Insulating and bedding your cat's outdoor shelter for winter: spot, floor, straw or blanket
Share
To insulate an outdoor cat shelter, start with where it stands and how far it sits off the ground, then choose what goes inside. Set the shelter against a wall under the eaves, raise it on a pallet, bed it with straw rather than a blanket, which soaks up damp, and keep the house open in a hard frost.
Can you really insulate a cat house?
A cat house is only properly insulated if its walls are built that way from the start: DIY build guides sandwich a rigid insulating board, polystyrene for instance, between two plywood walls. That is a building project, not a tweak.
With a shelter you have already bought, you work on where it stands, how far it sits off the ground and the bedding. None of these makes uninsulated walls insulating, but all of them keep the bed drier and cut your cat off from the cold rising from the ground.
The product page for the Pelux outdoor cat house says it plainly: it is made of EVA composite and its walls keep the wind off, but it is neither insulated nor heated, and no cushion is included. Do not drill its walls or glue anything onto them: the supplier says nothing about caring for them.
Which outdoor cat shelter, if you do not have one yet?
An outdoor cat shelter comes down to four criteria. According to the ASPCA, a small, enclosed shelter helps a cat hold on to its body heat, and a large dog house is a poor fit.
- A size that matches the cat: big enough for it to curl up in, and no bigger.
- A single, small door: a large opening lets in too much cold air, according to the ASPCA.
- A way to anchor it: a light shelter moves at the first gust.
- Simple assembly, and ideally easy storage out of season.
The Pelux cat house ticks the size box for an average-sized cat (38 × 35 × 38 cm), a single door, strap loops to anchor it, tool-free assembly and flat storage; not insulation, a stated waterproof rating or heating. Its 22 × 18 cm door is wider than the cat-sized entrance the ASPCA describes: face it towards a wall. For a Maine Coon or a large, sturdy cat, it will probably be too small: compare your cat's build with the 18 cm of the door.
A roof of its own, always in the same spot
A pitched roof, walls against the wind and a single door: the outdoor cat house goes together without tools and anchors to the ground through its strap loops. Discover the outdoor cat house →
Where should you put your cat's outdoor shelter?
A cat shelter belongs against a wall, under the eaves or beside a hedge, where your cat already settles, and away from gutters and downpipes. The ASPCA advises a spot protected from wind and hazards, with the entrance facing a wall or another sheltered area where possible.
Turn the door away from the prevailing wind, leaving enough room in front for your cat to walk in without squeezing. Then anchor it: it weighs 650 g according to its product page. Drive pegs through the loops at the foot of the walls; none are supplied. On a patio where nothing goes into the ground, tie the loops to the base or slip a flat weight under the bedding, as the ASPCA suggests, rather than loading the roof: the supplier does not say what it can bear.
How do you lift the shelter off cold, damp ground?
To lift a cat shelter off the ground, a wooden pallet or two planks resting on bricks will do. The ASPCA recommends raising the shelter, putting straw underneath for extra insulation, and setting it on a slight slant so rain drains away.
Sitting straight on soil or tiles, the shelter takes in cold and damp from below, and the bedding gets wet. A few centimetres of air under the floor do more than a second blanket.
- The base: level, then tilted very slightly forwards.
- The barrier: straw between the base and the shelter, if the base has gaps.
- The check: after a rainy night, slide your hand under the bedding; if it is damp, move the shelter closer to the wall.
Straw, blanket or cushion: which bedding for winter?
For a cat shelter, winter bedding means straw. According to Alley Cat Allies, straw repels moisture while hay soaks it up and can go mouldy; the charity suggests packing it loosely, without pressing it down, a quarter to halfway up the shelter.
| Bedding | In the damp | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Straw | Repels moisture, according to Alley Cat Allies | All winter, especially in an exposed spot or one that never dries out |
| Blanket or old jumper | Soaks up damp and turns cold once wet, according to the ASPCA | The first few days only, for its scent, in a shelter that has stayed dry |
| Hay | Soaks up moisture and can go mouldy | Never |
The cat house's product page suggests a blanket or cushion that carries your cat's scent, to help it take to the shelter. The ASPCA and Alley Cat Allies, however, advise against blankets outdoors: they soak up damp and turn cold. Hence the compromise: a blanket with its scent for the first few days, while the shelter stays dry, then straw as soon as the nights turn damp.
No bedding makes an uninsulated shelter insulated. In a hard frost, the answer is still the house: see at what temperature letting your cat out in winter becomes questionable, and set up a winter bed indoors. Our other beds are in the beds and scratchers collection.
Frequently asked questions
How often should you change the straw in a cat shelter?
As soon as it is wet or soiled: that is the ASPCA's guidance. Check it every week and after any rain or snow: straw that is flattened, grey or smells musty no longer does its job.
Where do you buy straw, and how do you tell it from hay?
From a garden centre, a farm supplies shop, a pet shop or a local farmer, says Alley Cat Allies. Straw is tough, thick, light and yellow or golden. A fraction of a bale is enough for one shelter: keep the rest dry, on a pallet.
What should you do with the shelter in spring?
Empty out the straw and let the shelter dry. The supplier says nothing about how it stands up to sun or how to care for the walls: as it folds and comes apart, the Pelux cat house is safest stored flat out of season, somewhere dry.
Key takeaways
- With a shelter you already own, you do not insulate the walls: you pick the spot, raise it and bed it.
- A cat shelter goes against a wall or under the eaves, door away from the wind, clear of gutters, and anchored to the ground.
- A pallet under the shelter cuts out cold and damp from the ground more reliably than another layer of fabric.
- Straw is the winter bedding, a scented blanket only a stopgap for the first few days, hay never; in a hard frost, access to the house comes before any shelter.