Philip Rogich is a man we should all take a lesson from. The resident of Ogden, Utah, has taken it upon himself to look out for some of his town’s feral and stray critters this winter, which looks like it’s going to be a long and cold one.
Rogich takes discarded coolers that would have ended up in the trash and makes them into shelters for stray and feral kitties so they have a place to avoid the cold, harsh winter.
Rogich said, “Normally the cooler keeps things cold. We’re going to use it to keep animals warm. I actually have a 6-inch drill bit and then once you drill the hole you just use some pipe insulation to pad it. Everybody’s got a cooler in their garage that they’re not using.”
Rogich added that he uses straw inside the coolers because it dries relatively easily and that a regular cooler can hold up to three cats if they’re in the mood to snuggle.
Rogich said that he’s placed a few of the cat coolers around his town because “[Feral cats] just disappear, get overlooked. They get cold in the wintertime too. They’re living creatures…to me, living creatures, they deserve to have their basic needs met.”
Amen to that.
Since the story of Rogich’s work gained popularity in the media, people have been donating old coolers and straw to him. If you want to get in touch with Rogich or donate supplies to him, you can reach out to him through his Facebook page.
Keep up the great work! Let’s do our best to help out all the cold and lonely animals that will be out on the streets this winter.
