How to make a heated cat house igloo as a winter cat shelter
I have been asked a lot of times by readers to share what DIY heated cat house I made for our stray porch cat to survive the winter. (And yes I have even tried to carry the kitty inside and stay with it in the basement but it is scared to death and wants to go back outside.)
How to make a heated cat house igloo as a winter cat shelter
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Materials needed
- I bought the Extreme Weather Kitty Pad with Fleece Cover (12.5″ x 18.5″) for extra warmth when it was still warm outside to get a great price. The heated pad makes a great igloo cat bed because the cat’s body heat activates the plugged-in mechanism instead of it being heated 24/7
- I found some styrofoam coolers at a yard sale for 50 cents each that I thought would work great for building a warm shelter. You see, there is a group that I’m a fan of on Facebook called “The Guardians of Rescue“. They do amazing things for cats and dogs that are outside. They build shelters for stray outdoor cats and feral cats and showed numerous times how to build one.
- I googled and searched the internet high and low to find a styrofoam box for sale like mine, but I couldn’t. I think you’d have to search locally for one like I did. Or you can also buy large styrofoam boxes on Amazon. (I have seen people use old large plastic coolers as well)
Update: I was told by a reader that you can find some FREE styrofoam coolers at pet stores that sell tropical fish. They get their fish shipments in styrofoam coolers and throw them away after delivery. I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask if they have any, right? These types of coolers are great insulation for any DIY winter cat shelter.
DIY heated cat house instructions
Step 1: Find a large styrofoam cooler
In my materials list above, I mentioned where you can find styrofoam coolers. You can use regular large coolers or you can even use a large and smaller plastic storage box or plastic tub (don’t use a cardboard box). Simply place the smaller bin inside the larger one and stuff straw or hay for insulation between the gap of the small and large storage box. A styrofoam cooler without a doubt the easiest way to make a heated cat house because it is great insulation and so easy to cut.
Step 2: Get a heating pad that fits inside your styrofoam cooler
Without a doubt, electric heating pads work the best for any outdoor shelter. Ours only gets activated when something/someone sits on it which is great. If for some reason you don’t have any access to electricity, you could get a non-electric pet heating pad that works with body temperature which is at least better than no added heat source.
Step 3: Cut a small hole for cable and a large entrance hole
I used a drywall saw instead of a box cutter to cut out the entry hole/front door and the small nudged-out area for the electrical cable.
By coincidence, the heated pad fits perfectly into the bottom of the styrofoam cooler. It was as if they were made for each other.
Step 4: Put the heated cat house together
Since the box for our porch kitty is (well, wouldn’t you say) on the covered porch 😉 I didn’t have to put a plastic tarp around it to keep it dry and moisture-free. But I put a brick on top so the styrofoam doesn’t blow away. I also wanted to be able to still open it because I put a blanket inside too.
You could also use duct tape around the entire DIY cat house including the brick to keep it sturdy. I felt it wasn’t needed in our case.
I put the box on top of my bench to keep it off the floor. There are some other stray cats or maybe opossums that mostly come at night to eat and I don’t want them to fight our feral kitty. She is safe and off the ground from where she can watch the other cats. I’m always scared of other predators like foxes or raccoons but I’m not sure what I can do about them.
I guess having another escape route/exit on the other back of the shelter could be a solution but I feared it would create a bigger draft. Our winters are frigid!
This outdoor cat shelter isn’t a pretty sight but definitely does the job well for any poor outdoor cat in cold weather. It can give community cats adequate protection from harsh winters.
The story of our porch kitty
Our outdoor kitty has been using the kitty house and really likes having a warm place to stay. If you have been following me for a while then you know that I call her porch kitty. This is the 4th winter that she comes around. In the past years, she was so scared that she only came at night and always ran the minute she would see one of us. This summer the kitty started to accept me and actually cry for me while sitting in the bushes. She now sometimes lets me pick her up.
My neighbors told me that she waited at my house for 5 weeks when I was in Germany. So I guess she’s staying since nobody wants her in their yards. I would love to bring her inside but our 3 indoor cats are not too happy and neither is “porch kitty”. There isn’t any acceptance going on between them (yet).
I have grown really fond of my porch kitty. The trust she now puts in me melts my heart. And she waits for me every morning by the entrance for some wet cat food.
You can see in some of the photos that there is something wrong with the eye. Our porch kitty is blind in one eye.
UPDATE: Porch Kitty ended up living with us as a family member loved and cuddled for two years inside. And I’m heartbroken to tell you that she recently passed away from sudden kidney failure. Check out the entire story. She ended up being my best little friend. It just took her years to get there.
I also made another feral cat shelter for the side of the house in case one of the other strays wants to use it during the many cold winter nights but so far they have not.
If you aren’t the DIY type you can find a selection of ready-made outdoor heated cat houses in another blog post of mine. Having winter shelters for poor felines is so important. Also, consider buying some heated bowls for water and food so it doesn’t freeze.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Recently another feral kitty showed up on our porch right before a snowstorm and since I gave this DIY heated cat house to a friend for a colony they are taking care of, I needed a quick solution for this new poor kitty.
I ordered this heated insulated cat house from Amazon with one-day shipping and it arrived just in time before the snowstorm. It is a perfect and affordable solution. I was actually surprised at how great this shelter is. I ordered the medium size.
More cat-related tips and cat DIY posts
- our outdoor cat enclosure
- how to build an outdoor cat tunnel
- Unique Cat Fence Topper System with Peephole
- purrfectly cute DIY hanging cat bed using macrame cord
- DIY Ikea catio
- Awesome Large DIY backyard Cat Enclosure
- how to help a scared cat adjust
- my elderly cat care tips
- how I trap, neuter, and return feral cats in our neighborhood
So, fellow cat lovers, I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving, Happy Holidays, and good luck during the long winter months.
Tschüß,
Great idea !!! I love it !!! The weather is not so cold here in Greece, but I can definitely use it for a couple a mounts.
I think its great that you take care of porch kitty…I had a little kitten that we fed for a while too..loved that little guy – our house cat did not. We took him to the Humane Society in hopes of finding him a home…it was the worst decision, because they put him down instead. That’s a mistake I won’t make again. Glad your husband is ok with you feeding strays – mine is not…
Ugh that breaks my heart Cheryl. I would never take them to the shelter ever again either. This kitty has a much better life on my porch. I only did that once myself because I had no choice. I found a cat in my bushes and there was clearly something wrong with it. I cried and I cried but I ended up taking it to the shelter from where I had adopted one of my cats. I couldn’t risk my cats getting sick. They told me they would quarantine it and see.
My husband’s cousin is a vet and at her office they always say, there is no such thing as a NO-KILL shelter. They all do!
My hubby complains occasionally about feeding the cats but not much 😉
I love the porch kitty story. I live next to a nature reserve and I get many cats that are dumped on our block. This summer I got Stanley and Sophie. Stanley loved my gazebo on the deck all summer he had his own chair. I could only get three feet away from him. So every morning he ate his breakfast and I had my coffee. Then I got a phone call that a Shepard needed a home and I said I would take her. I thought my kitties would leave but thank goodness they didn’t. So to give my kitties a safety zone I had my handy man put up a fence divider on my deck. Kitty zone on one side and Dog Hannah has the other side. I figured they look at each other through the glass door we can have the fence too. And it’s working. My handyman gave me a top luggage rack from his motor home and I winerized it for kitties. I will put a heating pad inside the kitty house I bought already. He has three options for sleeping. Hopefully they will use it. I have a Rubbermaid house for them too. He does love under the deck where it’s dry. And come summer I am sure he will be back on the chair in the gazebo.
Oh, that’s so lovely that you give them a safe place Corinne. I’m also glad that it works out with Hannah the German Shepard.
I learned this the hard way as well……… no such thing as a no kill shelter. I always put food and fresh water on my carport for any little furry one that might need a bite or two.
I knew you’d put out food too Sheryll 😉
While there may not be a no kill shelter, there are definitely no-kill rescues. I have worked at several now. They are always non-profits and work very hard with and for the kitties that they adore as much as the forever homes that will adopt them.
Yes, you are right Courtney and I adore those non-profit organizations. They do work hard and give everything they can. But I also know from a lot of people and friends that they turn a lot of people away who find cats or want to give up cats because they simply can’t help them all. And then those cats end up at the kill shelters. It’s so sad
Yea that would end my marriage. If my wife said I couldn’t feed and take care of a few strays that would be it. Thankfully she has just as big of heart as I do and we both take care of a total of 9 feral cats plus the 7 indoor cats we have.
Love it! I’m glad you both have the same love for cats.
You are both amazing and have big hearts for strays.My self love helping strays,ferals survive winters.
thanks Michelle
What a lucky porch kitty! I do like Thanksgiving but these days its obliterated by Christmas! Uggh..
You don’t have to be religious to have a good heart:) There are so many blogs I stopped reading because there was way too much of it.. What matters to me is kindness to others and tolerance..
Well said! I stopped reading a few blogs myself for the same reasons.
I agree! I’m both religious and spiritual but it’s like politics something I don’t want to hear a lot about when I read interior design blogs. Although I’m all for kitty talk! Porch kitty is one lucky cat!!
You definitely got my attention! Julia – what a heart you have! Love what you are doing and what a terrific idea.
That’s one lucky kitty!
Porch Kitty is lucky to have found you:)
This post makes me so happy! You are so awesome for helping Porch Kitty! Have a fantastic Thanksgiving!
Angela @ Number Fifty-Three
That’s so so sweet! I can’t understand non cat lovers. They just haven’t been with the right cat because ours are so kind and loving. And I love me some man-cat cuddle action 😉 Great idea with the igloo! Your porch kitty thanks you
Yes! have you seen this one? http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/humor/otherhumor/dog_cat_diary.htm
so sweet! you are such a good person! and so is james franco. 🙂
Love this post – cats and a hot guy, what’s not to love! 16 years ago I adopted 2 cats, one stray and one from a shelter. When I moved from Texas to Austria, they came with me. My (Austrian) boyfriend always says they can only meow in English and never made an effort to learn German. Sadly, we lost one of our furry friends last summer and it still feels like it happened just yesterday. Thanks for your post and for helping out your Porch Kitty.
Thanks Alison. Meowing in English, that’s funny!
Sorry about your kitty. One of mine just passed away last spring so I totally know what you mean. This will be our first Christmas without him. I will miss him so much under the tree this year.
Ok as if I wasn’t obsessed with James Franco enough… now you have to let me know he loves cats!??? AND post numerous pictures of him HOLDING cats?? And some without his shirt on?? You seriously just made my day:) Ok now that I’m done with my James Franco rant… I just love what you’ve done for your sweet porch kitty. I know you’ve been struggling with what to do with him/her over the winter months and I think this is a purrrfect (<<sorry, I couldn’t resist) compromise. You two obviously have such a bond and it’s just too precious! This just melts my heart:):)
xo, amy
This really is so clever. Thanks for posting the tutorial. And thanks for being so awesome to cats. We need more people like you!
Thank you Colleen.
I agree that more people should be nice to cats and of course dogs too.
Just wanted to say Thank You for being a kind person! Porch Kitty & I love you for that!! I recently had one of my cats/kids pass away so this touched my heart. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks Deana! So sorry to hear about your furry kid. It’s heart braking!
Have a great Thanksgiving!
I believe spiritual IS religious. And I very recently lost my precious ‘Sugar The Maine Coon’ and it was extremely difficult for me. I will send you a photo of him just before he died…….. he was such a perfect baby boy.
I guess it is being religious in it’s own way. I agree!
So sorry about you precious Main Coon. My Main Coon was a perfect boy too 😉
First, thanks for being “brave” and throwing it out there your non-religious stance. I am N.O.T. either and have been debating whether or not to share that. You can be non-religious AND still be a nice person, right?? It’s a strange concept to most people. Second, “You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.”― Paul McCartney
Oh Julia! I just adore you. As you know I’m totally not a cat person, but I certainly don’t want to see any harm or maltreatment come to them or any animal for that matter. I think it’s so awesome how much love you show your porch pal. He/she’s so lucky to have you. You have such an amazing heart. No wonder I adore you so much:)
Love you even more now. I work with a rescue here in Minnesota. If my husband were no longer around, I would be one of those crazy hoarders because I would adopt them all.
I would do the same if my hubby would let me. And I adore people who work with rescue groups. I think it would destroy me emotionally!
Those pictures crack me up…and you have one seriously lucky porch kitty!
So first of all, James Franco is a hottie, and those cat pictures are absolutely hilarious! I’m more of a dog person but would totally buy a calendar it if he’s in it 😉
Second, you are such a sweetheart! Porch kitty is so lucky to have someone who cares. I bet he/she feels like royalty with her elevated heated house 🙂
Yay! So happy that porch kitty loves his little house! It’s so great that you built it for him/her!
Thanks Emily!
Oh my gosh, Julia! You are so sweet! I have a love for all things cat anyways, but seeing James Franco snuggling totally melted my heart! I agree about men that snuggle with animals…swoon! 🙂 Love the little igloo you made…so sweet! xo
Lol, James Franco! I totally have a cute picture of my husband snuggling with my cat too 🙂 Need to dig it up and post it!
I love that you are so sweet to your porch kitty! My parents have outdoor farm cats, and I’m always advocating for their comfort 🙂 My parents are softies too though, so there’s always warm blankets and things for them, and if it gets too cold (infrequent here in TX) they get to spend the night in the laundry room.
Love to read about your cats! I have a cat rescue/sanctuary at my home and currently have 16 cats/kittens there. Here in the South the stray cat population is enormous and I cannot turn any away. Besides those at the house, I have a mama cat and two older kittens at my work that I take care of. Bless you for watching out for porch kitty! I had a tom tabby that hung around for a couple years – I could not ever touch him, but he trusted me enough to be waiting to be fed and stayed close.
Here’s another solution for outdoor kitties: http://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Kitty-House-Heated/dp/B004ZJOH06/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385580347&sr=8-1&keywords=heated+cat+house
Bless you for loving the kitties!
I admire people like you who run rescues. Thanks for sharing the link, I actually had looked at it and thought about buying it. Bless you too for loving kitties!
I used to raise hogs and they make heat mats for the piglets. But that was years ago. When my grown son saw that we have outside cats that we have adopted, but stay outside, he brought over one of the hog mats and we plug that in every winter. We have an old window over the top propped up with bricks so the cats and crawl under on the heat and not get wet. Of course they have fancy ‘cat houses’ too, but without heat.
That’s a great idea too Terry and I’m glad they are able to stay dry and warm.
Haha, you are too funny, Julia! Happy Thanksgiving.
You are a saint. You have a heart of gold.
Julia, thanks for being an advocate for kitties both the indoor kind and the outdoor !
Thanks so so much for sharing. I actually used a rubbermaid container for the one on the side of my house too.
What a great idea! I bet the cats love it!! ;)Feel free to visit my blog as well! You will find topics such as health, self-image, personal growth and motivation between others! Diana
Thanks and yes it loves it!
We also have a “porch kitty” who turns into a garage kitty when it gets cold. We make him a bed and put a heating pad under it also. He “technically” belongs to someone else but when you leave a cat out 24 hours a day, 365 days a year I no longer consider you it’s owner. If you can’t give an animal shelter and food on a regular basis you should adopt it out to someone who will. Kuddos to you for being a good person!
You have a heart of gold. I have 3 rescue dogs and there was a stray cat that I had been feeding until one of my neighbors too him in. I’m not a cat person (my husband is), but the stray cat really won me over. If it weren’t for my dogs I would have kept him.
This is wonderful!! I always want to care for every stray cat I meet. I should just build a couple of these and keep them on hand. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Our cats love to be outside, but it gets wet and cold here and sometimes the little stinkers will not come in. I’d love to have something warm and dry for them to snuggle up in. What sort of cord did you use?
Happy Thanksgiving!
You are so sweet Julia, I had to share your story with my mom (she is scared of cats but she loves what you are doing for this kitty), it’s amazing what you’ve done and you are a wonderful person for taking time to take care of this kitty 🙂 I’m sure every morning he is really happy to see you and he considers you as his owner 🙂 I love how cats and dogs are so thankful when you take care of them 🙂
will be reading your Friday post for sure, our Thanksgiving was back in October 😉
So sweet! We tried to take in a stray cat once, but he hated our dogs. Nick’s dad kept him at their office. It’s a much longer story than that, but that cat was pretty incredible and proves that whole 9 lives thing. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 😉
Everything about this post is AWESOME! I love that you take care of the feral kitties :).
At the beggining I said What is this. But then I realize you was trying to show the ladies how you made a Custom Home for your Kitty, Lol, that´s to use a little bit of imagination.
😉
My sister and I started a feral cat rescue group in our city and have been rescuing cats for as long as I can remember. I use the same outdoor heating padyour using in the cat house on my front porch. Three strays seem to have made our porch their home. We put up plastic to keep the wind and rain out as well. My husband is an animal person and is quick to help me build anything the cats need to keep them warm. It warms my heart to hear other people caring so much for these poor animals. Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad for people like you too! This world would be a much better place if more people would do what you do.
Thanks so much for coming over to share your story!
Das is sooo coool!!!
Meine kleinen Monster brauchen das auch!
Geniale Idee Julia;)
Love and hugs
I love your heart for animals! And this igloo thing is COMPLETE brilliance. I am so impressed with you, my friend! <3 I’m lobbying Andy to let me take in a stray kitty. I’d probably have a better shot if they ended up on my door like they do with you! Hmmm. Maybe I need to sneak one here. 🙂
High five and hugs! What always surprises me is how many people actually hate cats. What’s there to hate????
Mine is returning affection now and I’m humbled by the trust that grows everyday 🙂
You have such a kind heart, Julia and those pictures of that sweet kitty are just the cutest! He/she is so lucky to have found you. Love you dear friend! And thanks for the eye candy this morning…you know I love it! 😉
I am a huge cat lover, and, over the years, have taken care of many, many homeless cats. I currently have 9 adopted (indoor) cats.
I would love to be able to share your link on my Facebook page, since I think your idea about the heated cat shelter is incredible!
However, as an elementary school teacher, I have to be careful about what links I put on my Facebook page. Some people I know would be offended by the James Franco Photoshopped pictures (created by an Ellen staffer) that you posted at the top of your page. You MIGHT want to consider removing them. I know I’ll get blasted for being a prude, but I really think the pictures might be keeping quite a few people from sharing your suggestions. Terrific idea for keeping outdoor cats warm, though.
Hi. I’m so so sorry that those photos might cause an issue on your Facebook page! I love that you are taking care of so many cats.
But the post is actually already one of my most popular posts because it’s been featured a couple of times and people have loved it the way it is. I totally understand your concern as a teacher though.
But I might have a solution for you. You can share it from the Hometalk Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Hometalk) page which takes your followers back to the Hometalk website and only then they could click on my page. They will see all the other photos without James Franco on my Hometalk profile. I didn’t include it on that page.
I hope this is a solution for you 😉
Oh my goodness. I just love you and how you are caring for your “porch kitty.’ That really melted my heart 🙂
What a great idea! I will have to make one tomorrow. It will be down in the teens this week.
I hope it worked out and that the kitty loves it!
That is so awesome! I myself have 2 different stray cats who come for food and shelter on my porch but I never thought of putting a heating pad in my little makeshift enclosure! I did put an old winter coat as a layer of insulation to try and stave off the bitter Quebec winter cold but now you’ve given me ideas. 🙂
Yay, I’m so glad! Together we can keep them warm!
I thought James Franco was good looking, but knew nothing about him beyond his acting…after this, I’m definitely a fan!
I love the kitty bed – we’ve moved to Nebraska in the last year, and although I haven’t seen any stray or feral cats, I know they are there. So I’ve been looking at ways to make some shelters for them easily – this totally fits the bill!
One suggestion I found from a local rescue would work, particularly if you don’t have a way to run electric for the bed….put the styrofoam cooler inside a plastic tub (cut holes through both), and then fill the space between the cooler and the tub with hay. Hay is a WONDERFUL insulator. Also, if at all possible, you should cut a hole in each side of the box. I know it seems like it would let a lot of the warmth out, but it gives the kitty who is IN the box an out if a more aggressive cat (or something like a raccoon or possum) comes in through one door.
And…I hope you have managed to take your porch kitty in to get vaccinated and spayed/neutered? I’m sure the last thing you want is to add to the feral population. It really warms my heart whenever I see someone “regular” (not associated with an organized rescue) doing things to help the ferals. 🙂
James Franco is crazy 😉 Love him!
You are right about spaying and neutering!
I also have a plastic container with the styrofoam cooler but you should never put hay in it only straw. The rescue organizations say that the straw is hollow and a better insulator and doesn’t give problems in case it gets wet.
I wish everyone had such a big heart as you. It warms my heart what you do for those poor cats. Thank you… faith in humanity restored haha
Thanks 🙂 I just wish my hubby would think the same way as I do. He always says you can’t help all of them. Which drives me nuts and I tell them that’s true but I can help the ones that cross my path, right? And I need him to support that 😉
Just liked your site on Facebook. I am a cat lover and regularly have the local ‘latch-key’ cat visiting us. I will try and make the heated igloo for him this winter (am in Oz).
Yay, thanks! Hope you get the little kitty warm!
Love your post. I have little cat houses on my front deck with warm fleece blankets in them for my 2 kitties, but I also have one on the outside of my deck which has a gate on it to keep local dogs from bothering my cats for strays to use. I would be interested to know what kind of warming pad you are using. My husband put electric light sockets in each one that I could put a 15 or 40 watt bulb in depending on the weather, but I heard that some people lost homes because of the bulbs getting too hot and bursting starting a fire. I would love to know there is an alternative that I can leave on for long periods of time without risking my home. Thanks and good for you for giving us these ideas. My sister did the styrofoam house thing for strays.
Hi and sorry that I didn’t see this message earlier. When I receive messages that are anonymous they sometimes end up in the spam folder. Sorry again. I bought my heating pad on Amazon. I probably wouldn’t recommend the light bulbs either because of the fire hazard issue. They get incredibly hot. The pad I use only heats when something is on it.
Good luck
I wish we would have found your blog earlier! We live in North Western Ontario Canada, where it is winter 6 months out of the year, at least. We have a stray cat that is living behind our office. I work for my dad and we are both cat lovers, so seeing this kitty outside everyday is heart breaking, we have tried to bring her inside, however she absolutely hates it and wants back outside. Before it go too bitterly cold my dad, the kind soul he is built her a home. He used a cardboard box with lots of packing tape around it to waterproof it, lined it with styrofoam and wrapped a large comforter around it, we also tossed an old blanket inside. The house is now covered in snow, which would add some insulation. The office cat, which we now call Bruce, even though she is female, has been surviving our brutally cold winter in that house and with the food we feed her. She is always waiting at the back door of our office for us to get there in the morning so she can have some water, and wet food. She has managed the -50 temperatures we have had, and without us I am sure she would have died. I love seeing that others care for animals that aren’t necessarily “theirs”. They sure do rely on us to keep them alive and they become part of your life. We look forward to seeing Bruce in the morning and hearing her cry for our company during the day. We all take breaks to go outside and pet her and give her treats!
Awww thank you so much Jenna for being there for Bruce. Stories like this just warm my heart. Maybe Bruce can get a heating pad for next Christmas 😉 They go on sale in the summer and are pretty amazing. I can’t believe you have -50 winters in Canada.
Keep it up and thanks so much for your comment.
actually you should be able to get some of those styrofoam boxes from a pet store (they have fish shipped in those usually, thts where I got mine for food) and I bet if you explain to one of the workers what you are doing, they’d come up with a few of them (in our areas, most of the workers there are university students in vet science)
Yes, I have heard that before. And might try that when and if I need another one.
Oh lovely Julia…it’s me again (this time i’m writing english because i’m not really shure you still understand german;-))
This post almost made me cry (to be honest I do have some tears in my eyes). I am so in to all animal saving/protecting/rescuing-things and always feel a BIG (real BIG) relief to read or see others feeling and doing the same. And I am also enormous grateful for people making small changes instead of not making any change because of “you can never save them all…”
So THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART for being such a lovely, kind and soulful women!! Sharing these things on your blog really makes you very special and I shure will be a follower the next minute!
Wishing you all the best and sending you a lot of animal-loving-greetings from Switzerland
Janine
Thank you so much! I get so annoyed when my husband says “you can’t save them all” but I can sure try to save the ones in my backyard, right?
I’m so happy to find likeminded people. And I sure can still speak and understand German 😉
Have a good one!
Oh und ich habe Deinen Kommentar auf meinem Katzenauslaufpost per email bekommen aber kann es auf dem Post nicht finden. Vielen vielen Dank für die lieben Worte und viel Glück mit der Spielwand.
Bis bald, Julia
This is brilliant. My father has a Porch Kitty of his own (I have SIX indoor cats at home) and I’d love to make him something like this for the upcoming cold weather!
It warms my heart to see people doing good; we have many advocates for people, but not enough for our furry, four-legged friends.
God bless you, ma’am.
Thank you Sara, I love hearing from like minded people. Monkey isn’t a porch kitty anymore. She is quite spoiled now and comes inside whenever she wants. Love her!
We have a stray cat that showed up about a year ago and was living under our shed, so of course I named him shed kitty! I always put food out for him but he wouldn’t let us get close to him until recently and now he lets us touch him!
I never take strays to the shelter! We are usually able to find someone with a farm, ranch or barn that will take them.
I love how much trust they can put into humans again after having been abandoned and disappointed. It takes a lot of time but they come around again and it melts my heart.
wonderful post and wonderful post from visitors….so happy your kitty is now part of the inside family!
Thank you
I have a little kitty that has adopted us. She started coming to my backyard last year…I’m the only neighbor without a dog, so it is a safe environment. My neighbor feeds all the feral’s in our neighborhood and sees to their medical needs, but this little one preferred us. I began feeding her and talking to her daily. She was in good health so I just thought she was visiting but as winter came and went, it was apparent she was abandoned. (She has a clipped ear so I know someone cared for her at one time.) I told my Hubby that she was now our outdoor kitty and we would take care of her. We do have an indoor kitty (strictly indoor) but the two don’t seem to care for each other. Also my indoor kitty has a virus that I wouldn’t want outdoor kitty to catch so they need to be kept separate. Now that winter is coming again, we need a more permanent solution for keeping her warm and dry. I thought about a dog house, but I think I will try this first. She has become friendly to Hubby and I and will let us pet her (insists on it actually) but will not yet let us hold her. In time I’m sure she will…..Thanks for the idea.
Awww how sweet. Poor little kitty that she was abandoned. It’s hard for them to once be loved and then just dumped. I hope you can find a warm solution. I just actually saw a heated house on our local facebook yardsale page. They make them similar to this and heated. That would be wonderful too.
Hi!
I love finding like-minded animal lovers, I actually stumbled across your blog during some free time on Pintrest but I’m so glad that I did!
For anyone looking for cheap foam containers like the one you used, Petsmarts and Petcos throw away a few every week. I’m sure you could probably ask the staff for them or just go to the back of the building at closing and grab them yourself (that’s what I do).
Ive been making similar shelters for the last two years behind these big box stores for the poor strays that live there. Many cats reside at these areas because they eat the dog and cat food that is poured into the dumpsters on almost a daily basis. Store employees will rip the bags open to discourage divers from benefiting from the spare food without paying or because of recall.
I’ve made little villages across 3 counties at stores near my home and even though they won’t approach me, I know that they are appreciative of such a simple task on our part.
Hope this info allows more people to be able to help animals in their local area as well!
Oh, thanks so much for the tip and for helping all the poor strays. I also love finding like-minded animal lovers!
Hello. So happy the kitty had a warm place to stay and am sorry you had to say good-bye. They bring so much love and it’s so hard to let go. Would you tell me the lowest winter temperature you have?
Hi there, yes they do bring so much love and joy. The average low temperature here in the winter is 27.8 °F but it does get much colder.
While I am glad she finally accepted coming into your home, I was sorry to hear about her passing. We don’t have many feral cats in our neighborhood; in the 6 years I’ve lived here, I have seen a total of 3, the first two full grown cats and that was a few years ago. My husband and I are animal lovers, we’ve never been cat people, always dogs and we have a Shih-tzu (12 years old), my husband brought home 4 stray ducklings that he found while helping a friend do some work on his house. He said they were in the back pond, no mama duck around, just these 4 random ducklings (all different breeds). He brings them home to me and all I could ask, “what are we gonna do with them?”, they were maybe a day or two old. He had taken care of the heat lamp, food, feeder and waterer lol…we just had our first grandbaby, so I was unsure at first but seeing them, I couldn’t help it. I never knew how much ducks could get into your hearts, as much as any pet; those 4 randos were: Pekin (female, Goldie), Cayuga (male, Midnight), Khaki Campbell (male, Chocolate), and Mallard (male, Half-pint). They stayed inside for a bit as it was the end of summer, thankfully our fall and winters aren’t too bad. Enough about them, lol, my husband built them a beautiful manor lol…the night of the blood moon a few months ago, I thought I saw and heard a kitten in our backyard but my husband said, I was hearing things. The next day, sure enough I heard the littlest meow. I called my husband outside and sure enough, as he removed one of the boards from the house, there was a tiny, black kitten underneath. We really had no idea what to do with her, she was so tiny, couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old. She seemed to take to two of my ducks, I have an all-male flock now, and there’s 4 of them. She began laying with them and they didn’t seem bothered by her…for a little while she would even go in their house with them, I would find her and two of them in the house every morning. our duck house is split into 2, if you’ve ever had an all-drake flock, you understand why. My husband thought she had mange, I thought it was just a flea infestation; I ordered some Catego flea medicine online and managed to pick her up and give her a dose. She was missing patches of hair, and it began to grow back. I named her Trouble from the beginning; her name didn’t really fit her at first, she was sweet but very skittish of people. The two ducks, whose house she was sleeping in decided to claim their quarters back, we had plenty of pet beds from when we had our female duck. I would lay them throughout the back, near the duck house as she preferred and every morning she would be sleeping in one of them lol. I eventually moved it closer and closer to the back porch. We had an old aquarium in the yard and I would find her sleeping in their sometimes and would call her a catfish, lol. She definitely grew into her name, and went from always wanting to be around the 2 original ducks to wanting to hang out with my other two, Frankie & Johnny, they’re more like frat boys and love to play. I would watch her bat one of the backside and him chase her around the yard. It was rather comical. They’ve all made peace with one another. I still give her flea treatments monthly, which are getting more and more difficult, I’m thankful the cooler months are coming up and the fleas aren’t much of a bother then. But with the cooler months approaching, I’ve definitely been thinking about what my husband can build for Trouble to keep her from the elements and other animals. The ducks and her still get along but I found we had another animal coming into our yard at night eating her food, it ended up being a raccoon. I’ve named him Rocky Raccoon and we also have Penny the Opossum but she doesn’t come around anymore. It’s surprising how people friendly the raccoon is, my husband’s questioned whether it was once someone’s pet. I’ve been on the porch sitting with my feet up and it’s come right next to me to eat the dog’s leftover food that he stopped eating years ago. My husband and I would love to find a place so we had more land and we could have more pets: I want a couple goats and there’s a few other ducks we’ve become interested in but Trouble is part of our family now. While our ducks can withstand temps as long as their not lower than 27, my husband and I have managed to give them a heated house during the winter time. If we get temps that low, we will bring them inside but Trouble may not take kindly to coming inside.
Thank you for your sweet story about your animals. I love them all! I don’t understand why raccoons and opossums are so hated by people. They are cute and funny. Yes they can destroy things but it’s not a reason for me to hate them. Bless you, your husband and your cute bunch of animals.