Build an Insulated Cat House

There are about a million street cats in Istanbul, and luckily for them, Istanbul has relatively good weather. Nevertheless, winters can be near-freezing, with daily cold rain. Therefore, I've been researching how to make an insulated, water-proof cat house to use for our local street cats, starting with our former foster kitten, "Happy."

I found instructions online that started with styrofoam coolers, but I couldn't find such a cooler anywhere in Istanbul.

Instead, I made a great house out of sheet styrofoam for just 22 YTL ($14) total. The house I designed and built is suitable for a mother and litter of kittens or 2-3 adult cats. It's insulating ability is far superior to the typical $100-300 plastic dog houses. I would happily sleep in this thing. The house can be made from start to finish in just 90 minutes of hands-on time.

Shopping list (we bought everything at Bauhaus):

3- sheets of thick white styrofoam (each 100 cm x 50 cm x 4 cm)
2- tubes of water-proof glue with NO solvents in it
2- rolls of water-proof sticky shelf paper in a natural wood design (each 50 cm x 2 m)
1- roll of duct tape or similar strong tape





Cutting the styrofoam:

Sheet 1: two 50cm x 40 cm pieces for front and back of house

Sheet 2: 50 cm x 50 cm bottom, and 40 cm x 42 cm side

Sheet 3: 50 cm x 58 cm roof, and 40 cm x 42 cm side

To cut the styrofoam, draw a line where you want to cut. Place a board or other straight, solid surface along the line. Holding the board in place, use an Exacto-knife (razor blade) to cut the line as deeply as possible.



You can faintly see the scored line here:



Turn the board over, place a knee to one side of where you made the cut, and pull up on the other end of the styrofoam. The styrofoam will break crisply and neatly along the line.



The stack of cut pieces:



Cut an 8"-9" hole in the top right sector of the front panel. To do this, I "whittled" out chunks of styrofoam, beginning in the middle of my drawn circle. Be very cautious when doing this, as you don't want to break the narrow edge pieces.

Now take duct tape or similar strong tape and place strips of tape to protect the circle from being scratched by kitty paws. I used red/white "caution" tape.



Allow beneficiaries of the future house to bat around some of the waste styrofoam. :-)



Now, glop lots of glue on the edges of the pieces and assemble like a puzzle. Remember that the entrance hole should be in the top corner (right or left) of the front of the house. The overhang of the roof should be in the front, to protect the entry door. Tape everything in place to hold it steady until the glue dries overnight.



The next day, you can use any remaining glue to patch up cracks where you can see light coming in. When this dries, cover the sides with sticky paper. If you find a roll of paper 50 cm wide, one roll will go all the way around the sides without needing to be cut. Use the other roll to do the roof, making sure to leave an extra 8 cm or so to fold down over the sides (for water-tightness). Use any remaining paper for the floor and interior walls, to prevent scratching by the occupants.

As a last step, I sacrificed an old Polarfleece jacket for a bed. Straw is preferable, but I can't find any in Istanbul. Polarfleece or wool will both insulate when wet. If the only thing you can find is a pillow or cotton blanket, it's better to use nothing at all. These will eventually get wet and suck body heat from the cat.

Here is the finished house, which I think is quite attractive. The flash photo makes it look shiny and fake, but in real life it looks like real wood. I don't think anybody would complain about seeing a house like this in the back yard.



Place the house outside in a sheltered area. Raise it on a few bricks, if possible, and weight it down with a board, light log, etc. to keep it from blowing away. I placed Happy's house on four bricks in an ivy-covered corner of our walled garden. It has brick stairs, and is facing a pile of building materials as a wind-break. I also have an old table next to it, under which I feed Happy when it rains.



Happy didn't want to go inside, so I brought out Casper to show him that it was fun and safe. Happy went in after a minute or two, and slept there all night. It's raining today, and he's still inside, enjoying his comfy and warm house.



If anybody reading this lives in Istanbul and knows a source for coolers, please let me know! I'd like to make a bunch of these for the street cats.