Here's one of three shelters I made for a small group of cats we have
been taking care of for the past year. We've been lucky in that we
were able to adopt one out, and another seems to be giving us the
hint: )

The inner chambers are Omaha Steaks shipping containers found in the
trash. The one pictured is the smallest size of the 3. The other 2 are
a little wider, deeper, and taller. RubberMaid containers were
purchased at Lowes for 10 dollars each. The awning is a laundry
detergent bottle.  The rope allows us to lower the houses into a
fenced off area (with the kind landowners permission) so they can be
safe from strangers. The fence is 10 feet high with barbed wire (it's
a boat storage/bait shop). For now, the pin holds a vinyl doorflap up
until they are used to being in the houses. I'm not sure if we will
ever pull the pins to release the doors. Not shown are 2 aluminum
downspout "skids" which attach to the bottom, raising the door opening
higher to keep it out of the snow. Currently we are using straw
bedding. I was thinking of putting a glass block window in the side
facing south, but couldn't find curtains to match : )

The bottles also make great feeders for dry food-they shelter the food
from rain and snow, keeping the waste  to a minimum. I've made a few
of them to hang on a chain link fence, and we replenish them with a
funnel system. That also keeps strangers from tampering with the food
(we had problems with an employee at a dog grooming place next to the
boat yard throwing the food out).

Well, Happy Holidays to all. Try to remember those less fortunate
animals and unwanted pets this season too, and consider donating
supplies to your local pet shelter.

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