I've seen those, as I've been looking around for one as well. Amazon has a few additional options. Search for "feral cat shelter" or similar phrase and you'll get a couple different results. I'd love to hear what other people have used and like.

 

I don't know if it's true or not, but I've read that cats prefer a shelter with two entrances so that they cannot be trapped in the shelter. I see the first option can have a second door added. The second site says that it's not an issue (like I said, I don't know either way).

 

That's what worries me. I was thinking of getting one for Guy. He wants inside, but he wants the door open and I don't want to heat the whole city, so when I saw this post I immediately thought of him, but we have prowling raccoons so he wouldn't want to be trapped.

 

LadyK, thanks for the tip - I found this one Amazon.com: Feral Cat House: Pet Supplies
I can't decide whether to try this one or the Feralvilla. I don't know if he'll go in this one because it looks so different from the doghouse he's used to.

minikin, I've heard that too, and I can see how a feral might feel trapped. But Casper liked his doghouse, which has only the front entry, so I think he'll be ok. There are a couple of other neighborhood cats (with homes) that occasionally come up to munch his food, but they're not out when it gets cold. I also used to see a raccoon or an opossum up on the deck, but not for over a year. When I saw them, they were only interested in the food. I prodded both of them off with a broom - flying raccon, lol.

 

Justjim I've read about cat doors that open only to animals with specific microchips... You could chip him and get one of those, and maybe then he'd be ok with the door closed? Just a thought. I can't even remember how much they cost; it could be outrageous.

 

There are quite a few models that have 2 doors: Amazon.com: K&H Outdoor Heated Kitty Camper, Measures 14 by 20 Inches: Pet Supplies
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Kitty-House-Heated/dp/B004ZJOH06/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350349162&sr=8-1&keywords=cat+houses+for+outdoor+cats[/ame]

I just don't know how the kitties will keep warm with 2 doors like that. I guess you could cut some material and staple/glue/tape it over the openings.

The kitty tube, which I eyed last year, says it has a "unique" door design that will keep other critters out. I was scared off by 2 reports that there was a chemical-y smell.

Amazon.com: The new and improved Kitty Tube. Fully insulated outdoor cat house.: Pet Supplies

 

Just found these on ebay:

1. Something a handy person could make, but that I couldn't: CAT POD/2 DOORS, OUTDOOR CAT HOUSE, SHELTER, BED,CONDO | eBay

2. This says they'll put an extra door on for $10. INSULATED CEDAR CAT HOUSE SHELTER,KENNEL BED,CRATE, | eBay

3. from the same seller. I like the fact that it's up off the ground, but it seems awfully high. However, this might keep other critters out. SMALL INSULATED CEDAR OUTDOOR CAT HOUSE WITH PLATFORM | eBay

Ugh. Dilemma, and it's getting cold.

 

http://www.catforum.com/forum/56-feral-cats/110830-outdoor-shelters-feral-cats.html

Winter Cat Shelters for Feral Cats - UrbanCatLeague

 

Thanks Mitts & Tess. I did check those; they're DIY projects that I wish I could do.

Ultimately, I ended up ordering this one, with riser legs and a door flap:
outdoor Cat Dog House puppy kitten Feral Pet kennel WARM shelter cedar MEDIUM | eBay

I'll let you know how successful it is with the stray.

 

Thanks Mitts & Tess. I did check those; they're DIY projects that I wish I could do.

Ultimately, I ended up ordering this one, with riser legs and a door flap:
outdoor Cat Dog House puppy kitten Feral Pet kennel WARM shelter cedar MEDIUM | eBay

I'll let you know how successful it is with the stray.

I can't wait to hear how you like this once you receive it. I've looked at these, also.... I wish they had a few more pictures so I can get a better idea of the size. I care for two ferals who are siblings so they always cuddle together, but they're not very small cats so I'm not sure if a medium would be big enough for both of them.

 

Um this is really interesting. I’ve built a lot of different style dog houses, but never a cat house. This might be a lot of fun and I might even be able to sell them at the flea market or something.

 

Builder, you should definitely seriously consider this and sell them ebay, which is where I found this company. There were some people selling cat houses that they had made themselves. They weren't fancy, but they also weren't expensive. Some of these cat houses run between $200-$300.

My ideal cat house would be raised a few inches above the ground and have a slanted roof so rain runs off. The entry would be small, raised an inch or so from the floor and recessed. It would have a kind of vestibule, with a floor, side walls and an overhang, that would extend out a few inches to block wind. (Clearly, I've been spending too much time thinking about this.)

If you built one like that, I would buy it and donate this one that I just bought to the local feral cat organization.

Very fancy digs! Is this one insulated? I like that the top opens! Nice find.

Insulation was an option, for an additional $15 I believe. They would add a second layer of wood and styrofoam. I chose not to because the little room upstairs is only 10" high; with insulation the clearance would only be 8 1/2", and Casper likes his cat bed, which has sides that go up about 4-5". There's also an outdoor heating mat under his bed, which adds an inch. The bed has a cutout in the front, so I'm hoping that'll give him enough clearance to climb in.

 

Very fancy digs! Is this one insulated? I like that the top opens! Nice find.

 

The dog house that I currently have is off the ground and the entry isn't too big. It has an overhang, but the entry is flush with the front of the house. I wish they had put in sides and a floor the width of the overhang. I would have considered buying another one, but I haven't seen it in my google travels.

The nice thing about a lot of the cat houses that are hand built is that they come fully assembled, good for people like me who can't hammer a nail into a wall straight. I did manage to put together the dog house without any trouble, which was miraculous. I wish I were handy. I'd build a ton of cat furniture.

 

I hope that your kitty loves his house. You obviously put a lot of thought and love into your decision.

 

OK well I’ve noticed a farrell cat sleeping on my front porch in the mornings on my way to work. It sleeps on patio chair and I threw an old flannel shirt out for it to snuggle up in. I’m now thinking of building a feral cat house out after reading this thread. It will have go in front because they don’t go in the back yards, but I’m torn by my very horrible past experience when I put a dog house out as a home for a mother cat and her 5 kittens. I wrote about it in my intro.

Anyway I’m making some notes on what is favored here and some of the things are “recessed entry/overhang, and a raised bottom”. Oh and a removable roof for cleaning. I think I want it to be latched so a dog cannot open it with its nose or the wind blowing it away.

I don’t know about the double door because from what I’ve noticed is that cats like to snuggle up inside things to feel protected. I can’t set a cardboard box down before my cats are in it and yet when I put down a tube they just run through and never hang out inside.

I read somewhere that the ideal entry way would be offset so the wind doesn’t blow directly on them and maybe have the entryway wrap inside so that they aren’t exposed at all. I think when I build mine it will be restrictive to a large dog actually being able to put its head inside to get the cat. I have Plexiglas panels that I could add a window so that the cat could see outside to know when it was safe to come out.

 

I don’t know about the double door because from what I’ve noticed is that cats like to snuggle up inside things to feel protected. I can’t set a cardboard box down before my cats are in it and yet when I put down a tube they just run through and never hang out inside.

I read somewhere that the ideal entry way would be offset so the wind doesn’t blow directly on them and maybe have the entryway wrap inside so that they aren’t exposed at all. I think when I build mine it will be restrictive to a large dog actually being able to put its head inside to get the cat. I have Plexiglas panels that I could add a window so that the cat could see outside to know when it was safe to come out.

Goodness, what an awful experience with your neighbor's cat and the two kittens. But it's great that you're taking care of the feral cat now. If the house is on your porch, the kitty may not need that second door, especially if you make the entry small enough that a dog can't get its nose in there. Or you could make the house slightly larger, so that with the offset door, the kitty can hole up on the other side. Do you have raccoons or opossum in the area that might try to get in the house?

Definitely an offset door. I'm fretting about my stray while waiting for the cat house. Their website says it'll take 3 weeks because they got so many orders (although I bought this on ebay, and it said there were several available, so I'm hoping it'll arrive earlier). In the meantime, I bought a big heavy duty plastic bin, turned it sideways and put the heated pad and his cat bed in there. But that one side is totally open. I have the open side turned towards the wall of the house, but still...It didn't occur to me until yesterday that maybe I could cut an entryway in the lid and put it on. I was going to put it in the middle, but then I realized that offset would be much better. However, I'm not sure how I'm going to cut through this plastic.

I could have sworn I read in a thread here about mylar sheeting (or something like that) that could be used to line the inside of the house for warmth. I have no idea what this is. I guess I could find it at Home Depot or Lowe's though. Maybe they'll cut a door in my plastic lid while I'm there.

 

No racoons, but we have coyotes that walk right down Main Street at night and I see them all the time when I leave for work at 4:30AM only at that time they are usually heading back out into the desert.

As far as the insulation, both Lowes and Home Depot sheets of Ridgid foam insulation. Home depot has the Owens Corning which is Pink and Lowe’s also has some but a different brand and theirs is blue.

Foamular 3/4 in. x 48 in. x 8 ft. Tongue and Groove Insulating Sheathing-37L at The Home Depot

They will cut it with their plywood saw to a smaller size so you can fit it into a car and will give you two free cuts. They always give me a hard time saying they can’t cut it, but they usually do after I explain that it will not ruin their saw and that’s how it’s normally cut it. I did have to talk to the manager one time, but I’ve always had them cut it. It helps if you know what size you want before going in.

Actually it can be glued together to make a house and painted. :grin:

 

Spirite I bet you saw this post I had on the Feral Cat section of the forum. 2nd post down in thread. Talks about the insulation.

http://www.catforum.com/forum/56-feral-cats/158175-celebrate-national-feral-cat-day.html

builder it would be so great if you sold those feral cat houses!

Thoughts on the door. Ferals can and feel safe in the smallest places. Im sure the opening can be smaller than normal. That way a dog couldnt get in but would be normal for a feral cat to enter.

 

Hi Mitts & Tess, actually, I didn't see that thread, so thanks for pointing me towards it. So there's something called Foamular? I'm just worried it'll be too thick and not leave enough headroom for the kitty. I know I read something about mylar, but I did a forum search and it didn't come up. Well, I'll go bug the people at Lowe's this weekend.

 

Foamular® comes in different thicknesses, but I don’t believe Lowes carries that brand. They do have another brand that is blue and I can't think of it at the moment.

I use Foamular® for my hobbies and I have it in ¾”, 1”, up to 2”. They also have it in a fold up sheet that I think maybe is 3/8” but I’ve never used it because it was more expensive than the ¾”. The fold up sheets are thin enough that it could easily be cut up into small pieces and glued to the walls without taking up much room.

 

Ok thanks for the tip. I'm really worried now that there won't be enough headroom. If he goes into his bed without a problem, then I'll look into getting some of that stuff. Maybe Home Depot carries it? I can go to either one.

 

Hm! So I'll try to heat up the plastic then use a sharp knife. Builder, a what? keyhole saw? Ha. The extent of my tool savvy: my power drill. Any kind of saw in my hands is a horror movie waiting to happen.

I hope I'll have time to get to one of the stores this weekend. I have an absolutely ridiculous amount of work to do (major deadline Nov. 1), but the forecast says it'll be miserable, rainy, windy, and cold by early-mid next week. Just watch - I'll spend time that I don't have on insulating this container, and then the new house will arrive the next day.

 

Hm! So I'll try to heat up the plastic then use a sharp knife. Builder, a what? keyhole saw? Ha. The extent of my tool savvy: my power drill. Any kind of saw in my hands is a horror movie waiting to happen..

here is one type of keyhole saw. Stanley 15-275 4-WAY Keyhole Saw - Amazon.com
there are lot of them I've seen them at the dollar store. You just want to find one with fine teeth, but everyone sells them.

Here is one that Ace Hardware sells [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Great-Neck-02589-Ace-Keyhole/dp/B000G33QP2/ref=sr_1_15?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1351370364&sr=1-15&keywords=Keyhole+Saw[/ame]

 

Under my profile, in "albums" is a picture of an outdoor cat shelter that I built several years ago. I don't remember where I got the basic design, but the floor plan is roughly that as shown by Builder. It has a "deck", overhanging slanting roof, entry way and sleeping quarters. I put mine up on blocks to keep it off the ground and discourage critters. The interior walls are insulated with foam board and I put straw in the sleeping area. The roof is elevated a bit for ventilation and I can add or subtract foam boards as the season demands. It's seen two winters now and is quite popular. Even the garage cats stay in it on occasion.

 

Yes, that's ideal! But...my problem is that I don't build stuff. Want to build one for me and I'll pay you?

 

Spirite.... you said for the time being you have a plastic bin, turned it sideways and put the heated pad and his cat bed in there...

what kind of heating pad do you use for the cat house? how many wats does it use? I want to get a heated pad for my outside cat house...but dad will kill me for using up some much electricticy. Im lucky enough to use a heated water bowl for the kitties in the winter time.


I have a petmate dog house..the small one. Im looking to get a medium size one so i can fill it up with straw and keep the cats warm.

I keep the house on my porch. its out of the rain.

right now the house has one of those thermal beds that uses up body heat from the cat.

if it gets really cold...i just put a horse blanket on top to keep out the cold/wind.

 

I have this one: Amazon.com: K&H Lectro-Soft Heated Outdoor Bed, Small: Pet Supplies

It's the small size and it uses 20 watts. I think it was the only one I found that was intended for outdoor use. I've never noticed that it's upped my electricity bill. Maybe I just don't pay attention, but it's definitely not a significant amount. And that's taking into consideration that I keep it plugged in all the time from October through March-ish, and that I'm losing some heat to the kitchen door, which I can't close all the way. The outlet on my deck isn't working, so I'm running an extension cord inside. Fathers...My parents came to visit and my father has not stopped hassling me about the lack of security. It's a safe neighborhood, and I have yet to meet a human who can figure out the pet gate that I have on the stairs. And if they did, they'd have to be pretty thin to get through it. Plus I'd hear it squeaking.

 

Update: well, the cat house arrived today. It looks like the construction is very solid, but it's way smaller than I expected. I guess I miscalculated or maybe was reading the exterior dimensions rather than the interior ones. Still...I know it's better to have a small space so they can retain body heat, but 14" x 13" isn't very big, especially when there's a "wind block" in the middle of the front long wall. It's not big, but it sticks out about 2" so in essence it cuts the space in half. It would probably be fine for a small feral, but Casper likes his little bed and it doesn't fit.

I cut a bathroom rug to fit on the bottom to insulate it a bit. Now I don't know what to do with it. I might hang on to it and see if he'll go in there in warmer weather.

So...I ordered him this one: Large Insulated Outdoor Cedar Cat Dog Pet House,outdoor cedar pet houses,Insulated heated cat houses,small pet dog house sales,cat enclosures,pet,dog

Twice as expensive. Ouch. If he doesn't use it, I'll scream.

 

Did you get the one with the lounging deck and platform loft? Holy cow, thats a penthouse for a feral cat! Way way cool!

 

Nooo! I thought about it for a sec, just because it's so cool, but it's nearly $300. Plus, I felt like it was a little too high up. On my deck, the lower you are, the less wind you get.

But now it's another 2 week wait. And it's just been ridiculously cold for this area. I replaced the plastic bin with a cardboard box inside a larger cardboard box and wrapped the whole thing with packing tape to keep it from getting wet. At least this way, his bed is recessed by about 15".

Meanwhile, on my deck there are now: 1) a doghouse, no longer used 2) a feral cat house, not yet used; 3) a plastic storage bin, used and refused; 4) the complicated box-within-a-box contraption; 5) a 1-level cat condo.

Geez.

 

Well that's disappointing that the first one was so small. That was my fear when looking at cat houses online. My indoor cat is very petite, but my two ferals that I care for are quite big boned, and I was hesitant to buy something without seeing it in person to judge the size. Hopefully the larger one will work and he'll love it.

 

You're absolutely right. Casper's probably only about 7 lbs and on the small side, but I doubt he'd be comfortable in that 14" x 13" space. These houses are all much smaller than they seem in the pics. I got out my measuring tape to get an idea and realized that a house probably has to be at least 18" in one direction for a normal-sized cat to be comfortable. The same company that makes the cat house that was too small makes larger sizes, and those look like they might actually fit 2 kitties. This one is 24" x 26" on the inside: Extra Large Outdoor Cedar Cat Dog Pet House,outdoor cedar pet houses,Insulated heated cat houses,small pet dog house sales,cat enclosures,pet,dog

 

The latest: so the second cat house arrived yesterday, and I highly recommend it. It took about 15 minutes, maybe not even, to put it together. The holes are pre-drilled, so all I needed to do was put the screws in relatively straight. The fact that I managed that tells me it's really well-made. Everything fit together nice and tight. The interior floor surface is 18" square and recessed a little, so the interior space is actually about 20" square. His bed - one of the foam cup types - fits perfectly. There was enough space for me to line the floor with a couple of towels and the sides of the house with some fleece. The house itself is also insulated with some kind of reflective sheeting.

The cat flap is just clear vinyl, cut into strips. It reminds me of the rooms where you have to part strings of beads to enter. I'm not sure it does much. Casper is a little freaked out by them (I lifted them up the first couple of times to show him), but he is inside, so the house passed the most important test.

I wish the house were a little deeper, so that there would be some more distance from the door. But overall, I'm really pleased. This house was more than double the price of the first one I bought. True, it's quite a bit bigger, but I also think it's just much better designed. Definitely worth it.

 

Great news! I'm sure little Casper will really appreciate being nice and warm this winter.