The cheapest, easiest to make cat shelter -

Every year I make a couple of cat igloos. They're easy and cheap to make and
the cats seem to love them. I don't have ferel cats, but I own a few that
can't behave in the house, so they've been evicted. I replace the igloos
every year as they get pretty dirty and the styrofoam gets brittle and
begins cracking, but since they only cost about $2 each and about 15 minutes
to make, it's worth it.

I buy styrofoam ice chests and use construction adhesive to glue the lids
on. The ice chest then gets inverted so top then becomes the bottom in the
final design. I cut a doorway centered in one long side, about 5" wide and
6" high from the seam up. I round the top corners of this doorway to make
the top form an arch shape and I take an old towel or a piece of fuzzy
bathrobe and place it in the bottom (they like several layers for
cushioning). Since my cats are "evicted" pets I place these igloos on an
open porch, but they could just as easily be put almost anywhere under some
kind of rain shelter. The first year that I made these igloos I fastened old
wash cloths over the doorways with duct tape to act as a flap door, but they
seemed to only use these igloos when it was extremely cold. Lately I haven't
been installing the wash cloths, and they seem to like them better and sleep
in them every night from October to March. I guess the wash cloths made the
inside too warm for them.

You could fasten these to a board if the location of choice subjects them to
blowing in the wind or build a leanto type rain shelter for them if they
will be directly exposed to the elements and not placed on a porch out of
the rain (my obligatory connection to woodworking).

--
Charley


"Prometheus" wrote in message
...
Hello all,

I've got a woodworking question, only it's not really about the
technical aspects of making something as much as it is a dilemma in
deciding whether or not I *should* do a project.

A couple of days ago, I came home after work to see a cat that has
been prowling the neighborhood since I bought the place huddling on my
front steps (it was about -10*, and the steps have outdoor carpet on
them, so I figure it must have been more appealing than concrete or
snow)

Now, I don't need another pet, and I don't care to try and tame a wild
tomcat at any rate- but I do hate to see an animal suffer like that
and I figure he probably earns his keep eating rodents before they get
near my house.

So I was contemplating building a little stray cat house with some
insulation in the backyard to give the occasional semi-domestic
passerby a place to get out of the weather on particularly cold or
rainy nights, just as a little act of kindness to them. It'll be
about 50 yards from the house if I do this, and I don't have any
interest in really interacting with the animal(s) at all, aside from
maybe peeking out the window every once in a while to see if anything
is in residence.

But, I'm a little concerned that my good intentions may go awry in
this case. I don't much care if the thing gets peed in or whatever
else might happen to it, but I don't want to have to listen to
alleycats fighting over the place in the middle of the night.

Anyone else ever done this? If so, did it end up causing problems of
any sort, or is it as simple as I'd hope it would be? Won't cost
anything to do, and be easy enough to maintain with a coat of paint
every couple of years. Seems like it's so simple and cheap, that
there must be some kind of catch involved- and that's why I've never
seen or heard of one before. Can't just be me that doesn't like the
idea of animals (well- cats and dogs, anyhow) losing ears and tails to
frostbite needlessly.