I am planning on building an outdoor cat house here in Manitoba where temperatures get pretty frigid in the winter, as low as -48 degrees or so Celsius. I want our 2 outdoor cats to live in relative comfort, but I don't know how high the wattage should be on the heat bulb that I put inside the cat house, just so that it at least doesn't freeze. The house will be about 5x2 feet and insulated, but it won't be completely sealed since there will have to be a small (probably 6x6") swinging door or something for the cats to get in and out. So what wattage of heat lamp should I get, or would a regular light bulb work? (Still, what wattage?) What would be the most frugal as far as electricity costs in winter, but still keep the little cat house above freezing in -40s (Celsius) ?
heat bulb wattage for outdoor cat house
Jun 02, 2022
Last reply: 4 years ago
3 Replies
There are heat lamps with thermostats and thermostats made for heat lamps if that might work better. Would a heating pad be a viable alternative? There are also ceramic heat emitters that don't put out visible light if that would matter.
I bought a K&H house and it came with a 20w heating pad:
formatting link
It usually doesn't get much below 0 F here but it worked out well. In the winter the cat is inside most nights but when I go to work he goes out so it gives him someplace to hang out in a pinch but I think he's found a crawl space he prefers.
K&H has a selection of heat pads. One good thing it did was motivate me to put a weatherproof receptacle and ground fault outlet on the outside box. I didn't want to fry the cat if he decided the pad was a chew toy.
Get one of the small heaters with a thermostat and blower in it, available at Walmart. It will actually keep the temp near a fixed point, which is what you want.
Join the Discussion
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Didn't find your answer?
Ask the community — no account required