OK. It took a LOT of persuading, petting, and letting her come and go like eight times -- and then a final moment of parental authority, where I just flat refused to open the door for her -- but Peebles has FINALLY been persuaded that anything that happens in the apartment, scary noises or not, is gonna be a better deal than she gets outside in the cold. Last I checked, she was napping comfortably next to Artie.

And CJ was nestled up pretty tight in the shelter, which I REALLY hope is warm enough.

@zebratron2084 It should be. Sounds like you did a good job of insulating it.

@JulieSqveakaroo I'd love to run the whole thing by you again, though, since you're someone whose opinion I trust about both engineering AND kitties: medium-large plastic dog crate, holes covered in a folded blanket and waterproofed with two trash bags duct taped in place, latched to the porch rails so it's facing away from the wind, then a layer of shredded woodchip bedding, some swaddling blankets, and an insulted pod-shaped cat bed. Does that sound like it'd be enough?

@JulieSqveakaroo FWIW, it's "only" getting down to 27, so I might be completely making too much out of this to start with. n.n

@zebratron2084 Keeping him warm is still a good plan.

Just do not panic if he doesn't remain in place all night. He may know of other places to keep warm... and if he indicates that he wants in, I'm sure he'll let you know.

@JulieSqveakaroo Yeah, Peebles already kinda got me inured to the idea that they're just *gonna* need to wander a bit. As long as the shelter is sufficient for him, I'm just relieved he knows it's there. ^___^

Also, between @sig 's assurance about Scandinavian kitties and a little more research, I'm somewhat reassured. It sounds like a _little_ subfreezing temp isn't a huge deal as long as they have protection from wet and wind, and the articles I was fretting over are more about what happens over *weeks* of winter cold, not one night...