Boy Scouts Are Keeping Cats Warm With Portable Winter Shelters Made From Storage Containers

Nov 15, 2021

If you’re a pet owner or an animal lover, then you’ve probably wondered about ways to keep animals safe, protected, and warm during the colder months. For indoor pets, this is a pretty easy task, as they just stay indoors with the heat on. However, for outdoor pets or stray animals, it can sometimes be a little harder to keep them feeling warm and cozy. Fortunately, a Boy Scout troop and a non-profit organization have teamed up to create the perfect solution.

Tyrell is a high school student and an Eagle Scout. Alongside the other members of Troop #3310, Tyrell found a way to build insulated shelters made out of storage totes to help keep stray cats in his local community safe and warm during the colder months of the year.

The heartwarming project has gone on to be shared with people all over the world thanks to the troop and a non-profit organization. Wanting to help as many animals as possible, Tyrell and his troop collaborated with LifeLine Animal Project, an outreach program in Atlanta, Georgia, dedicated to providing pet wellness resources and helping people and pets stay together.

The troop members wanted to make sure that the shelters were put to good use. They also created a video in February 2021 to show others how to create the insulated and portable winter shelters at home to help out the cats in their local areas too. Read on to find out more about how these groups continue to help animals and how you, too, can create portable winter shelters for animals.

According to its website, LifeLine Animal Project is an organization that offers several services, including veterinary care, animal services, a Community Cat program, and a Pets for Life program. The organization’s goal is to provide wellness resources to pet owners, as well as service stray cats throughout Atlanta’s metropolitan area. The hope is to help as many animals, especially cats, as possible, specifically in impoverished areas.

In February 2021, LifeLine Animal Project shared a video on its YouTube account highlighting the tremendous work Tyrell and Troop #3310 did in order to create insulated, portable winter shelters for stray cats that were made out of storage totes. 

In the video’s description, the LifeLine Animal Project explained that Tyrell is an Eagle Scout who, alongside his troop, has built multiple shelters for community cats designed to help keep them warm and cozy. Speaking about the dedicated troop members, LifeLine Animal Project said, “They’re experts at putting these shelters together and wanted to share their knowledge with you so you can support community cats too!”

The video showed the troop members working together to create the shelters by using different storage bins, PVC tubing, styrofoam, duct tape, and hay or straw. By keeping the lids on the bins and having only one entryway made from PVC tubing, the shelters are creatively designed to keep cats warm while giving them somewhere safe to stay.

At the end of the video, the troop gave a huge thank you to everyone who watched and would go on to create their own insulated winter shelter for cats. “Thank you for contributing to your local cat community,” Tyrell said.

What do you think about these inventive winter shelters for cats? Are you going to try to build some? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to any pet owner or animal lover you know!