Keeping Outdoor Cats Warm: A Winter Shelter Guide

 

When winter hits hard in Missouri, I don’t just hope the outdoor cats will be okay I build for them. Over the years, I’ve refined a shelter setup that’s warm, dry, and emotionally grounded in care. This post walks you through my method, including how I mold straw for insulation, elevate the shelters, and protect the space from predators and weather.

 Shelter Basics: Warmth Starts with Structure

Each cat house I use is:

• Insulated with reflective heated walls to retain warmth.
• Elevated a foot off the ground using cement blocks topped with plywood—this keeps moisture and cold from seeping in.
• Tucked against a privacy fence under a heavy tree canopy, offering wind protection and natural insulation.
• Placed inside a 6-foot fenced dog run (we don’t have a dog, but the fence keeps stray dogs out while cats can easily escape if needed).

 Straw + Self-Heated Pad: My Layering Technique

Inside the shelter:

• I lay 3 inches of straw across the insulated floor.
• On top of the straw, I place a K&H self-heated pad it activates with the cat’s body weight.
• When it’s bitter cold, I mold the straw around the pad, using my hands to build a soft straw wall. This blocks drafts and creates a cozy nest effect.

Think of it like sculpting warmth: the straw traps heat, cushions the pad, and forms a protective barrier against cold air.

The sketch above shows this technique in action—hands shaping straw around the pad, with the elevated base, privacy fence, and tree canopy in view.

 Safety & Escape Routes

Cats are clever. Mine know how to:

• Jump onto the top of the house.
• Leap from there to the top of the wooden fence.
• Exit the dog run easily if they feel threatened.

This setup gives them freedom and safety.

Where Do Cats Go When They Leave Their Yard

Many cat owners wonder where their cats go when they leave their yard. Some cats are gone for days and others for longer periods of time. Pet owners have no idea where their cats go but they assume that eventually, their cat will come home.

Kitten came to live with us, no pet owner ever found

Your neutered or spayed cat vocally tells you that they want to go outside and soon as you open the door they bolt past you and run out of the yard. You call for your cat but they do not look back. Where is your cat going and will it come back?

Lost kitten being cared for 

Cats are social and many times they will leave their yard to go hang out with other neighborhood cats. They will also go to neighbors house provided there is a cat food bowl on the porch or catnip growing in their garden. Cats will also hang out in a neighbor's yard or a vacant lot that has a natural setting overgrown grass, brush and trees. 

(If you cat is not neutered or spayed then they will leave to mate and come home only when exhausted and hungry or they may not come home because they wandered too far and got lost.  I recommend that all cats are sterilized) 

Overall cats will leave their yard to be social and to hang out elsewhere and then go home when they are hungry or want to sleep on their favorite chair with their best friend "the dog or other cats".

Here is a photo card I created of my socialized feral cat with my dog.  They are best friends and always sleep together.

Pit Bull and Tabby Cat Friends Forever Card

But….What about the cat that leaves their yard for days/weeks? There are two reasons why cats do this. One they wander too far and get lost or something in their home has changed and they do not want to live there anymore.  They find their home to be stressful and want to leave.

Know that I have had two of my neighbor's cats come to live in my yard for six months and one never went home. They one cat owner came looking for their cat after four months had past and told me that they had adopted a young female that was nasty to their older male cat, so they put the male cat outdoors, kept female indoors and assumed their male housecat would adjust. The cat left their home and decided they like my home better. Here is the article I published about one of the cats that left his people and came to live me.

Watching Cats at Backyard Feeding Station

I always feed the feral cats at the same time daily but since the weather has gotten cold I found that they are not running to the feeding station in the morning. I do not blame them because the last couple of days it has been really cold outdoors.

I normally put our dry Evolve chicken maintenance food mixed with Friskies whitefish pate. But since it is freezing I have taken away the canned food and I am only putting out kibble. Now if I see the cats in the woods I will put out the canned food because the aroma from the whitefish food lures the cats out of the woods and to my backyard feeding station.

Here is a photo of my insulated feeding station.  There are two doors and we set it on cement blocks to keep the snow and rain water out of the cavity.  Inside is a bowl of food and water.

Today we waiting for the cats all day to come to the feeding station, they did not come until midnight. To my surprise they are now in my yard. I guess fox or other animal ate the food because the cats are taking turns at my backyard feeding station. Soon I will have to o out and refill the bowls.

Do you have an outdoor cat feeding station in your yard ?

View this video to learn how to make inexpensive feeding stations for outdoor cats.