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Some cats have lived outside for generations, while others adapted to living outdoors after being lost or abandoned. You’ve done your part to combat cat overpopulation and protect the health of your cats by having them sterilized, but meanwhile your neighbors’ outdoor cats keep producing litter after litter. Instead of feeling frustrated and helpless, you can turn a problem situation into a success story, benefiting the cats and your neighborhood in the process. Buy the perfect feline home, organize a shelter building day with your community, or make a family event out of providing homemade shelters to community cats!
10 Best Outdoor Cat Houses of 2024 - Woman's Day
10 Best Outdoor Cat Houses of 2024.
Posted: Fri, 14 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
New Age Pet ECOFLEX Outdoor Cat House Shelter — Best Overall
It features two exits, which is important when choosing a cat house. You don’t want your cat to get trapped by another cat or a predator (plus, many cats just won’t use a shelter with an entrance). The roof retracts if you need to get inside the house for cleaning. The floor is also raised, which helps preserve the wood and keep your cat off the ground. This feature stands out from other cat houses, which may have trouble with snow caving in their roof.
Frisco Outdoor Wooden Cat House With Elevated Balcony Steps
To find the best outdoor cat houses, our experts scoured the market to ensure we only recommend the best to our readers and their kitties. We considered stability, ease of assembly, texture, materials, escape doors and more when choosing our top picks. We also considered houses for different climates and looked at weatherproofing and insulation factors. While this outdoor cat house may look a little strange — kind of like an outdoor grill — it can keep cats warm and dry all winter long. The Kitty Tube is made of post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, according to the brand's website, and it's designed to protect your cat from the elements. Unlike other outdoor houses, this one only has a single door to ensure the inside retains as much heat as possible.
Best Overall Outdoor Cat House
You can transition your cat indoors and provide safe outdoor time with a catio (an enclosed cat patio) or by taking your cat for a walk on a harness and leash. It’s always a good idea for your cat to wear a collar with identification (and be microchipped) to help reunite you should they become lost or be picked up by a neighbor or animal control. Overpopulation is a serious concern with an estimated 30 to 40 million community cats in the United States.
Catio Spaces’ AFFILIATE AGREEMENT – Terms and Conditions
Make sure to insulate your structure and place it in a location as protected from the elements as possible. According to Wolko, you should never put blankets or towels in an outdoor cat shelter because they will trap moisture and may even freeze. Phillips recommends buying or making a shelter with only one entrance. A single entry prevents a wind tunnel from forming and helps retain more heat.

Most commercially available cat houses have two exits so feline residents can easily escape if another animal comes calling. But Phillips warns that two doors also leave a shelter less protected from the elements. Cats conserve body heat by curling up in tight, cozy spots that are safe from wind, rain, and snow. Many outdoor cats seek shelter somewhere elevated to take advantage of rising heat or find their way under the hood of a car to the still-warm engine. Because cats burn through so much energy trying to stay warm, they also benefit from eating frequent large meals to make up that lost energy. In general, full-time outdoor or stray cats don't use the best cat litter boxes like indoor cats do, so you don't necessarily need to add one to your cat house.
You don’t have to be a DIY expert to assemble the house and the holes are all pre-drilled. Once it is set up, the house provides a stable abode as the wood is made of anti-rot material to stand the test of time. Elizabeth Gray is a lifelong lover of all creatures great and small. She got her first cat at 5 years old and at 14, she started working for her local veterinarian. Elizabeth spent more than 20 years working as a veterinary nurse before stepping away to become a stay-at-home parent to her daughter. Now, she is excited to share her hard-earned knowledge (literally--she has scars) with our readers.
That said, a 2020 Japanese study found that when outdoor cats were provided with litter boxes, they used them exclusively within weeks. So, if you're tired of finding cat "gifts" in your garden, setting up an outdoor litter box near your cat house could make both you and your kitties happy. This two-tier cat house has an upper level with a shady porch where your cats can feel the breeze. The slanted asphalt roof blocks out the sun and keeps the elements away, while the open railings will allow cats to enjoy the fresh air as they survey their surroundings.
This keeps your kitty safe from wild animals or feral cats that might try to invade their outdoor house. While this is not an inexpensive project, the original author suggests multiple adaptations that could lower the price if you so choose. There isn’t any wood here, unlike most of the other cat houses available. The construction is water resistant, and the whole thing is kept together using Velcro. Read on for a list of reviews so you can figure out which one your feline may like.
This unique winter cat house uses PVC pipe framing surrounded by cardboard and insulation to create a cozy shelter. With simple, inexpensive materials, this project should be easy for all skill levels. The PVC frame was upcycled from a previous piece of cat furniture, so if you need a different size, you’ll have to figure out the measurements on your own.
To understand which features are essential to a good outdoor cat house, we consulted five experts on outdoor cats and pet safety. We then researched dozens of shelters, including heated, multicat, and wooden houses. Our top pick, the Petsfit Outdoor Cat House, is well-insulated and waterproof.
Some of the designs are extremely clever and can easily be completed using some materials you might already have on-hand. This house is quite expensive, though, especially since it isn’t much larger than many other houses. In fact, we found it to be significantly smaller than most, even with the added balcony on top. With that said, the wood isn’t the highest quality, according to many cat owners. Therefore, while it is cute, it probably isn’t as practical as some other options.
This catio features an asphalt roof (a feature Dr. Conrad recommends) to help keep the shelter protected from the sun or a light drizzle. There's room for jumping and playing, and space at the bottom for a litter box and a cat bed. The mesh walls are excellent for letting your cat experience the great outdoors without worrying about them wandering away, getting caught by predators or being predators themselves. Want to give house-dwelling kitties a little fresh air and bird-watching (but not bird-catching) time?
This heated outdoor cat house is designed to warm to your pet’s body temperature using only 25 watts when your cat lies down. First up on the list, we have this truly beautiful two-story outdoor cat house. This two-door cat house is simple, inexpensive, and designed to warm outdoor kitties during a Canadian winter. The double doors offer the cat an escape route if a wild animal tracks them inside. The original poster accomplished this project with the help of neighborhood kids, so it is a good DIY project for the whole family to do together. It doesn’t require complicated tools and can be made using reclaimed materials to lower costs.
It's available in several colors as well as barn- and cottage-themed prints. There are two exits with removable door flaps, but watch for heavy snow that can block the entrances. The water-resistant nylon and vinyl walls and roof should keep harsh weather out but can become saturated if the house is left exposed. It's best to situate this house on a porch, in a garage or somewhere under an overhang — be mindful that it'll also need access to an outlet. The same brand that makes our best overall choice also offers this smaller wooden A-frame cat shelter, which can fit just one cat. Its smaller size makes it more affordable and easier to tuck into a corner of your yard or patio.
To the front there is a porch roof and a clear plastic cat door while at the back there is a handy escape route, so your kit doesn’t feel too enclosed. Quick and pretty easy to assemble, the structure is also sturdy, giving a secure space for your outdoor cat to hang out. We typically love the Trixie brand when it comes to cat houses, and the TRIXIE 2-Story Cottage Outdoor Wooden Cat House is no different. It’s an adorable cat house with two stories, a large entrance, and several windows. It’s even made from weather-treated fir wood, which gives it a premium vibe.