Outdoor Cat House

There was a time when I was forever getting up to let one of my cats out the back door so they could go out and play, then getting up again a few minutes later to let them in when the rain started. My cats also liked to go out at night just before I go to bed and I used to lie their wondering if I could hear them crying at the back door waiting to come back in. I used to get up and call for them in the middle of the night, especially when the wind was wild and the rain was lashing down. I know I'm not alone worrying about my cat in the bad weather, any responsible owner would do the same. Then there's the morning when I'm frustrated because my cats don't come in when I call them and I have to leave them outside while I go to work.

I decided that I needed to do something so I could get a full nights sleep and less stressful mornings and a friend suggested that I should get an outdoor cat house. At first it seemed a little too silly, I've heard of people who absolutely spoil their pets they buy them over priced specialist cat cushions and treat them like newborns but without the nappies, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought an outdoor cat house might be a good idea, I hate waiting in the rain so I'm sure my cats do too! An outdoor cat house seemed a practical solution to my nightly worrying and my daily frustration when my cats failed to keep to my time table for leaving the house.

So if your anything like me and worry about where your cats have found to shelter from the horrendious weather or concerned about leaving them stuck in the house all day or locked out while your at work then an outdoor cat house might be the right thing for you too.

At first I quite fancied a traditional wooden cat house, but then I realised that staining and protecting it each year would be another chore to add to my list. I wanted something that wouldn't require any maintenance and look attractive in the garden, maybe even add a bit of colour or make it into a feature. So those beige domes were also crossed off the list. I stumbled across the KatKabin on Ebay and loved the vibrant colours. Not only did they have a striking red and deep purple for those who want to make there outdoor cat house a feature in their garden but they had it in a brown and green as well.

The only down side was the price, they cost slightly more than the other cat houses I'd seen on the Internet. I have to admit that I did love the design but the practical side of me wanted to know whether that extra was worth paying for, so I did a little research.

The main benefits for me were the following:

• It had an easy to maintain wipe-able outer shell - no staining or scrubbing
• It had a detatchable cat flap cover - keeps in the heat but comes off for easy cleaning
• It can be fixed to the ground - there's no way my monster cat could knock it over and hurt herself
• It's got an insulated cushion - making it nice and snug

I also like the quirky shape, I read that this is to ensure the heat dispersed evenly inside, but I'm not sure how bothered my cats are going to be about that.

I did buy myself a KatKabin a purple one in fact and I love it (never mind the cats). I've placed the outdoor cat house against my lilac painted fencing and it adds a great splash of colour. My cats love it to, they even had a fight about who gets to sit in it, so I think I need to go and by another one. Off to Ebay I go.