I have 4 outside cats (all strays) and while we have a barn, they find spots to stay warm and sleep and only one that I know of stayed at the barn.

If you have a pet and don’t bring it in in the winter and summer heat you shouldn’t have a pet. Period, end of story.

Yeah you dont have to. But if you choose to have an outdoor pet you shouldn't be chastised for it and shamed.

LOL.

K.

My house has no A/C so bringing it in during the summer would be cruel... especially when I spend most of the day outside myself.

As you can see... I am working very hard to ensure Thomas D. Cat stays warm but is able to do his job of controlling mice around my home and shop (which is difficult for him to do from inside the house).

Lastly, as I touched on earlier, he isn't a pet as much as he is a working member of my homestead. I have two old dogs that have never lived this life so they stay inside and will do so until they die. When they do we are getting two more dogs and (GASP) they will stay outside at all times in the goat pen. Not all animals are "pets" who live a life of comfort and pampering... some have to work for a living.

We can't have outdoor cats where we live for very long, they disappear, so our cat is an indoor cat. Our dogs are semi-outdoors animals. They have a well insulated dogloo for cover and shelter when it gets wet or cold, but most nights they sleep in the garage. Living in the country, you can well imagine how they smell, so the house is not an option.

A lot of people see it that way. But, I have had pets all my life. So have my parents and grandparents. We loved our pets, but we never considered keeping them inside or were concerned about how they would fare in extreme weather. After all, they aren't human. They don't have the same weaknesses as people. They are outdoor animals by nature. To try to humanize them and act like they are hot or cold just because we are seems silly to me. I have never seen a pet of our family suffer because of the weather.

That's your opinion. But it's wrong. Don't assume that they are hot or cold just because you are. See my previous post. They aren't human and they don't have the same tolerance to temperature that we do.

Different animals need different levels of shelter. Barn cats who have a good place to get out of the weather and wind can be just as happy as "Mittens" living in the house without claws. Same way a short-haired chihuahua wouldn't make it outside for very long but a hound or husky that grew up outside is happy with a warm dry doghouse and a belly full of food. Too many people attempt to lump all pets into their narrow set of categories of how they should be treated and not allow for circumstances.

This completely ignores the entire concept of evolution. You honestly think that because all dogs have wolf in them that they automatically have their survival traits? The same should be said for idiotic humans that create useless products everyday but obviously don’t need them because cavemen never had to use those same products.

What’s arrogant is to sit your ass inside a warm comfortable house using completely unreasonable levels of energy and to watch your dog chained up outside and think you’re doing the right thing according to laws of nature. But go ahead and keep patting yourself on the back for your enhanced self awareness.

A few years ago we were in a similar situation. I built a small cage in the corner of our garage and installed a pet door so the cat could come inside without free roaming the garage and vehicles. I also installed a small panel heater but that probably wasn't necessary.

Wrong!

Uh... that's the joke. Don't let that thing inside, it'll eat small children.

This is what we use for baby pigs. Just slide this sucker under the cat house you built and problem solved.

https://www.agrisales-inc.com/kane-phms-36-heat-mat