Kind Man Makes Warm Shelters For Stray Cats Out Of People's Discarded Coolers
Winter can be brutal for stray animals, especially when the temperatures drop and there is nowhere warm to hide. While most people are inside, one Utah man has found a simple way to give cats a safer place to ride out the cold.
Philip Rogich, from Ogden, takes discarded coolers and turns them into insulated shelters for stray cats. What started as a small idea quickly grew after he asked for old coolers online, and now he has made dozens of them for animals in need.
He is still building more, and the project keeps spreading far beyond his own neighborhood.
“Normally the cooler keeps things cold. We’re going to use it to keep animals warm,” Philip said.
Philip keeps the process simple, using a 6-inch drill bit to make the entrance and pipe insulation to pad it.
The coolers are already insulated to keep things cold, but they can be used to keep things warm as well. Old ones end up in landfills, and they don’t decompose. He is giving them another use.
Philip has made a video with instructions on making the shelters; however, so far, he is the only one in the community making them.
So far, he is the only one making them for his project. He has made a how-to video so people all over the world can make their own. He does have lots of people helping him place them.
“Everybody’s got a cooler in their garage that they’re not using,” Philip told the media.
Philip says it is easy to turn an unwanted cooler into a shelter with just a few items that can be found at any hardware store, such as a 6-inch drill bit to drill an entrance hole and some three-quarter-inch pipe insulation to line the entrance.
“And then on the inside, you just use straw,” Philip says.
Straw has been used for hundreds of years as bedding for animals, and that’s because it has the ability to dry out. And there you go, a cat cooler. Two or three cats could fit in a cooler this size!
People donate old coolers, straw, and money. I had no idea this was going to get so big. It started with a Facebook post asking for old coolers. Then the local Fox station did a story on me. The story went national. I’ve been hearing from people from all over the world. I’m glad to be a catalyst for bringing a little good to our four-legged friends.
It’s a lot like the woman who bought a car to shelter stray cats after condo rules banned outdoor shelters.
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After reading about Philip’s cooler shelters, check out a store owner gets begged for refuge during a brutal heatwave.
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