DIY Outdoor Cat House Cat

A two-day DIY project you can do! I built a posh heated outdoor cat house for multiple cats. I had a mom cat and two kittens living outside. They were stray cats that came with our new house. Unfortunately they were sleeping in a cardboard box. It was obvious they needed an extreme cat house makeover.

NOTE: We already had four cats living inside so it wasn't an option to bring the outside ones in.

Step 1: Make a plan and draw it out. I found it was key to measure my cats so I could get an idea of how big the size of the inside needed to be to sleep three cats comfortably. I also used a outdoor safe heating pad (link under video description). If you use a heating pad it will dictate the minimum dimensions of the floor.

Step 2: Draw your plans out on 3/4 plywood and cut it out. A jigsaw is perfect for whimsical designs/ shapes.

Step 3: Make the base. I used a 4"x4" post for the three legs.I then used wood glue and screws to attach the legs to the bottom and upper platform.

Step 4: Glue it all together with wood glue. I also used a finish nail gun.

Step 5: The roof. I used a rubber floor mat as the underlayment and then covered it with strips of wood. This has turned out to be extremely weather tight.

Step 6: The chimney. This is purely decorative and you may or may not need one. We grabbed some rocks from the yard, washed them, and then adhered them with glue. This will take forever, best to get your spouse to do it ;)

Step 7: Paint - While you're spouse is working on that chimney, it's time to paint. Make sure you use a quality exterior paint.

Step 8: Decorations. Wrap some twine around the legs, paint on some flowers, and attach some cat toys. The house is almost ready.

Step 9: Finishing touches - Remember to attach some rubber feet under the base to keep it off of the ground. Finally place your heating pad inside the house. We used an exterior extension cord and timer so the heating pad turns on at sunset.

If you decide to build a cat house I'd love to see it. Hopefully this inspires you to help out a stray and build them a home.

Zach Settewongse