Your cat sleeps in the garage in winter: is it too cold, and how to make a warm spot with no plug socket
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Letting a cat sleep in the garage in winter can work if your cat is a healthy adult and the garage is closed and dry. Below 7 to 8 °C at night, the RSPCA advises keeping your cat indoors. Otherwise: a bed raised off the floor, out of draughts. Kittens, elderly, unwell or hairless cats come inside.
Does a cat get cold in a garage in winter?
A garage shelters your cat from wind and rain, not from the cold: with no heating, it roughly follows the temperature outside, and its concrete floor stays cold. According to the RSPCA, a cat's environment should stay between 10 and 25 °C in winter; for too long below 10 °C, a cat risks hypothermia, frostbite or breathing problems. When it drops below 7 to 8 °C, the RSPCA advises keeping your cat indoors overnight.
The most reliable thing is to measure: a thermometer placed where your cat sleeps, read on a cold morning. If it shows less than 7 to 8 °C, your cat belongs in the house that night. The signs of a cold cat are in our guide to taking your cat out in winter.
Unlike the garden, a garage is a closed room: you can set up a bed there that holds warmth with no plug socket, such as a self-warming cat bed. But first, your cat has to be one of those a garage suits.
Which cats can sleep in the garage, and which cannot?
A garage can suit a healthy adult cat, as long as it is closed, dry and does not drop below 7 to 8 °C at night. According to the RSPCA, elderly cats, the very young and cats without fur are more at risk from the cold; cold also stiffens an arthritic cat's joints, and for a cat with a heart condition it says to see your vet.
| Your cat | In the garage in winter? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy adult that goes outdoors | Yes, if the garage is closed, dry and above 7 to 8 °C at night | A proper spot, raised off the floor, fresh water every day |
| Kitten | No | Bring it indoors |
| Elderly or arthritic cat | No | A temperate room, a bed it can reach without jumping |
| Unwell cat or heart condition | No | Bring it indoors, and talk to your vet |
| Hairless cat | No | Bring it indoors |
| Any cat, if the garage is damp, open or below 7 to 8 °C at night | No | Access to the house |
For an elderly cat, what makes a good bed is covered in our guide to beds for senior cats.
Which garage dangers should you deal with first?
Before setting up a spot, look at the garage through your cat's eyes. Four dangers belong to the garage.
- Antifreeze. According to the PDSA, the UK veterinary charity, the ethylene glycol in antifreeze can severely damage a cat's kidneys even in small amounts, and its sweet taste tempts cats. It is also found in screenwash and brake fluid. Keep containers sealed and labelled, wipe up spills at once, and if in doubt, call your vet without waiting for symptoms.
- A warm engine. According to a PDSA vet, a recently driven engine draws a cat in as a cosy place to sleep: check under the car and the wheel arches before starting it, especially if it has been driven in the last few hours. The RSPCA also advises tapping the bonnet.
- Carbon monoxide. Among the common ways pets and people are exposed, dvm360, a publication for vets, lists car exhaust in a closed garage first; it also names heaters with no vent. The gas is colourless and odourless: never run an engine with the door shut and your cat inside.
- A door that closes on it. According to the RSPCA, you should check that no cat is inside a shed before closing it, so it does not get shut in. The same goes for an up-and-over garage door.
Rock salt, which the RSPCA says is toxic to cats, belongs on the shelf with the antifreeze. Other poisons are covered in our guide to outdoor dangers for cats.
How do you make a warm spot in the garage with no plug socket?
A warm spot with no socket follows three rules: off the floor, out of draughts, in a small space. A low shelf, an old armchair or a wooden crate against a wall, away from the door, makes a good base.
The Pelux self-warming cat bed fits this situation: nothing to plug in, no battery. Hidden under its ribbed velvet, a reflective film returns the warmth your cat's body gives off and slows its loss. Its non-slip base stops it sliding about on the base, and its product page advises using it under cover: a closed garage is just that.
It produces no heat of its own: empty, it is as cold as the garage, and the supplier gives no temperature figure. Put it where your cat already sleeps. For size, measure the base and your cat stretched out, then compare with 61 × 45, 76 × 51 or 89 × 58 cm. The other Pelux beds sit in our beds and scratchers range.
A warm bed where there is no socket
Nothing to plug in out in the garage: set on a base, the self-warming cat bed returns the warmth your cat's body gives off. Discover the self-warming cat bed →
A draughty garage: how do you give your cat an enclosed spot?
In a garage where air comes in under the door, your cat needs walls. A cardboard or wooden box, open on one side only and turned away from the door, already makes an enclosed spot; the smaller the space, the better it keeps the warmth in.
If you would rather have a ready-made shelter, the Pelux outdoor cat house is a semi-enclosed hut with a single door, whose walls protect from the wind according to the supplier; it is neither insulated nor heated. The box contains the shelter only: add a blanket that smells of your cat. The self-warming bed will not lie flat inside: the shelter measures 38 × 35 × 38 cm, and the smallest bed, 61 × 45 cm, is bigger than that even on its short side. The shelter for a draughty garage, the bed for a calm one.
What if the garage is not enough?
No bed makes a freezing garage temperate. If the water freezes in its bowl, or the garage is damp or open to the rain, the answer is access to the house or a temperate room: a utility room, a hallway, a spare bedroom. The supplier does not say whether the bed copes with damp, nor how to wash it: in a garage with damp walls, do not rely on it. A kitten, an elderly or an unwell cat comes indoors: no bed replaces a heated room.
Frequently asked questions
Should you leave the garage door ajar so your cat can go out?
A door left ajar lets the cold and the draughts into the whole garage, and any animal along with them. If your cat needs to go out, a passage its size is better, with its bed placed well away from it. Otherwise, let it out at set times, and check it is back in before you close up.
Where should its water and food go in the garage?
Near its spot, away from the containers and the car. According to the RSPCA, a cat may need more food when it is cold, and its water should be refreshed every day, as it can freeze. A bowl that has iced over also tells you the garage is too cold for your cat.
Can the bed go straight on the concrete?
Its non-slip base stops it sliding, but concrete stays cold, and the air coming under the door runs along the floor. Put it on a base: a low shelf, a seat, a crate. And keep it away from puddles, since the product page does not say whether it copes with damp.
Key points
- A garage shelters from wind and rain, not from the cold: according to the RSPCA, a cat should live between 10 and 25 °C in winter, and stay indoors at night below 7 to 8 °C.
- A garage can suit a healthy adult cat if it is closed, dry and above 7 to 8 °C at night; kittens, elderly, unwell or hairless cats belong indoors.
- Before your cat moves in: antifreeze put away, bonnet tapped before starting, no engine running with the door shut, garage checked before you close it.
- A warm spot with no socket is off the floor, out of draughts and small; the self-warming cat bed only returns heat once your cat lies on it.