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Winter Shelter
Your gift means food, shelter and veterinary care for cats in need.
Keep your cats warm and dry
When good winter shelter is available, community cats in cold climates can thrive despite frigid temperatures. An adequate shelter will be waterproof, well insulated and leave a minimum of empty air space when your cats are in it. What happens is the cats act as little radiators and their body heat is trapped inside, warming the interior. That's why it's so important the shelter is made of good insulation and there isn't too much empty space for the cats to heat up.
On this page you'll find inexpensive, do-it-yourself ideas, recommended shelters you can buy online, and even an emergency shelter you can quickly make from cardboard boxes in a pinch. You can also learn more about what kinds of insulating materials to put inside shelters, flaps doors, and placement. For more on winter care, see our Stop Freezing Water page.
Styrofoam boxes
Styrofoam boxes are often used to ship food products, medicines or other items that need to be kept cold. Find one that's at least 1.5 inches thick and convert it into a warm winter shelter following these steps:
- Use a utility knife to cut a 6 in. x 6 in. opening in a short side of the box. The bottom of the doorway should be a few inches above the bottom of the box to prevent flooding.
- Glue the cover of the box on with silicone glue.
- Apply one or two coats of latex deck paint, choosing a color that will blend the shelter in with its surroundings.
Storage bins
A durable storage bin, like the Rubbermaid Roughneck Tote, can be turned into a winter hideaway. Insulation is provided by lining the interior floor, roof and walls with pieces cut from a 1-inch thick rigid foam board. The pieces don't have to fit together perfectly, so can be hand cut using a ruler and utility knife. Straw stuffed in the bottom secures the foam pieces in place. An 18 gallon bin can house one or two cats, while a 55 gallon bin can hold several. Download step-by-step instructions.
Neighborhood Cats Shelter
A two-inch thick piece of rigid foam board insulation is cut into pieces, then glued together to make a lightweight yet strong and very toasty shelter. Because of the thickness of the foam, a table saw is needed. The downloadable instructions show how one shelter can be made from a sheet measuring 8 ft L x 2 ft W x 2 in H. That size is not always available, in which case you can buy a sheet that's 8 ft L x 4 ft W, then cut it in half length-wise and you'll have enough material for two shelters.
The Kitty Tube (for sale)
Designed for Upper Midwest winters, The Kitty Tube is a durable, well-insulated circular shelter that can house at least 3 cats. Best value is the The Kitty Tube with Oat Straw. The standard model comes with an awning and flap door along with a removable top and vents to prevent condensation. There are also lots of optional accessories, including double insulation, a heating pad and a scratch guard. One of our staff has one in her backyard and swears by it!
Emergency shelter
You'll need a cardboard box, duct tape, shredded newspaper, and either a 3mm thick plastic drop cloth or 3mm contractor bags.
- Tape all the seams on the cardboard box shut with duct tape.
- Wrap the box completely with the drop cloth or contractor bags. Secure onto the box by tightly wrapping duct tape around the plastic, covering all seams.
- Cut a doorway (6 in. x 6 in.) in a shorter side of the box, keeping the bottom of the door a few inches above the box's bottom.
- Put lots of shredded newspaper inside.
For extra insulation, start by putting a slightly smaller cardboard box inside the larger one and fill the gaps between them with rolled up newspaper.
Insulating materials
More protection against the cold
For extra warmth, add insulating materials inside your shelter which the cats can burrow into. Best is straw. It can be purchased online by the bale from Home Depot and, depending what region you're in, Tractor Supply. Smaller amounts can be purchased from The Kitty Tube or craft stores like Michael's. Horse stables and nurseries sometimes also have straw for sale. Oat straw is considered softer and more comfortable than wheat or rye straw, but is difficult to find in bulk.
Keep an eye out for autumn displays using straw - see if the owner will donate it when the decorations come down. If you can't find straw, shredded newspaper will also work. Whichever you use, straw or shredded newspaper, replace it immediately if it gets damp.
Avoid using hay which, unlike straw, is moist and can grow harmful bacteria and mold. Items which the cats lie on top of, like blankets or towels, will trap some body heat, but not nearly as much as insulating materials that surround the cat like straw or shredded newspaper. An exception to this rule is a Purr Pad which is designed to absorb and retain body heat. Snuggle Safe Pads will also provide added warmth on a frigid night.
If you're making a DIY shelter and are dealing with extreme cold, you can line the interior walls, floor and ceiling with pieces cut from a Mylar blanket, using a non-toxic glue like Weldbond. Mylar is a thin polyester material that traps and reflects body heat back at its source and is often an item in winter survival kits.
Flap doors
Well-made winter shelters can do the job without a flap door. That said, putting a flap over the doorway can help keep cold air out and warm air in. If you add one, the flap should be waterproof and thick enough to provide some insulation, but still light enough for a cat to easily pull it back. A thick piece of vinyl or part of a rubber mat should do the trick. To attach the flap above the doorway, use extreme weather VELCRO or cold-resistant glue. Of course, don't add a door that's completely air-tight (sleeping kitties need to breath!)
Wait to attach a flap door until after the cats are using the shelter. Otherwise, it might deter them from going in and exploring. Once they've decided to bed down inside, they'll figure out how to pull the flap back and enter.
Do you need two doors? Usually, no. Two doors can create drafts which take away valuable warmth. Only if there are common predators in the area, like coyotes, should you consider having an extra escape door. In most locations, the chance of a predator trapping a cat inside a shelter are remote and it's not worth potentially making the shelter drafty.
Placement
Put the shelters in a location where the cats already spend time, like near where they're fed. Placement close to the feeding area has the advantage of limiting how far they'll have to travel to eat during inclement weather. Don't place the shelters out in the open, like in the middle of a yard or lot, but under or up against something familiar, like a wall, fence, tree or porch. Ideally, the spot will be out of the wind yet exposed to the sun. Encourage your cats to use the shelters by sprinkling catnip inside and at the entrances.
To prevent flooding, blockages from snow, and losing internal heat to the cold ground, raise the shelters a few inches up off the ground with pallets or bricks, making sure they remain stable and not wobbly. Most cat shelters are lightweight so weigh them down by placing heavy objects on top, like concrete bricks, though avoid putting on too much weight and crushing the roof.
If you have more than one shelter, position a pair so they are a foot or two apart with their front doors facing each other. Place a board on top of both shelters to span the gap between them. This setup will help break the wind and create a covered space between the two shelters where you can put food and water when necessary.
If the surfaces of the shelters are paintable, camouflage them with a color that blends in with their surroundings. Grey, green and reddish-brown are typically the most useful. For ease of application, use an exterior latex deck paint.