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iblvinaliens182 t1_j6n2ojt wrote

That's a really nice shelter! If you live in an area that gets cold and wet you probably want to switch the blanket to straw. Blankets can get wet and freeze.

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6n3xzv wrote

Thanks for the reminder on bedding. Freezing temps happen here in Arizona, but they tend to be fairly short lived. I’ll keep an eye on it.

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[deleted] t1_j6of9k7 wrote

[deleted]

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6og5di wrote

They're all pretty tame by feral standards. I can pick 2 of them up and love on 'em. One I have to love on from a surface. The one pictured can be an asshole though. 50% chance of drawing blood after petting him.

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Shuggaloaf t1_j6ou013 wrote

Gives a whole new perspective to the wide-eyed stare through the little window.

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Digger-of-Tunnels t1_j6ni5tl wrote

That cat may be feral but it is not so "outdoor.".

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6njw0r wrote

right?! All this joker needs is a nice cat-sized Lazy-boy in there and he has a better setup than I do.

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loopnlil t1_j6ndbxv wrote

You're a good person for helping these cats out, OP.

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imisssammy t1_j6nlezy wrote

Nice. I take care of three and they (last night) learned to use the doggy door to the house.

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MartinisnMurder t1_j6nruew wrote

Haha did they just randomly take it upon themselves to stroll in through the doggy door? That’s hilarious! 🤣

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imisssammy t1_j6owm4b wrote

Well there's a doggy door to the porch where they usually hang out at night on their heating pads on my outdoor furniture, I guess they just figured they might as well take it to the next level. It was quite a shock to see them lined up on my couch in the middle of the night. They were escorted to the door.

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Black_Moons t1_j6pb1ty wrote

hahaha. "Busted" "I told you this wasn't gonna work" "you blew it! didn't do that cute moew I showed you.."

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Cute_Clock t1_j6mwjte wrote

Can you dim the lights for them?

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6n1yri wrote

The lights are indeed brighter than what I’d prefer. They’re a string of fairy led’s that I modified from battery to plug in power via a simple 1.5v transformer.

When my “liquid electrical tape” arrives from Amazon, i’ll cover half of the lights to make it a little dimmer.

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Shuggaloaf t1_j6nnu6x wrote

Looks like the floor of the actual enclosure is raised off the ground? If there is any space underneath you can put the lights there.

Many people do this with enclosures (strays, chickens, etc.) because heat rises up through the floor. It also keeps the light source away so the animal doesn't touch it (probably not an issue with your LEDs though). And of course also because it allows it to be dark for the animals.

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6nvwqg wrote

Interesting. I can see where just having bulbs under a raised floor would work well.

Don’t have any current pics of the floor setup, but here’s the “ceiling” w light and electrical cat-proofing.

cat proofing

e: over to under 😂

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Shuggaloaf t1_j6nzgm5 wrote

I was saying under a raised floor (you said over, but not sure if just a typo). Also want to make sure you know I wasn't calling your skills or the kitty's safety into question. :)

I like the way you did the LED strands. I'm a big fan of "keep it simple" and the screws work perfectly. The whole electrical setup looks really well done. (Personally if I had already done all that I wouldn't be thinking of making any big changes either. haha)

Crazy that that little strand of lights is increasing the temperature that much. I'm sure the little guy is nice and toasty and very grateful.

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6o5cdx wrote

> but not sure if just a typo

It was indeed. Fixed.

> Crazy that that little strand of lights is increasing the temperature that much

Guess I probably should’ve posted a picture of the floor.

The lights are simply for illumination. The floor is heated with a heating pad designed for plant seedlings.

So it’s:

  1. foam insulation
  2. aluminum foil
  3. 3/4 maple scrap
  4. Heating pad
  5. Maple scrap (over 100 holes drilled to make sure the heat radiates through.)
  6. carpet

Floor setup

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bonescrusher t1_j6nisqi wrote

How about a infrared bulb instead since they are not as bright ...my parents used them for chicks and they are great.

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6njos8 wrote

I suspect that might be too much heat. It's a small enclosure with 2" foam insulation on all sides. The heating pad underneath the carpeted maple "subfloor" + insulation makes the space probably close to 30° over ambient, so in freezing temps, it's about 45-55° in there.

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neil470 t1_j6p5ocd wrote

What is the point of the lights? Aren't cats perfectly happy in the dark at night?

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fuzzytradr t1_j6oo0uq wrote

He's begging you with his eyes to turn the light off

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CritterEnthusiast t1_j6myzgh wrote

The light is probably what's making the heat, it's probably an incandescent light or whatever those were called before LEDs.

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6n2gur wrote

Yeah, didn’t want to risk a fire hazard so I used an LED fairy string for the lighting, and a heating pad for a seedling rack as the heat source. Heats to ~20 deg over ambient.

All of it on an outlet timer

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CritterEnthusiast t1_j6n2w3m wrote

Damn that's a nice setup! Cute kitty too 😍

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6n3pby wrote

Thanks. Yeah, he’s the mischievous one out of the 3 that live in my backyard.

Funny, in the five years since I finished this shelter, he never once set foot inside of it until I got the lights working last weekend. LOL

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Skippy7397 t1_j6n0v1i wrote

You are a Legend for doing this 🥹

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lorddoa t1_j6o5p2n wrote

I don't know you OP, but if this is real, I love you. Thank you <3

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hatepudding t1_j6nfisq wrote

That's very awesome of you. Way to be a good person.

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Fitphil t1_j6n55po wrote

You’re a good person

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Dipping_My_Toes t1_j6n9nnj wrote

Cat will bless you for your kindness to her creatures. ❤️

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Angryoldfatman t1_j6nba4j wrote

Looks very nice and cozy.

I used to have a few of these myself, never caught anyone in them but saw tracks in the snow. Now I just leave my garage door open enough for anyone who wants to get out of the cold to get in.

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Emotional-Coconut-74 t1_j6o63h7 wrote

That’s amazing! I wish I had one of these for my stray cat!

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6o74f4 wrote

It’s way overkill given the standard recommendation is to just foam insulate a large plastic container from Target. But the table saw was new and I needed a project. 😉

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Emotional-Coconut-74 t1_j6o7cqj wrote

Yeah! It’s always good to do something different though (like this!) It looks nice and seems like it’ll last a long time 🙃

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bodaciousboozy t1_j6ofnbt wrote

Thank you for having a kind heart, OP. We need more people like you on this planet 💖

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Ranos131 t1_j6o7cce wrote

I love that you put a window in it so they can look out!!

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6oa2bw wrote

Lol. The fam got a kick out of that too. It’s actually so the other two can look “in” to see if it’s occupied.

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MyFatHead t1_j6okl92 wrote

Bless you for making sure the cat has a place to stay.

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bestj52 t1_j6nyoz2 wrote

Oh that’s so nice to see . Good work

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stevonl t1_j6ob10f wrote

That's a very grateful gaze.... good on you OP.

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4badsanta t1_j6okndj wrote

That's so beautiful

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Loveatlitha t1_j6ocjtf wrote

That’s so precious! What a lovely thing to do

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SoMoHiker t1_j6nra22 wrote

You have a good heart bless you

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rbdllama t1_j6osblh wrote

Looks like its ear has been clipped, good on you if you were the one who did the TNR OP!

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Mrs_Mapatxe t1_j6nbpzg wrote

You're the best!!! He looks so comfyyy

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want2thinknow t1_j6od06q wrote

Love this I did something similar with a covered litter box. Put a seedling heating mat inside and a couple of blankets.

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stonksmcboatface t1_j6p25n2 wrote

Try straw instead.. (Straw for strays, hay for horses) as blankets can freeze and harm the cat

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annfcameron t1_j6ofvah wrote

That is so lovely! Thank you

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babyim t1_j6ot6fd wrote

This is amazing

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Anon9295 t1_j6nu6hg wrote

My first thought was that it was a giant cat

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boringbutkewt t1_j6oktx7 wrote

He’s so cute! I keep thinking about making shelters for the two strays we have in my neighbourhood. I’m scared someone would steal them though.

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stylz168 t1_j6pernc wrote

This is awesome.

My wife and I build insulated shelters using 50 gallon storage bins from Home Depot and foil insulation. We then wire them up with heated blankets and regular blankets, and put cameras and motion/temperature sensors in them.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sterilite-50-Gal-Stacker-Box-14794K03/308820153

Last year we maxed out with a family of 6 kitties all snuggled up in the box over the winter. Was so heartwarming to see.

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doctorscurvy t1_j6ogjnz wrote

Warm and cozy and lit like a thousand suns, luckily cats have a high tolerance for sleeping in broad daylight.

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NerfThisLOL t1_j6oikqo wrote

I love your setup!

I bought an outdoor cat house with a heated bed. It worked well until we were getting wind chills in the -25 to -35 range. We bought a dog house that could still fit the cat house in for extra shelter from the wind and snow. It still gets cold in there, but at least it provides decent shelter in inclement weather.

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Huge_pens t1_j6p51wt wrote

At a glance I thought this was a picture of a store front.

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no5of7 t1_j6p5bmj wrote

PRAISE YOU. Do you have any directions or plans you followed to do this?

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roofratMI t1_j6p7cn8 wrote

Your a great person tyvm

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pheipets t1_j6pa1tq wrote

This is so amazing 😻

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Check-Special t1_j6pcmff wrote

Did you insulate the interior too? Ver nice!!

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loo_min t1_j6peg47 wrote

I can’t wait until you find something that’s not a cat in there.

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Loofa_of_Doom t1_j6pey9k wrote

What temperature are you maintaining for the kitteh?

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[deleted] t1_j6oy1gf wrote

[deleted]

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i_am_fear_itself OP t1_j6oykfj wrote

Lol. It’s ok. People like to feel helpful.

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blanddedd t1_j6ozq3b wrote

It’s beautiful btw and hopefully inspires more people to do the same.

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[deleted] t1_j6p4hq5 wrote

Ya, when people see good it encourages them to help....but go ahead and shit on people trying to help if it makes you feel better.

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Level_Mango2395 t1_j6pj2sy wrote

What a nice and beautiful thing to do for these cats. You are Awesome!

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[deleted] t1_j6p406m wrote

Ditch the light. He will feel more secure. (and the window for that matter or make it smaller) It's very nice that you do that tho. Thank you.

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