My K & H Cat House is 2 1/2 years old. Many months ago, a very timid, stray cat became "a regular" visitor to my farmer's porch. I feed and water him (her?) daily and provide bedding and blankets for it to sleep upon. When the forecast called for the first severe Arctic blast to hit, I ordered the K & H Extreme Weather electric Heated Bed w/ free Fleece Cover. I paid for super fast delivery, and even in M.L King'sBirthday, it arrived in less than 48 hours. I tested it out as the instructions say, and it felt warm....not dangerously hot, but soothing. Fine! So I took it out to the porch to put in the car house, but it was about 2" longer than the cat house. I had to improvise in order to keep it lying flat on bottom of the car house. I folded the back walk, extending the length of the floor. I sealed the (now shorter) rear wall with duct tape to keep draftiness to a minimum. It worked out very well, with my porch being covered, but not fully enclosed. Because this cat is a total scaredy cat who scurried under the porch, even when I approach to feed him.... I keep the front AND rear openings open, with the plastic flaps taped up and open so he won't feel trapped - ever! I put his canned food inside alobg the corner. Both to keep food from freezing, and to lur him in the house to discover the fact that it is now heated. My fears that he wouldn't figure it out were unfounded, as the 1st overnight temps were in the mid teens, F , with a biting west wind howling between 20 - 30 m.p.h. giving the wind chill values of 4 above to 5 below zero, F. And when it started to get light out the next morning I was thrilled to find him in his heated sanctuary, where he came out and scurried under the porch so I could remove the empty feed bowl and replace it with breakfast. I leave the dry food out of his house so that there is as much room as possible. The suggestion I have us measure heated flooring / pad or buy the K & H Heated Outdoor House, to avoid my minor mismeasuring mishap. But I already had an unheated version of the house. I live 20 miles north of Boston, as I write this it's 19 degrees with wind chill value of 5 degrees. The elect. chord is housed inside sturdy metal, so it's nearly impossible for a critter to chew at it. The free Fleece Cover that comes w/ unit is nice, but attaches with elasticized bands on each corner. I opted to purchase K & H Extreme Weather cover for the unit. It slips on, and zips closed, completely enveloping the unit, which is made from a sturdy plastic. The zipping cover was only 8 or 9 bucks, with no worries that it will come off. The material is soft and breathable and made for this item, as well. I recommend this product, as the little stray has truly been a constant resident during this extremely brutal Arctic cold snap! So happens, a big N'orEaster is in the forecast, and could dump a foot + in my area in the next 48 - 72 hours. Since my porch is exposed, I will get some heavy guage, clear plastic sheeting to protect a large portion of the porch; using a few small nails along the inner area from the roof to below the floor, covering the lattice. This will keep the cat's sanctuary free from snow, and prevent water from saturating the car house or the electrical aspect of the heated flooring and fleecy covering. Monetarily, these products are reasonably priced. The stray cat isn't as well off as my 2 house cats, or my 1 indoor / outdoor cat but is FAR BETTER OFF than the countless, helpless animals who are exposed to howling frigid winds and zero degrees Fahrenheit temps. The picture I included was during the first full day, proving how I shouldn't have worried about whether the stray would figure out what to do!! The light blue sliver of color inside on left is the feed bowl I tucked inside. Like I said, even on this severely cold, cloudy day, the canned wet food stayed moist but totally unfrozen. Even though the unit is completely encased in a very sturdy plastic, I do not put water in there, just to be 100% safe! I am very very happy with the K & H products!
