Winter Cat Shelters

Build your own insulated winter cat shelter. It’s easy!

Below is an episode of the youtube series, Cheap and Green, featuring Feline Friends Network volunteers building insulated shelters. Thanks to video creators Rachelle Redford & Garner Haines!

 
 
 

Want to build your own insulated winter shelter for cats? Click below for a list of the materials and tools you’ll need, plus step-by-step instructions.

 

Don’t want to build your own shelter? Feline Friends offers pre-built insulated winter shelters for $40 (large). Availability depends on the number of shelters our volunteers are able to build – please contact us if you are interested in purchasing.

Helpful Hints

Are your shelters going unused? If your kitty isn't sure about the shelter you've set out for them, here are some TIPS to encourage them to try it out:

  • Be patient. Some cats need a lot of time to get comfortable with a new shelter.

  • Loosely fill the shelter ½ to ¾ full of straw (not hay), a bedding material very attractive to cats.

  • Remove any door flaps on the shelter. While doorway flaps help insulate, they should not be added until after your cats are used to going in and out of the shelter.

  • Do not place food in or near the shelter. Cats instinctively avoid sleeping near food as it attracts other cats and wildlife/predators.

  • Location is important. Place the shelter where your cats are already hanging out. More feral/less social cats typically want to shelter farther away from humans—the more secluded, the more likely cats are to use it.

  • Place the shelter near natural cover (as opposed to out in the open) where your cats feel safe. Cats prefer to move along walls, hedges or other natural barriers and boundaries. Place the shelter under or up against a building, fence, tree, porch, bush, or overhang. We sometimes nestle them in the brush in the woods.

  • Place the shelter with the entrance facing away from the wind, rain and snow. Facing south is best!

  • Make sure the shelter is on a flat surface and not wobbly. An unsteady shelter could discourage cats from entering.

  • It’s possible that your cats have another shelter where they feel safe. They may already have a shed, crawlspace or some other shelter they prefer.

  • When all else fails, try a new location, but only after giving your cats plenty of time to explore and get used to the current location.

    The above hints originally from Clinton’s Feral Kitties and FeralVilla.com