DIY Emergency Housing for Feral and Stray Cats during Winter. Quick and easy. [View all]

[Solly Mack]

I hate people. Sometimes. Especially those who move away and abandon their pets to the elements.

With temperatures dropping I started making a shelter for a couple of cats that I have been feeding for several weeks now. Their families moved away and left them to fend for themselves and I can't stand the thought of an animal suffering. If the cats died and I didn't do anything to try and save them I would never be able to live with myself.


The two cats are not very trusting and have only recently stopped running away when we come out to check their food and water supplies.

I first made a waterproof box for them to sleep in during warmer weather. Regular cardboard box that I covered in all weather plastic with clear flaps on the front to protect against any wind or rain. I placed a bed inside for sleeping.

I'm now using that one for their food and water dish. It sits on a patio table under shelter. We'll check it daily to make sure it doesn't freeze, etc..

Next to it sits their new winterized home.


Not very attractive but they seem to be OK with it.





It's a smaller cardboard box inside a larger cardboard box with Styrofoam insulation on all four sides - as well as the top and bottom - placed between the two boxes. I saved the Styrofoam squares from a large patio stool I had ordered earlier.

Perfect fit for each side, the top and bottom. I would have cut the foam to fit if I needed to but fortunately I didn't.


I taped up one end of the box and then cut an opening for the cats to enter. I had to cut through 2 boxes and the center foam piece. I then taped over the gaps created by cutting out the entrance.

I placed a bed mat inside on the floor of the house, along with another bed with sides that fits snug inside the box (on top of the flat mat), and I added a couple of fleece throws for them to wiggle under.

I then taped the other end up after placing the last foam square over the taped inner box. I taped some more and then covered with plastic and all the duct tape needed.


I took some ugly patio cushions I was going to toss and used them as added cushion and insulation. It all sits on a bench with a stool for them to climb up to make it easier for them to reach their house.

We are hoping to catch them and take them to the vet for shots and to be spayed and neutered. The gray tabby is male and the solid blue/gray is female. I'll try to get photos of them but they are still skittish and run to the nearby shrubs to watch us fill their food and water dish.

They were running completely away. So, progress.

Maybe we can find them a home after we get them medical attention. As of now I can't keep them.

This morning we spotted the cats inside the box and instead of darting away they ducked under the mouth of the opening - out of sight, safe in their blankets.

It's an eyesore, I know - but if it saves their lives then it's all good.