We had befriended a cat who came into our yard. The weather in Michigan had suddenly turned cold in November, and there was a "coyote" alert which had been sent via email from our neighborhood association. I was trying to catch the cat to take her to animal control, but I was having no luck. I thought that, at least until I could catch her, I wanted to give her a protected, nice place to sleep that I would put on our 2nd story deck to keep her out of harm's way. I also purchased a heated pad, and a heated water bowl which were both bought on Amazon.com. After looking at several products on Amazon, I decided to order the Kitty Tube. It was a great price, provided a washable pillow, was made of recycled materials, was insulated, and small enough to provide a cozy warm place that the heated pad and her body heat would be able to work efficiently. I managed to catch the cat and take her to animal control to see if she was microchipped. I thought she may have been because I discovered during the process of getting to know her that she was delcawed, also. She was very friendly, but I was having difficulty getting her in a cat carrier. After finally managing to get her in the cat carrier, I took her to animal control. She was microchipped! Hooray! She belonged to couple who didn't live far from us. Their cat had been missing 1.5 years! They picked her up at animal control. We met this family last weekend at their home. The cat, who is a female, is 10 years old, and named Shannie. She is doing just fine reunited with her family. She enjoyed our hospitality, but she's even enjoying life more being an inside cat again with her former family. They had just moved to this area, and she had accidentally gotten out of their house which was about a mile away from us. She became disoriented, not knowing exactly where she was in her new area. That's why she went missing. The family put up posters, searched near and far,and called all the local rescues, but couldn't find her. We never saw the posters. We did knock on doors in our immediate area asking if anyone was missing a cat when she found us. We were so lucky and thrilled that she came to us, and we were able to provide her with creature comforts until we could build trust with her to get her to animal control to find her human family. The Kitty Tube played a major role in our trust building efforts. Thanks to all of you at Amazon and Kitty Tube for such a speedy delivery of the product. We needed it fast, and you didn't disappoint! By the way, we have new friends because of Shannie. I am going to cat sit when her family goes to Florida at the end of December, 2012. We are inviting her human parents to our house during the holidays to see where their cat spent some of her time when she was missing! I'm sure it will ease their mind!

Okay, maybe I wouldn't live in it if I could. But you know what I mean, right?

I've had this hut for about 5 or 6 years. I normally don't wait to review a product but back then, I couldn't be bothered so here I am, six years later.

I have all indoor cats. I have 6 ft high, freestanding chain link dog kennel panels enclosing my concrete patio. The patio is their only "outdoor" space. One climbs the fence, so he's not even allowed out. One is afraid of the air movement when she walks, so she WON'T go out. My third kitty respects the fence and love, love, loves her outdoor time -- and that includes this hut. She bounds out the door, looks around, rolls on the concrete, watches the birds and does all that important cat stuff that has to be done every day. Then she retires to her hut and naps for several hours before coming out and scratching at the door to be let back in for a snack or a meal. To say she loves it is to understate it. It is her go-to place and so I love it too.

The patio is on the southwestern side of the house. We live in western New York and, during the winter, we can have some pretty wild torms due to the Great Lakes having their effect on the weather system. There isn't a lot of clearance between the ground and the opening of the hut, so when winter is coming, we set the hut on three four inch landscape blocks to elevate it. We also spin the opening so it is facing the house, to protect the opening from snow accumulations as much as possible. What happens with that is when it snows and the wind blows, the wind and snow tend to swirl in the middle of the patio and drifts form along the edges. Because the opening is facing the house (and almost touching the house), there is rarely any accumulation around that opening. When she wants to go out, we open the door and she's instantly in it. It also helps that we have a "Weather Trax" heat mat right in front of the sliding door to melt the snow there. (As an aside, she often just sits on that heat mat, while watching the winter world that is our yard.)

During the warm weather, we spin the hut so the opening faces the yard, so she can get the breeze and whatever air is moving around. We also spin the top to "vent" it so we don't end up with baked kitty for dinner.

We've only ever had one problem with this hut. Like I said, we get some wild winters here and sometimes we get wind gusts over 60 mph. When that happened the first time after we bought this hut, that hut got knocked off those blocks and went rolling on it's side, lost it's lid and we had to run out after it. You certainly can't blame the manufacturing process, though.

Now it not only sits on top of the blocks, but we also spray painted an old rusty patio umbrella base black and set it on top of the hut. That sucker has gone NOWHERE since.

I'm so taken with this thing, I can't begin to articulate how happy we have been with it for these past six years. We have gotten more than our money's worth out of it, and I really believe, based on that, we have at least another six years worth of use out of it, too.

It is WELL worth the price.

*2023 update*

I have had this kitty hut for EIGHT years now, and it is still standing strong. My Sadie spends HOURS each day in it, no matter the weather. My deck is enclosed so she can't wander, but she loves to sun herself, watch the birds and squirrels, and chase leaves. On rainy days, she's inside napping the day away. On cold, snowy days, she's inside napping the day away. On hot, humid, sticky days, she's inside napping the day away.

The insulation has held up to every kind of wind, rain, snow, and heat that bipolar Mother Nature can throw at us. It has not crumbled or otherwise deteriorated in any way. The pillow inside has NEVER gotten wet from weather. This is likely because I spin the opening so it is at a 45 degree angle from the house - room to enter and exit, yet protected by the house from inclement weather. I set a heavy meyal umbrella stand on top of it, and it doesn't blow around.

Honestly, this is the best value I have EVER gotten from all the years of purchases at Amazon. Nothing else has held up as well and as long.

When I purchase needed items online I research the heck out of the possible choices. This is how the Kitty Tube came to be the one situated under the eve overhang of our back deck to serve as winter shelter for a much loved but skittish, neutered, outdoor-only family member. It simply out-competed the other available cat house options we considered for our very smart, 24/7 pet who visually interacts with us and the indoor-only cats, but WILL NOT come inside our home.

My only concern to overcome was that it has a single entrance door opening even though a number of feral cat experts firmly believe you need two entrance/exits for safety. Since my location for the cat house was to be up on a slatted and gated deck (not out in the open ground) I decided the potential threat of large predators such as dogs or coyotes was minimal. Now that it is positioned on the deck I feel confident in my analysis that the single door is fine and perhaps even preferable for our specific circumstances.

I bought the Kitty Tube version with pillow. It arrived quickly. I found the video directions to be clear and relatively easy. Upon delivery the black Kitty Tube was frankly a little larger size than I had imagined and maybe a little intimidating to a small animal. Our cat looked at it suspiciously and assiduously avoided it for a few days --never taking his eyes off the mysterious Kitty Tube when I placed his meals out from the sliding glass kitchen door as usual. Then after about a week the weather cooled and the miracle happened. I'd put the food out, say his name and a few words, and in two seconds he'd be scurrying out the door of his Kitty Tube.

We had our first snow fall today Dec. 9 and later I will check to see if I positioned the door opening of the cat house near enough to the deck wall to keep the pillow dry so I can adjust that if necessary. At this time I chose not to hang the plastic curtain which was included.

I am happy so far with both the Kitty Tube itself and the professionalism of the company that makes it in the USA. I'm ecstatic that the intended occupant is using it. Winner!

My Mom has been feeding a stray cat ("Ms. Kitty") in her neighborhood for the past 6 months. The local animal shelter hasn't been keen on picking the cat up, and my Mom does not "want" a pet... but as winter approached my Mom became increasingly stressed about how to keep Ms. Kitty warm & protected from the elements. She fashioned various boxes with various types of padding and insulation - including a cardboard box wrapped in a duct-taped shower curtain for waterproofing!

As Mom's November birthday approached, I decided that Ms. Kitty had been around long enough to merit a fiscal investment, despite her 'stray' status. I started looking into the insulated(?) Igloo dog & cat houses, but happened across the Kitty Tube during my search. Ultimately I liked the Kitty Tube better because: it seemed better insulated, I thought it looked more aesthetically appealing, the entrance was smaller (the better to keep out the elements and larger animals), the lid can be removed for cleaning and easy interior access, plus it came with a bed. Add the facts that it is MADE IN THE USA!, has a lifetime guarantee, and it is made of recyclable materials - win, win, win!

My only problem - I had dilly-dallied until the last minute, so chances were that the Kitty Tube would not arrive in time for Mom's birthday, which was only a day away! Amazon only gave me one shipment option, so I went ahead and placed the order and expected a late arrival. But I noticed on the Kitty Tube business page that faster shipping was available to customers in certain states - including Illinois, where my Mom lives. I sent Kitty Tube an email asking about this delivery option (even though my order had already been placed). I went to bed in the wee hours of Thursday morning. By the time I woke up - Jim from Kitty Tube had already responded to my email, changed the shipper for Mom's Kitty Tube, and refunded me $18 to reflect the difference between the shipping fees. To top it off, he wished my mom a Happy Birthday. How's that for customer service?!

The next day, Friday, was Mom's birthday - and what should appear but her new Kitty Tube! She had no idea what it was initially. A visiting uncle helped her open the box and figure out what was inside. When she realized it was a weatherproof cat house for Ms. Kitty, she burst into tears from sheer relief. She hadn't even realized how stressed she had been about keeping the cat warm and safe outside through the winter. My uncle dispatched Ms.Kitty's shower-curtained cardboard box to the garage and set the Kitty Tube up in it's place on my mother's covered back patio. Mom initially put Ms. Kitty in while the lid was off, and Ms. Kitty shot straight back outside through the doorway. Then Mom put Ms. Kitty's favorite fleece blanket on top of the Kitty Tube's cat bed and put her in again. Ms. Kitty still didn't hang around, but she was starting to get the idea. By that evening, she was entering the Kitty Tube on her own, kneading her fleece blankie, and settling in to nap. Mom went out again after dark to check and see if Ms. Kitty was inside the Kitty Tube. She said "Are you in there, Ms. Kitty?" Ms. Kitty responded with an affirmative MEOW from inside her new house, and stayed put in her bed! My Mom is THRILLED. Therefore, so am I!
Just an FYI - the only thing that was not anticipated (by me) is that my Mom's Kitty Tube is black. In the Amazon photos it looks more silvery-gray. But Mom & Ms. Kitty certainly aren't complaining!

I live 2,000 miles from Mom, and I called her later that night to see how her birthday had gone. I think we were on the phone for about 2 hours, and all she could talk about was the Kitty Tube. She said she kept going outside to admire it like it was a new car, and she proclaimed more than once that it was the "Cadillac of cat houses"! So there you have it - Mom & Ms. Kitty have spoken!

Thanks again, Kitty Tube LLC for making Mom's birthday, and creating a quality shelter for outdoor cats!

A feral mama cat and her kittens just showed up one day. Mama Tiger is very suspicious and I have worked hard to gain a little trust. I am able to get close to her and I can even pet her a little. The kittens were tamed and rehomed but Mama was left. I was worried about her because Wisconsin winters are very cold. I bought the double insulated kitty tube and put it out in the shed. I never saw Mama use it. I decided to bring it up on the covered porch near her food. Whenever I fed her I showed her a couple of morsels of dry food and I set them just within the entrance of the tube. I would wait to put the rest of her food down until she checked out the kibble I set in the tube. Within a couple days I went to feed her and she came out of the tube. I bought her the heated pad as well and I can honestly say she loves it and hangs out in her Kitty Tube most of the day when it's really cold outside. I highly recommend it for your outside cats, and so does Mama Tiger!