23
Sep

Winter Cat Shelter Design Flashback

As the weather gets cooler (is anybody else excited for fall colors and allergies?), we think it’s important to think of the animals that don’t have any regular shelter.  Last year, we sponsored, designed, and built a cat shelter to keep the feral rat patrol squad warm and cozy though the winter.

The most fun part of the project
The design

This project was accomplished with supplies that can be found for free or purchased at a local home improvement store—shipping pallets, storage bins, ratchet straps, hay and foam-board for insulation, and fun paint colors.

First, storage bins were stenciled with a logo and had entrance holes cut into them. These bins are Basil-tested and Basil-approved!

Basil loves all our boxes

Then, we painted the pallets with bright and fun colors.

Next the bins were lined with foam insulation and hay to keep the cats warm.
Hard at work
The boxes were all strapped together to give the cats a community and keep the boxes together.
Felicitas straps the bottom level together
 Finally, the second level was added and the entire block was covered with a tarp.  The cats were warm and protected from the snow throughout the winter.
The finished project!

Overall, this was a fun project to design and a very rewarding experience for all of us.  If the winter looks bad this year, we will definitely revisit this!