this winter here.