It’s finally starting to cool down, even in Arizona. If you follow G&T on twitter, you will know that that means Tycho’s heated beds are starting to see more use again! They’ll get even more use after his next haircut, which will be in about a month! I leave at least one plugged in most of the year (the apartment is air conditioned after all), but the heated beds really become kitty magnets when the temperature starts to drop.
There are a large number of heated cat bed products available (at a wide range of prices!), but I’ve found the cheapest option to be purchasing K&H pet bed warming pads (which can be found here on Amazon) and incorporating them into existing bedding. These pads don’t use too much electricity, but they do get quite warm. So you have to enclose them in at least several inches of padding to make sure they’re not too hot for your cat! I typically wrap the pads in several layers of a folded fleece blanket and nestle the whole bundle into one of the larger pet beds. (You can buy pet beds with slots designed for heating pads, but as all my pet beds come from the discount store, I don’t have any of those!)
Another great option for padding out the heating pads are Purr Padds (that’s a brand name, Amazon link here). I’ve got a long heating pad on the back of the couch folded into a blanket with a Purr Padd on top and that is by far Tycho’s favorite spot in the house!
Gus is not as into kitty beds as Tycho. He prefers the comfort (and crinkly sounds!) of plain brown paper for many of his naps. But even he is sometimes drawn to the fleece wrapped heating pad in the cat tree perch!
I’ve been pretty happy with the durability of the K&H heating pads (I finally had one die last year after 10 years of use, so not bad!), and I like that you can buy a variety of sizes to make any of your cat’s favorite sleeping spots warmer. Plus the small pads (which are a nice size for cats) can often be found for only $10! I can also vouch for the same company’s very durable outdoor heating pads which are great if you have a catio or screened in porch for your kitty. Growing up our barn cats like Kepler really enjoyed having similar heated perches in the cold winters! I know some people put them out for feral kitties too.
Become your cat’s favorite person by getting them a heated bed!
Wow..thanks for all that KatV….Answered all my questions and new I must start the investment of building the spots &adding fleece- heat pads etc…all included here…and my feral kitties who prefer outside&escape out after a day or so inside…no too cold yet but this few 30F nights had me worried I put beds&coverings to block the cold but surely cold nonetheless…indoors they curl up on my bed somewhere between romps around the house…that night-prowl never seems to go away …Thank you again Kat…do you have the collection onKatV’s kitties supplies so you get a little financial benefitnfrom it…you know how to set itbup yes ? Then add the url for your amazon page store to your tweet profile page so we can find it …or you have it done already ..? I milust goback look about for it…
I’m sure the feral kitties appreciate the help staying warm! (I currently don’t get anything for the links, but am considering adding amazon associate links to the things I’ve actually ordered from them!)