OT..Cold weather pet shelters

yardbird · Dec 6, 2016

My daughter has 2 cats that mean the world to her. This summer we built a house together to try to keep them warm over the winter. It's about 27" square and around 3' tall with insulated walls.

I mounted a metal electrical box with a porcelain light fixture for a light bulb as a heat source. I wired it using 12-2 wire and put a 110 plug in on the end to just plug in the wall. With very cold weather in the near future I was considering putting a heat bulb in it to get the temperature up a bit more.

I have no experience with these heat bulbs and am asking if this would not be a good idea? I don't want to burn the place down but would like to get the temperature up a bit higher during the very cold weather.

Anybody build pet shelters with a better idea for heating it?

Before you give me shit about cats I have no say in the matter. I lost the vote 2 to 1.

Thanks as always!

Brent

ECJ · Dec 6, 2016

Brent-

I think it's more about insulating the box than the bulb.
My grandfather was a well known hunting dog trainer in Omaha, Nebraska, and at any given time, he would have many dogs, none of which were ever kept in the house (unless they were puppies, or sick). He built these sheet metal dog houses (about 5-6' square with sloped roofs that lifted off) that were lined with rigid foam. The design was such that the dog would enter and then take a sharp left at the back of the house, and enter his sleeping chamber. This chamber was lined with straw, and had a single caged bulb in the ceiling. I don't think it was more than 60W. The offset chamber kept the wind out, and the sheet metal and rigid foam kept the warmth in. These dogs were fine, happy and well cared for through many cold Nebraska winters. Should work for cats too!

ECJ

GregSY · Dec 6, 2016

I think light bulbs are a bad idea....I use a heating pad (Sunbeam,$11 from Amazon) and leave it on medium. I put it under a few layers of old towels and the cat bed...that way the cat can't accidentally claw it. A heating pad puts out better heat and it's heat from below. The cat will be plenty warm. Also, keep the wind off it.

Buy the cheap pad or else it will come with a wonderful 'auto' feature that turns itself off after a while....one of man's dumbest inventions ever.

challenger · Dec 6, 2016

I personally would not put any electrical devices in this box. If I were tasked with the idea of getting them something warm enough to stay in I'd shrink the size of the box, insulate well and keep stocked with dry straw, material scraps, maybe burlap etc. There several feral cat colonies near the dump transfer station I use as well as at the high school. Volunteers "help" these cats by feeding and giving them boxes similar to yours. They have no problem in the winter. Granted I'm in SE NC but it still gets cold enough to kill an animal. Thank God. Good luck.

Galaxy S4, Slimkat
If I wasn't married I'd quit fishing

adama · Dec 6, 2016

WTF is up with the cats eyes on top???

FYI i would fit some kinda door like flap, need not be all that complex, something like the UPVC curtains you see in factory door ways. Cats can push through but is enough to really keep the draft down.

I know its a human thing to have big spaces to call home, but generally most animals like a smaller enclosure - sleeping area, something with at least 2 diffrent ways in - out but really not too much bigger than them, ie the kinda size entrance thats easy to defend. Bigger really is not all that much better. Most animals are not fans of a constantly light bedroom either, specially cats which are borderline nocturnal hunters, far better to use some kinda heat mat there pretty cheap, lay a concrete slab on top so it has some thermal mass bellow the bedding too so it does not get too hot - damaged.

Steven-Canada · Dec 6, 2016

I agree with losing the lamp and going for under floor heat.

They like to lay on warm stuff normally.

Check Amazon, TSC the farm store, and other pet places

There are thermostat controlled heating pads
Waterbed heating pads

What are Benefits of a Temperature Controlled Heating Pad?

Sea Farmer · Dec 6, 2016

Do a search on "chicken coop heat" for some ideas and homebrew solutions.

Some good ideas here: Heating the Chicken coop in Winter.. Any suggestions

I don't know if cats generate as much body heat as chickens but the idea of giving them more calories during winter makes perfect sense to me. I've spent more than my fair share of hours outdoors in cold weather, and a full stomach makes a huge difference in how cold I get.

snowman · Dec 6, 2016

Amazon.com : K&H Manufacturing Small Animal Heated Pad Tan 9-Inch by 12-Inch 25 Watts : Pet Beds : Pet Supplies

That's the safe way to do it.

Not that a heat lamp isn't safe.

Also, there's this...

Amazon.com : BYB - 15W 11V Ceramic Infrared Heat Emitter Brooder Coop Pet Infrared Lamp Bulb, Black : Pet Supplies

ewlsey · Dec 6, 2016

In my area the frost line is about 40" down. Below that it never freezes. I'd put the cats down there...

Sorry, someone had to say it..

I installed this for my spoiled German Shorthair.

gbent · Dec 6, 2016

Some cats like to chew cords. I wouldn't use electricity unless the cords are in flex conduit.
Buy the cats fur coats. They are very warm.

On edit: my bad, I see the cat in your picture already has one.

Kaszub · Dec 6, 2016

First lower height of the house and get clear flap door to block wind.

Scottl · Dec 6, 2016

IMO animals that live outside of houses don't need supplemental heat, just shelter from the wind and insulation where needed so their body heat and fur can do its job. Unless they are some short hair breed they should develop thicker underfur as the temperatures get colder.

If I were building a shelter for cats I would combine both large and small spaces as cats often feel more secure in a fairly small space and body heat works better when there is less surrounding air. If it is warmer or they need more space they can migrate to the "great room".

Limy Sami · Dec 6, 2016

adama said:
I know its a human thing to have big spaces to call home, but generally most animals like a smaller enclosure - sleeping area, something with at least 2 diffrent ways in - out but really not too much bigger than them, ie the kinda size entrance thats easy to defend. Bigger really is not all that much better. Most animals are not fans of a constantly light bedroom either, specially cats which are borderline nocturnal hunters, far better to use some kinda heat mat there pretty cheap, lay a concrete slab on top so it has some thermal mass bellow the bedding too so it does not get too hot - damaged.

Ferrets are the same, big court (pen to none ferret types) and small sleeping quarters, .rather than a heat mat etc etc etc, get a (preferably) stone bottle and fill it with hot water, - BOLS Gin bottles are ideal, .....with a woollen jacket over it, that will provide plenty of heat for a long time.

Another alternative is hot bricks, .....if you've somewhere to heat them, a good engineering brick (Staffordshire Blues are best) will hold heat for an amazing length of time - again wrap them in a woolly jumper or something.

adama · Dec 6, 2016

^ the gerbils take it to the extreme, given the choice they will happily squeeze the 3 of them into something the size of a 2" wide packaging tape core, seriously makes me wonder at times if i need to be turning the heat up!!!

challenger · Dec 6, 2016

I don't know my brother? If I told my wife I was building a cat house I'd spend time in the dog house! [emoji12]
I heard they like hot tin roofs?? [emoji15]
Please no more, "gerbils in tight spaces" stories. Tmi [emoji16]
Seriously how comfy do you want to make them? In nature cats do OK in small sleeping areas that are well insulated. Same with dogs of course.
They say that happiness is a warm cat no?

Galaxy S4, Slimkat
If I wasn't married I'd quit fishing

yardbird · Dec 6, 2016

Thanks guys!

I lost and did my part! I'm done! I did all I'm gonna do. Except maybe add a door and change bulbs from time to time. I've got to go to bed and feel comfortable I'm not going to have a fire. That's why I made it so big. The bulb is 12" away from all walls and 24" from the floor. The wire comes up though the roof they can't chew on it.

Didn't have any experience with the heat bulbs and wondered how much hotter it would be then a standard 150watt light bulb? If just the heat difference could possibly be significant enough cause a problem?

I'll probably just leave it alone and they can consider themselves lucky to have what they have.

Brent

vanguard machine · Dec 6, 2016

i set the dogs up here at the shop for when they need to stay the night, or when we're out of town.
i walled off a small section of the crawlspace, insulated it and sealed it off from the rest, made an access door out of heavy plastic sheet so they can come in and out as they please. i then made them each their own 4' x 4' bed using 2" x 8"s as a frame and filled those with a little hay and a bunch of cedar chips, tractor supply has it in bales for cheap. they love it, it keeps them warm, smelling nice and as a major bonus it keeps the bugs away. It's cheap so i just add more every few weeks or when they need a refresher.
our dogs are dobermans and they get cold crazy easy so each winter i put a small oil filled radiator heater under there set on a timer. It turns on at 6PM and back off again at 6AM. It's safe as there is no exposed element and they stay nice and toasty under there.

doug8cat · Dec 6, 2016

Cats are desert animals originally. However thru domestication they have evolved to suit there geographical location. Cats will develop a much more dense coat in the coming colder weather. Keep the enclosure as small as practical so as to retain their body heat. Lights as a source of heat are bad news. As mentioned before plenty of hay is good. One thing that comes to mind are reptile heat mats. Say you have a 4 x 4 floor, place the mat under the hay with 50% unheated. This way the feline can move to get warm or move away to get cooler. insulation is a good though as well. I would run all electronics through a GFI as well.
Lots of good suggestions, cats are very adaptable as well. One final thing cats will adapt to there environment, that is to say an outdoor cat should be just that, you can't go from indoor to outdoor.
Also colder weather requires more fats in the diet to provide more fuel to allow them to generate more body heat, so an increase in food is a good thing.

michiganbuck · Dec 6, 2016

My granddaughter has perhaps 6 cats that like in the wood pile and the rock pile all winter. When we walk the dog often three cats follow us along. Most like to be petted, some you can pick up… and a few are wild. They get thick coats in the winter and do just fine. A double sided cardboard box with a wind certain I about as good as you need..Artificial heat would be well served with a 25 watt bulb in a coffee can so not to start afire but not at all needed IMHO.
The cats love a hot drink of water on a cold day.
A man made shelter should have a back door exit as an escape routs just bug enough for a cat.

ronf · Dec 6, 2016

I've been in a few cat-houses, but I never saw one heated with a heat lamp.

OT..Cold weather pet shelters

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