Need help finding a good option for my cats
I am looking for a:
hard sided (plastic, wood I don't care)
insulated
heated
outdoor
house
sized for 1- 2 medium size cats (5-8lbs)
Any recommendations?
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We have one similar to this for the barn cat. She seems to like it pretty well.
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Randy, I went to the dollar store and bought these plastic totes and made cat houses out of them. The cats adapt to the cold. If you heat up the box, they will get sick. Just put a blanket or cat bed in there for them. Mine have been using these for ten years now. Oakie
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NeoBlackdog: 30057952479771/comments/30057952531867
We have one similar to this for the barn cat. She seems to like it pretty well.
I want something hard sided. Thanks.
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Oakie: 30057952479771/comments/30057976971419
Randy, I went to the dollar store and bought these plastic totes and made cat houses out of them. The cats adapt to the cold. If you heat up the box, they will get sick. Just put a blanket or cat bed in there for them. Mine have been using these for ten years now. Oakie
I can't imagine how heating the box would make them sick. They have survived months inside the house before. Thanks tho.
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I had no idea there were so many available to choose from. Good luck.
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montanajoe: 30057952479771/comments/30057977203611
I had no idea there were so many available to choose from. Good luck.
Yeah but the first hundred or so are soft sided.
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Being picky as you are, (which I admire. I don't buy things because that's all they offer) you may be building your own and duplicating store bought heat system, even if you have to buy a cheap model just to get the heat system. I've been known to do such things. Good luck, let us know what you come up with.
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smaller Dog igloo house with a heat lamp inside with one of these in it instead of a heat lamp bulb ,
GE Lighting Ceramic Heat Lamp, Animal Heat Emitter Bulb, Chicks Heat Lamp, No Light (2 Pack),Black - Amazon.com
GE Lighting Ceramic Heat Lamp, Animal Heat Emitter Bulb, Chicks Heat Lamp, No Light (2 Pack),Black - Amazon.comjust drill a hole in the top and run the cord out and hang the heat lamp by wires or zip ties etc.
cover the door opening with a old shirt or jacket and put a old warm blanket, heavy shirt or jacket,, ect. inside
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I built a box out of spare osb/plywood & insulated it with left over foil sided Styrofoam board. For 2 cats, go 18" deep by 30' wide & 24" tall. The height is so you can put the entrance hole hi enough to be above the bedding and have room for a light fixture. For heat, just put a 75 watt bulb in a jelly jar fixture to protect against breakage. The important part is to put the bulb on a dimmer wall switch (mounted in a regular box with the control on the outside.) This way you can adjust the amount of heat they need & the bulb will last all season.
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Mr. Perfect: 30057952479771/comments/30057953077787
https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11417171#Comment_11417171
I can't imagine how heating the box would make them sick. They have survived months inside the house before. Thanks tho.
No problem. Why are they headed outside if you keep them inside for months??? I'm glad you brought this subject up, because I want to build a permanent house, for them. Randy, I honestly don't know why it would make them sick, except for what the vet told us. He said their fur will adapt to the weather, and going from hot to cold, will make them sick. Even in the snow, the cats love to sit out on the deck all day, before going back to their shelters at night. That is why I quoted that. They use to stay in the garage, until they decided to not use the couch I bought for them , and decided to use my Harley seats for a bed and scratching post.🤬I would personally like to put a heat lamp out there for them, but they seem to love the way things are. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Anyway, if you do find something, please post it so that I may get some more ideas. Oakie.
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I think your vet is full of BS , ( unless he's talking about cats that live in a 70 degree house and then get put outside , that much of a difference i could see being hard on them but in a heated outside house that's maybe 40 degrees , shouldn't bother them a bit )
I live out in the country in WI where we get plenty of cold and snow , we try to keep about 1/2 dozen or so, out side cats to keep the mice under control, said cat have the above described heated shelter to stay in or any other place in the out building that they want to use and have been doing so for years without get sick,.
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I made these for a lady who never turned away a stray. Pretty simple to construct.
I put wood shavings inside. They have held up for 3 years now.
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That's it. I'm going to make these^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Stick to it Randy, given a choice, cats prefer to be warm. Not hot, warm. We have cat heating pads on favorite perches and napping spots in winter. They get used.
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GTRiem: 30057952479771/comments/30057964740379
I made these for a lady who never turned away a stray. Pretty simple to construct.
I put wood shavings inside. They have held up for 3 years now.
https://us.v-cdn.net/6031683/uploads/63CFWLXIGT02/cat1.jpg
Interesting. I can't quite make out how you constructed the door.
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Oakie: 30057952479771/comments/30057975599131
https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11417206#Comment_11417206
No problem. Why are they headed outside if you keep them inside for months??? I'm glad you brought this subject up, because I want to build a permanent house, for them. Randy, I honestly don't know why it would make them sick, except for what the vet told us. He said their fur will adapt to the weather, and going from hot to cold, will make them sick. Even in the snow, the cats love to sit out on the deck all day, before going back to their shelters at night. That is why I quoted that. They use to stay in the garage, until they decided to not use the couch I bought for them , and decided to use my Harley seats for a bed and scratching post.🤬I would personally like to put a heat lamp out there for them, but they seem to love the way things are. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Anyway, if you do find something, please post it so that I may get some more ideas. Oakie.
I suppose in and out could affect them if the temperature difference were too great. We just kept them indoors until they got old enough. My newest cat just finished recovering from being neutered. He loves to be outside already, it's just been hovering around 15 degrees here and would like an outside shelter that will let them take refuge from the coming snow.
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The door is cut, leaving the top hinge point to make a flap. Then I used a heat gun to warm the plastic and bend until there was a bit of angle when cooled off.
The cats really do like to get in there.
The totes and foam board have held up very well.
I did use adhesive and tape to hold the foam box together. I made that entry part to keep the box from moving around inside the tote. Use scrap or pieces to block/crib lid and box in place.
A sharp craft knife and oscillating tool made cutting easy.
Pretty easy to make and IMHO not that expensive. I had started with the plan to convert igloo type coolers but they vary in size and shape and my toolmaker brain needs uniformity. LOL. Plus, the totes are designed with the lid that snaps down and water does not get inside. My only complaint is that the water sits inside the lid.
Good luck with your project. I'm sure those critters will appreciate the accommodations.
PS. I think Costco has these totes for 8-12 bucks currently.
GTR
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my daughter and I made one similar to the ones pictured here. We made them because there were a couple of stray kittens under my son's deck. My daughter spent about a $100 on it. three days later my daughter in law brought them over to our house. I was kinda pissed because she new ahead of time that was gonna happen. Part of the $100 and you should take into consideration besides the house they will need a heated water and food bowl. I don't know how cold or how much snow you get. this was them from 2 years ago and we've had them for 6 years total. We do let them outside but we have a fenced in yard. We have another cat that is 15 years old and only weighs 6 lbs. She does roam around the neighborhood but usually not for long. I do however worry somewhat as we have a lot of predators around coyotes, hawks, foxes etc.
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Have you thought about putting expanding foam inbetween the plastic wall and the foam core?
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Thanks for all the input and design ideas. I don't have the time currently to make one, and ended up finding and ordering this. I think it will do well with a heated pad.
Amazon.com : DWVO Outdoor Cat House with All-Round Foam Weatherproof, Indoor Outdoor Cat Enclosures Large for Multiple Cats, Solid Wood Rabbit Hutch, Cat Shelter Outside : Pet Supplies
Amazon.com : DWVO Outdoor Cat House with All-Round Foam Weatherproof, Indoor Outdoor Cat Enclosures Large for Multiple Cats, Solid Wood Rabbit Hutch, Cat Shelter Outside : Pet SuppliesA bit on the pricey side for cats' use, but that is the penalty for not having much time, I guess.
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that's really odd as yesterday I got an email from Amazon showing me all these cat houses. Apparently their even tracking me to what I look at even on GB.
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Wow! Amazon is pimping for cat houses? Whodathunkit?
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armilite: 30057952479771/comments/30057993095835
that's really odd as yesterday I got an email from Amazon showing me all these cat houses. Apparently their even tracking me to what I look at even on GB.
That is Google for you. They are Amazons search engine.
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