We’ve adopted a few feral cats who have homes outdoors. Well, not exactly outdoors– one sleeps in the attached garage and one sleeps in the basement (we have small hatches for both areas). Both areas are warmer than the cruel outdoors, but Upstate New York winters can be pretty rough on a critter. My feral cat, Milo, an orange tabby, is an old geriatric at 12 years old, and we had to ditch his comfy but dirty old stuffed chair last year. I did some searching, and came up with a terrific idea for a winter cat shelter. I got the basics of the idea here, at a terrific website that gives lots of ideas and tips for sheltering kitties during the winter. I decided to make the simple plastic container shelter for Milo, with a few adjustments. I post what we did, here, in case anyone searching for ideas can use it.
This is a very inexpensive shelter, and it’s easy to build. The most difficult part of the construction is cutting the plastic holes, a task we found arduous. I read one tip (after the fact, ugh) that suggested heating the plastic buckets with a hairdryer to soften the plastic, and thus make the cutting of the holes easier. I wish I’d known that beforehand!
- Supplies you’ll need:
- a 28 gallon plastic tub with lid (it cost me $12 at WalMart)
- an 18 gallon plastic tub with lid (I had one on hand already; I think they are about $8 at WalMart)
- a roll of fiberglass insulation or a sheet of rigid 1″ foam board insulation/polystyrene (I had my fiberglass insulation on hand, and it cost me $15 two years ago; a rigid 1″ foam board at Lowe’s was selling for $20 at my local Lowe’s)
- duct tape
- A box cutter or heavy-duty carpet scissors to cut the plastic
- a bottle of Great Stuff (or whatever brand) expanding foam
We cut a generously large hole, because Milo is a little skittish. A small hole with no other opening might have spooked him. Cutting the plastic was hard. By the time we made a second, bigger shelter for the dog, we were pros. But the first time was kind of tough.
I taped the hole edges with duct tape, because the edges were a little rough.
And doesn’t the tape make the box look fancy? :-p Not exactly the polished stuff you’d find in sales jobs, but it’ll do!
OK, so we put a layer of fiberglass insulation on the bottom of container #1, and tested out the hole placement for container #2, so the holes would line up. Then, we cut the second hole for container #2.
Once the holes were cut and *relatively* aligned, we placed layers on insulation between the containers. I think using fiberglass insulation batting is MUCH easier than measuring and installing rigid foam. However, cats like to pull (and sometimes eat) fiberglass insulation. You have to make sure that no insulation is sticking out.
So what I did to resolve this was spray some of that Great Stuff Expanding Foam between the two layers where the holes were showing insulation. The expanding foam will not adhere to the plastic, but it will adhere to itself. I sprayed it all around the hole, creating a ring. It hardened and is preventing any insulation from showing. It also creates an airtight seal around the hole’s opening.
Once you have container #2 secure inside container #1, place the lid on the inner container #2. Place a strip of insulation on the top of the inner container, and place the lid for container #2 on to the entire set. Secure with duct tape, if necessary.
I also added a heating pad for those days when the temperatures reach below zero around here. Milo is a very fussy cat who hates to get into any containers (especially the cat carrier which means we’re going to the vet!), so he was hesitant about entering this new cat shelter for about a day. But temperatures dropped, and the heat of the heating pad was too much for him to resist. Now, he loves his shelter. I’d say that the setup cost me about $17, since I already had some supplies around the house. If I had to buy everything new, it’d probably cost me about $40. Not too bad for a hefty cat shelter. And a roll of insulation will be enough for two shelters.
Nice and toasty! 
11. March 2010 at 8:36 pm
That has got to be the funniest comment I’ve gotten in a long time. LOL.
Maybe you need to read the post again? This is my PET. He is neutered. lol
29. March 2010 at 12:27 am
are you sure kitten would like this?
15. May 2010 at 5:28 am
Great idea, looks super, same no pics of kitty using it
27. June 2010 at 3:32 am
yeah, where is the kitten?
7. August 2010 at 5:05 pm
That looks very comfy for your outdoor cat! Great job!
2. October 2010 at 11:01 pm
My 14 y/o ex feral, Carlo, lives in our garage here in San Francisco. We don’t freeze but this year has been cold all the time.
I finished this project yesterday. Today Carlo came out of his new digs to eat and his whole body was warm to the touch. I don’t need the heating pad and can perhaps stop using the small heater that I used to run for him a few times a day.
I found 25 feet of leftover insulation for $5 from a contractor in my neighborhood (thanks Craigslist). I use 2 ‘thermal’ (aka polyester) kitty pads inside the hut. I never thought this would provide so much warmth.
Thanks for putting this on the net.
1. December 2010 at 3:07 pm
What a FAB idea – I love this! Sharing this on FB, my mom’s got some animal rescue buddies that would just love it, I bet!
1. December 2010 at 3:11 pm
Cool!!
Thanks for your encouraging comments. 
30. January 2011 at 12:18 am
I made something similar to this a while back. I was fortunate enough to find a foam cooler that fit between the two totes I had. I had to cut the foam for the lids. I didn’t have anyone to show me this and I had a bunch of feral cats living in my falling down garage. I had no money, so I had to use whatever I had at home, and this was it.
7. March 2011 at 3:23 am
What a cool ideal, I have stray cats that i feed, this would be great for them in winter [without the heating pad] just put a lot of warm blankets in.
17. July 2011 at 12:11 pm
Reading the comments I think people need to note something. There is a difference between a feral cat who is outdoors reproducing and wreaking havoc, and a feral cat who has somewhat accepted a home, still can’t be handled too much, and is cared for by a responsible pet owner who had them spayed or neutered. The fact that it is not a cuddly indoor cat, does not make it a menace. There is a grey area. It seems like this is a mostly indoor cat, who is skittish and doesn’t like to be handled, but knows he has a good place to come to to keep warm. In fact he probably stays there most of the time seeing as he is old, visiting the outside world less and less frequently.
That being said I’d like to address safety, seeing as that seems to be the primary response from people. The insulation can’t be chewed on, thats why the expanding insulation went around the door. If it STILL worried you, put a layer of duct tape ON TOP of that.
The cord seems more like a bunny issue to me than a cat issue. I’m not saying cats don’t chew cords, but seeing as my heating pads are cheap I tend not to tape them down unless I have to, that way I can move them if needed.
My main concern is the pad-on-plastic idea. When I was a kid my parents did this for some puppies in our bedroom. The pad burned THROUGH the plastic bottom, THROUGH the carpet, THROUGH the pad and everything else, all the way to concrete. Nothing ignited but the carbon monoxide was AWFUL. My fix: go to Home Depot or Lowes or your home hardware store, and ask for or buy some tile samples. Put this on the inside of the inner container on the bottom. Then the heating pad, then any blankets if you so desire. Watch it carefully. I don’t like the idea of the pad between the layers of the containers because you can’t watch it as closely.
In the future when I have a barn and horses again, I will probably be using this idea for whatever “barn cats” decide to help me keep down mice/pests. As of now, I think I’ll modify it and use it for my bunny. Thanks for the idea!
6. January 2012 at 2:02 am
Thank u so much for posting thus!! I lost my job & my apartment & have to move back in w/my parents…as if thats not bad enough my kitties arent allowed inside & i havent been able to find them homes…but thanks to YOU i built them each their own “Hello kitty” insulated/heated winter houses…((i used hello kitty duct tape for the entrance & to tape it shut)) thank u – u may very well have saved 3 precious lives that mean everything to me…THANK U!!! <3