Building a Winter Cat Shelter

Posted on 22. Dec, 2009 by Mrs. Mecomber in pets, thrift

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!

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!

Tags: feral cats, pets, shelters

49 Responses to “Building a Winter Cat Shelter”

Sparkle

22. Dec, 2009

Oh, this is a great post! As soon as I’m done with the obligatory monthly (and Christmas) posts, I will have to share this with my kitty community!
Rose

23. Dec, 2009

What a wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing all of the details so others can build their own shelters.
Storm

23. Dec, 2009

That’s pretty nifty!
Isolated Existence

23. Dec, 2009

I agree, great post and a great idea!
Project Savior

23. Dec, 2009

I like your idea, I’ll have to add it on to the Solar Powered cat room I made for the cats (evil minions) that live in my backyard.
Here’s a picture of my Solar Powered cat room.
http://projectsaviorreborn.blogspot.com/2009/11/catspiracy-caturday-building-purrfect.html
Penny Raine

23. Dec, 2009

ha! I will have to take a pic of mine, my kitty warmer is a big pyraneese dog, they will all cuddle together
Lin

23. Dec, 2009

Dang! If I could fit, I’d be in there myself!! How creative you are!!
Daisy

24. Dec, 2009

It is so thoughtful and kind of you to make a cozy place for the feral kitties. I’ll bet they really appreciate it!
Laura

24. Dec, 2009

I built a winter cat shelter but my cats were too stubborn to use it. One especially stubborn cat would sit right on top of it even when the rest of them were all curled up inside. Wish I had taken a photo then.
Me

02. Jan, 2010

Looks like a fire hazard….. I like the idea but I hope the people that build them are sure to care for them properly, I would be the type to worry………….
Richard

02. Jan, 2010

Don’t use any fiberglass. You have the expanding foam, use it to insulate the whole thing.
Name (required)

05. Jan, 2010

This is great! I’m going to tweet about it right now to help spread the word. Anything to help the kitties!
Joel

06. Jan, 2010

OMG this is awesome, my fiance has a colony of kitties behind her work, and this will work great!
John DiLoreto

06. Jan, 2010

Wonderful. I would suggest a bubble wrap swinging door. I know that your cat is skittish but the cat might accept the door after it accepts the shelter. Adding a door will keep it even warmer inside. The door can fit loose enough so there is no chance that the cat has an oxygen shortage.
Joe

06. Jan, 2010

interesting. Where would you put this? just beside the house? It’s a pretty cool idea, especially for me in Manitoba, where my cat has to go outside in -35 C (-30F) weather. I think he’d like it.
Name

06. Jan, 2010

If you used a Dremel, you could cut the holes in the plastic easily.
Donna

06. Jan, 2010

I am impressed with this shelter and am glad the kitties like it. Bless you for being a kind soul!!
Maya

06. Jan, 2010

This is fantastic! I built something similar by lining a plastic storage bin with towels and adding a heating pad.

The insulation and lid on this make it more efficient at keeping heat from escaping. Nice!

I am in central Louisiana and we are expecting an Arctic blast tonight – this is the first year Louisiana has had snow in a very, very long time.

I am going to get the supplies to improve my existing cat shelter right now before the temperature drops any lower.
Charlotte

06. Jan, 2010

In the not-so-cold South, when the temps go below freezing for a while, my husband protects the back porch faucet from bursting using a shop light and towels over both faucet and light. It not only keeps the pipes warm, the outdoor kitties huddle up to it while waiting for the humans to come out and feed them.
Cindy

06. Jan, 2010

I am sending this out to the feral rescue groups in my are…thanks a million for the great idea!
m

07. Jan, 2010

I worry about the heating pad, but other than that, it’s pretty nifty!
Delores

07. Jan, 2010

What a thoughtful person you are. Those poor pity cats have a friend in you.I myself live in the frosty midwest and have constructed similar winter shelters for my ferel neighbors.
Nancy

07. Jan, 2010

This is from:) Sebastian, Callie, Smokey, Harold, Audrey, and the other 2 kitties that just found food and shelter. That is very creative! We were lucky to find a barn to sleep in. And the blond lady feeds us every morning. She tries to find our homes. If we stay here, we have lot’s of love!
rokandrolla

07. Jan, 2010

i to worry about the critters in this time of year this is great idea thank you for having such a thouhtful heart and soul
Deb

07. Jan, 2010

awesome idea. i’ve tried several different ideas over the years & they like mine so well that they all bring me their kittens in the spring!
i end up overflowing w/ bottle fed kittens, sick kitties w/ icky eyes & noses, ect. by the time i get everybody on antibiotics & try to adopt them out they think i’m their owner! april ‘09 we had 16 young ones. now we’re down to 6 (all spayed/neutered) but… the dreaded winter is back & it starts all over again… >(^.^)<
h Mac Neily

07. Jan, 2010

I built something similar, but with the addition of a couple of granite tiles at the bottom of the bigger box to keep it steady on the grown. I’ve also done a bigger one for dogs (again with a granite slab on the bottom for steadiness). I just hung a piece of clear plastic carpet cover (for under office chairs, sold by the length off of rolls at home improvement centers) loosely above the door to cut down on drafts…
Sandy

07. Jan, 2010

Try styrofoam beads (peanuts) instead of the fiberglass for insulation. Probably safer for kitty. Great idea though, using two sizes of tub for an insulating cavity. Also you could put the heating pad between the inside plastic wall and the insulation. The warmth would still work and the cats couldn’t get to it or move it around. Great shelter.
brianna

07. Jan, 2010

You can get some insulation that is mylar on both sides of double thick bubble wrap. It is pretty cheep. This would work without the inner container, although they may scratch it.

You can cut the containers with a jigsaw as long as you have tape over the markings to prevent the container from cracking…..

Great job though. You have a great heart.
Jen Mak

08. Jan, 2010

Hands down this is the worst idea I’ve seen. It would smell like warm poo
karen

08. Jan, 2010

Outside, there was an inner corner (L shape) at my parents’ house, and we’d always get about 12 or 15 rectangular hay bales, and sometimes use small sheets of plywood. The entranceway was right near a dryer exhaust vent. We’d cut one or two of the hay bales to use as “flooring”, and we’d put old sheets and blankets in the ends of the tunnels. We’d also hang a piece of cloth over the entrance. At 25 below, you could see steam coming out of that hole.
Julie

08. Jan, 2010

I would think using a hot knife or woodburning pen to cut the doors might make things a bit easier, as long as you were mindful of ventilation for the fumes.
Tommy Mountain

08. Jan, 2010

I love that idea! it’s amazing – posted it in my facebook and “I like it!”
Karl

09. Jan, 2010

i am what some people call an internet troll…two tours in iraq and one in afghanistan as a rifleman has left me with a dismal outlook on mankind and i do not censor my opinions…that being said…this posting touched my heart on levels which i wish not to explain…may God Bless you and may others be touched to follow your example.
leeds scott

09. Jan, 2010

What a great idea. Thank you so much for taking the time to post and photograph this. I am going to start one today for the wanderer on our block.
Mrs. Mecomber

09. Jan, 2010

I am amazed and awed by the response this project has received! I never knew my little project could help so many! God bless you all, I hope you have great success with it. And thanks for the tips you’ve included!
TN_Flash

09. Jan, 2010

Constructive community input is a wonderful thing! With input from everyone this great idea has gotten better. Thank you Mrs. Mecomber!

Below is a summary of the community improvement suggestions and a few of my own to make this an Leed approved cat shelter!!

Summary of improvements:
1. Lining the inside of the first box with reflective aluminum foil will help keep the heat in the box.

2. Place a couple of granite tiles, bricks, gravel, sand, or other heavy items, at the bottom of the bigger box to keep it steady on the grown. This can serve a dual purpose if you put packing peanuts or a panel of Styrofoam in the bottom under the heavy ballast. This will allow the weight to serve as a heat sink to heat the box for a while in case there is a short power failure.(Be mindful of the thickness of the materials as it reduces the amount of insulation space available above the inner box. see #7 below)

3. Use materials such as Styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap etc. to replace the F.G. insulation. Recycle materials are great if available. Think most forms of used packing materials such as Styrofoam peanuts, straw, strip shredded paper, used bubble wrap etc.

4. Place the heating pad on top of the tiles or weighed ballast material and directly under the inner container to insure good transfer of heat and to insure the cats can not get to the wiring.

5. Run the electric cord up and out the back under the outer most box lid to keep it from the cats.

6. If necessary to keep the cats from chewing on the cord, tape the electric cord to the outside or the box or back the box up to a wall to protect the electric cord.

7. Reduce the amount of insulation in the bottom to allow room for more insulation on top of the inner container. (Just like a house, you need more insulation in the ceiling than you need under the floor because heat rises.)

8 Place a layer of aluminum foil over the top of the inner container lid, under the top insulation to reflect heat back into the box.

9. Fasten 2 pieces of light flexible material over the entrance to form a kitty door to keep the wind and cold out.

10. So the box can be used for several years, store the box in a shaded area in the summer or paint the outside of the outer box with a dark color to absorb solar heat and to keep the sun’s UV rays from making the plastic brittle thus destroying it !
Floy

11. Jan, 2010

Great idea… But here is a better idea.. go buy cat litter and a cat box and keep your cat inside.. its cheaper and you wont run the risk on him or her not liking it… and guess what its alot cheaper! cats need to be kept inside.. outside for the spring and summer no problem. but only during the day time.
alistar

11. Jan, 2010

Floy, I may be mistaken, but the author of the article mentioned several times the cats were feral. So they are not in door cats and most likely have never been.

I think she went above and beyond what a lot of people would do for cats that don’t really belong to them. Great job!
Mrs. Mecomber

11. Jan, 2010

Hi Alistar. You’re not mistaken. LOL.
fred

11. Jan, 2010

Like a previous correspondent, I guess I can be called an internet troll and have just wandered here. As much as I commend and admire your good and kind heart, I think you would be better pressed into providing help to your native wildlife in the depths of winter. Feral cats do not belong in any landscape ( and I do love cats, but as a pet who is kept under control). If you must care for them, I hope you get them desexed so as not to contribute to the population.
Laura

12. Jan, 2010

Stumbled from Michigan

@fred–Are you suggesting that instead of taking on an expensive and thankless job of caring for someone else’s discarded pet we should use the bitter cold winter to cull the feral cat populations? Seriously? Even mentioning this as a possible solution to feral cats gives me a stomachache, and really makes the statement that you do love cats ridiculous. In no way should we lose our humanity when dealing with an animal control situation. Plus, if you would have actually read the article instead of jumping right to the comments to support animal cruelty, you would have noticed that she mentions bringing her senior citizen to the vet via carrier. I hate leaping to conclusions but I’ll bet she had her ferals neutered.

Anyhow, I love this idea, but the heating pad bugs. Do you leave it plugged in all of the time or just at night? Is the container kept indoors? I have always found those beds that are supposed to retain your pet’s body heat and stay warm that way interesting. Or if it’s outdoors, maybe there is a way to provide some heat via solar power that would not be too pricey.

Keep up the good work!
Mrs. Mecomber

14. Jan, 2010

Thanks for your comments!

We keep the heating pad in all winter long. When it’s a mild day, we turn it down or off. My cat is very old age, and he’s been sickly. Actually, he almost died last year and he needs extra care. The heating pad is below a lot of blankets and he can’t scratch at it.

The shelter is inside our attached (unheated) garage. I’ve heard that these shelter do fine outdoors, too– but they’d blow away if the winds got going. So you’ve probably need to place cinder blocks on them or something. And instead of blankets, you could always use wood shavings (pine bedding or cedar bedding) which has great insulating qualities. Do not use a heating pad outdoors.
tara

15. Jan, 2010

what a wonderful idea. Myself I really dont care for cats, all thought I have three in the house. Last year I tryed to come up with something to help the stray cats outside in the winter. this idea is much better then the one i came up with. Thank you. Please have your pets spayed or nutered
BDOne

16. Jan, 2010

Another reason why I am bothered by cats
renata

21. Jan, 2010

I dont usually comment on these kinds of things, and i must say now that i am NOT a cat owner. However, knowing pets in my past I am worried about the safety of this shelter. I’m surprised no one has mentioned this by now, but what if the cats (or dogs if thats the case) eat the insulation (foam or fiberglass) or chew through the blanket wire, both of which are clearly exposed in the picture. We all know animals can pick up random items around the house or outdoors and start playing with them or consuming them if they mistake things for food. Some of these materials may be foreign to these animals and may be poisonous. Its great that youre trying to help the cats but make sure you keep them safe.
sweetcat113

22. Jan, 2010

My stepdad built something similar to this for my cats. He took two plastic insulated coolers and attached one to the lid of the other one. Then, he cut a little door hole in the front of the bottom one, and a hole in the lid of the bottom cooler & the bottom of the top cooler. When the coolers are stacked up, my cats can go into the bottom one and climb through the second hole to get into the top cooler. He also cut 2 square holes (one in the front & one in back) of the top cooler. He put a piece of clear plastic in each hole to make a little window so my cats can watch what’s going on outside of their “Cooler Condos.” We put an old towel in each cooler for bedding. Whenever we need to clean the coolers, all we have to do is lift the lid of the top one or lift the entire top cooler to get to the bottom one. My cats love it.
Joe

23. Jan, 2010

You could add a door using an old inner tube.

Just cut it into to two half circles each about the size of the door.

Hang them (flat sides apart) on each side of the opening so they overlap in the middle. |)(|

Make sure to leave a small gap at the top and bottom for air flow.
Jennifer

28. Jan, 2010

I’d just like to say thanks for taking care of the furry ones who don’t have an inside home. God bless you.
Davi-

27. Feb, 2010

Have emailed it to all friends that have been taking care of feral cats. Thank you so much for the idea.