I honestly thought I had already posted in this thread. At our old apartment we fed some stray/feral cats. When winter came, we stressed the same way you are about the kitties being cold and wet, so I *totally* understand how you feel.
Here is what we ended up doing, and it worked really well. We went out and bought a couple of plastic covered litterboxes. This type:
http://www.petstuffresale.com/Pet_Stuff/Cat/090615PinkCoveredLitterBox_lg.jpg
You can find them very inexpensively at Wal-Mart or Target, or even garage sales. Obviously the boxes need to be clean. lol I put a layer of folded up old newspaper in the bottom for insulation. Then we took an older blanket (I would use wool or fleece - something that "feels" warm) that I folded up inside the boxes into a "U" shape to cover the bottom & partway up the sides. If you don't have anything old lying around you could probably pick up something cheap at dollar type stores or garage sales. We ran a layer of duct tape around the seam on the outside, where top of box meets bottom, just to keep wind from getting through there. Then we wrapped/draped another old blanket around the outside/top of the box (leaving the opening available) for insulation, and set each box inside a large, heavy-duty trash bag, to provide a barrier against moisture (like rain) getting into the box and soaking all the blankets. Obviously the bag opening will need to coincide with the box opening so kitty can get in and out, and we tucked the excess bag underneath the bottom of the box to keep it secured in the wind. We set the boxes up against a wall with the opening facing south, so the north wind wasn't blowing straight into the box. If you live in a really windy area, you may want to put some rocks or something up against the box so it won't blow over. Many times we saw the kitties curled up in there, safe from the elements. Trust me, if the cat gets cold enough, she'll figure it out.
This is an inexpensive solution, and honestly the box is so small that it really isn't obtrusive at all. You could also look on Craigslist for a doghouse or Igloo, I see people giving them away all the time. Just make sure you clean it well so it doesn't smell like dog!
n the lawn and garden dept.
It's cold outside and it was raining so I made good use of the doghouse/lectro-kennel again last night. Since my old stray is an inside cat now, he's not using it anymore. Now I've just got to figure out what to do with the kitten, I brought him inside at first and put him in the spare bedroom with the door shut. He meowed so much that it started making my inside cats really nervous and one of them sprayed! They're both fixed so I wasn't expecting that. I had to put the kitten back outside but I felt better knowing I have the doghouse out there. The kitten is about 4 or 5 months old and so sweet!
