Keeping Your Outdoor Pets Warm Using Foam
Check out this informative article on how to make two different foam shelters that will keep outdoor pets warm using foam. Some of these tips and tricks will help your local strays too!
Did you know that it can be relatively simple to keep your pet’s outdoor home insulated with foam? Foam shelters can be an easy and inexpensive way to build winter shelters for feral cat colonies or outdoor cats that cannot be brought inside. As the temperatures drop, and we slide into winter, allow us to help you build a shelter to keep any pet or animal warm.
Advantages of Using Foam
Certain types of foam, such as closed-cell foams, like polystyrene (EPS) and polyethylene, are fantastic for insulation and generally have high thermal resistance.
Due to the structure of closed-cell foam, it is one of the most durable and long-lasting materials on the market. Closed-cell foams are often resistant to moisture, rot, mold, and mildew. This makes them ideal for outdoor pet and animal shelters.
Compared to building shelters entirely out of wood, using foam sheets requires fewer tools, minor cleanup, and less money.
Polystyrene Foam Shelter
Supplies:
- One 2′ x 4′ sheet of polystyrene foam that is 2” thick or more.
- Tubes of all-weather adhesive caulk (squeeze-tube or a caulk gun)
- Box cutter or utility knife
- Marker
- Bread knife or fine-bladed foam saw
- Measuring tool with a straight edge (a T-square is recommended)
- Upholstery T-pins, long thin nails, or long construction screws
Directions:
Step 1, Cutting:
- Cut 2 foam pieces, 24″ x 24″. Label one piece as “A Top” and another as “A bottom.”
- Cut 2 more foam pieces, 12″ x 24″. Label them both as “B – Side.”
- Cut 2 foam pieces, 12″ x 20″. Label these “C- Front” and “C-Back.”
- Important: On the “C-Front” and “C-Back” panels, further measure and mark the bottom with two 6″ x 6″ squares; 2 squares for each single C. Label these as D Foot.
Step 2, Put It All Together:
- Once you have all of the pieces cut, cut a 5 ½” x 5 ½” door into the C-Front panel.
- Next, glue the 2 D-Foot pieces to the A-Bottom piece.
- Glue one of the sides labeled B-Side to the A-Bottom piece
- Glue the piece labeled C-Back to the bottom and the side.
Storage Bin Shelter
If you have any large, durable storage bins that you no longer use, you can easily repurpose them for a warm winter hideaway! As a bonus, precise cutting and edges aren’t needed. Hand-cutting the foam is easy to do. Straw can be used as stuffing and extra insulation. This is a light shelter that is easy to move. It can also be kept in place with a rock or any other heavy object.
Supplies:
- A large and durable storage bin.
- 1 large hard polystyrene foam board that is at least 1″ thick
- Yardstick or tape measure
- Box cutter or utility knife
- Straw or other insulating material such as shredded newspaper.
Directions:
- Cut a doorway roughly 6” x 6”, close to the corner, into one of the long sides of the storage bin. To prevent the shelter from flooding, ensure you cut the doorway several inches above the ground.
- Measure the floor of the bin, and cut a piece to fit. Line the floor with the foam.
- Measure the four sides, and cut the foam to fit. Line each interior wall with the foam. Perfect cuts aren’t necessary, but make sure to leave a gap of 3” or more between the top of foam and the upper lip of the bin. This leaves room for the foam roof to fit inside.
- Cut a doorway in the foam to line up with the opening in the storage bin.
- Stuff the bottom of the bin with straw, fabric, shredded newspaper, or other insulating materials.
- Cut out a foam roof to fit and rest on top of the inner foam walls.
- Cover the bin with its lid, and you’re done!
More Tips for Keeping Outdoor Pets and Strays Warm
Here are some other ways we can help our furry friends keep warm through the harsh winter.
- Empty stomachs can be dangerous in the cold. You can help by feeding them warm milk or dry foods. Dogs and cats, when hungry, don’t have the energy to use their body’s warmth to heat themselves
- Check under and around your vehicles before turning the engine on. Many times stray puppies, kittens, or other small animals take shelter under the frame or in the spaces between the wheels.
- Add self-heating insulating materials in places that your pet or local strays My try to find shelter.
- Avoid using antifreeze in any areas near animals. It is highly toxic and extremely deadly. If you can’t avoid it, make sure to clean up all spills.
- Avoid using harsh salts or chemicals to melt snow. This can also be lethal to our furry friends.
This winter, we at The Foam Factory hope to help your pets and local strays stay safe, comfortable, and warm. When it comes to all things foam, we’re here to assist! If you are looking for the largest selection of foam for every need, we have what you need!
I would like to know if it’s possible to use the xps foam board for temporary covering of an animal enclosure. I was told that XPS foam is used in Florida for roof support, which you can walk on. I believe it’s used under a metal or plastic roofs or maybe alone for sunrooms not sure how but it is installed on the roof. Anyway I’m asking for the owners, Chris Gillette and Gabby of Bellowing Acres Sanctuary located in Interlachen Florida. Being located in the middle of Florida it does get colder there. I am Looking on their behalf for something better than plastic sheeting for the animal enclosures that house the different animals at the sanctuary. When it gets too cold for the animals, like the birds for instance, plastic doesn’t always cut it but maybe the foam boards could be the solution. This way they don’t have to catch them all and bring them inside the house. I’ve seen the video of all their birds in their kitchen and needless to say it’s pretty crowded! But they also bring others in the house too. So, is there a way to use this as a lightweight wall to go around some of his enclosures on the outside? Easily installed and removed? Sometimes plastic is ok but I think this would be a better solution for those very cold days and nights. It is a lot of work bringing them all in and it is stressful too for but Chris and Gabby work so hard and they do it all joyfully and with love! The proof is in the videos and documented almost daily. Chris’s videos have gone viral many many times, his gators being the highlight of most all of them. I don’t know your business trajectory but this would be an opportunity that I believe would be of marketing value and a loving gesture. An appreciation for all wildlife at Bellowing Acres and beyond! Chris has taught not only me but thousands about alligators, crocodiles and about the other critters that live there. Chris and Gabby are Anthropomorphitarians and are like no other. Now if your product isn’t feasible for the suggested intended use maybe you could point me in the right direction.I see where it is used for inside bins as insulation for animals but this has to be used on the outside. Maybe a whole new product can be created to make it work idk but please let me know either way. Chris has no idea I am asking about this because I know how busy he and Gabby are. I figure this is the least I can do. I love them so much for what they are doing and how much they show love to their family, so much so that I wish I were an animal! He is one of the few men I know that are honest and have a heart. I know what abuse is like and it kills me knowing how some of his critters who were and are completely innocent, so mistreated and abused before they were adopted by Chris and Gabby..Watch his videos on YouTube and you will see animals in real time that every day are gaining trust in Chris and his lovely fiance Gabby. He is like part Dr Doolittle, part Ace Ventura, part Steve Irwin and part Jack Cousteau and then some! They are both honest, passionate and transparent. Speaking for our Creator, He is pleased. Anyway thanks for your time!
I suggest purchasing Foam Sample Pack letter I. With the pack, you can see if it would be a good fit for your application. We have expanded polystyrene, which is different from XPS, extruded polystyrene. Both can be used for insulation purposes. The foam will need to be covered in some sort of way to protect it from damage and / or dirt.