Cat Chalet Redux
Here’s my second attempt (see the first here) at a cozy outdoor shelter for my cat — and it works! I installed the chalet last week, and Fuego (the cat) now hangs out in our office window watching the going-on in the alley below. The above photo shows Fuego chowing down on the tuna I used to persuade him to clamber in for the first time. I deliberately made the entrance a tight squeeze both to maximize floor space and minimize heat loss via convection.
The chalet is a transparent Rubbermaid-esque container on its side with a hole cut in the bottom (of the shelter — the side of the container) to let the cat in and out. The whole thing is held firmly in place by some bicycle inner tubes running between two “dent-puller” super suction cups (on the window) and two “S-hooks” gripping the underside of the exterior window ledge. Total cost was about $35 CDN, but if you can find a cheaper container (mine was $22, quite steep) you could pull this project off with money from your change jar.
How much warmer is it inside the chalet? Not much. This isn’t terribly surprising since thin plastic is a poor insulator. Nevertheless, I may leave the chalet as it is because it already cuts the wind and gives the cat a non-frozen surface to perch on. Not too shabby.
Watching my cat slither into my creation, post-tuna, is going to be a very strong candidate for “DIY Endorphin Rush” of 2009. I couldn’t stop grinning all day.
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- NealeMcDavittVanFleet
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