keeping a cat warm on screened front porch

what would be the ideal thing for a cat would it be a dog kennel with padded furry, warm walls covered in wool, polar fleece or something?

currently we just have a basket with a pillow in it for the cat. The cat is thick furred however.

When I had outdoor cats, they were fine with a box that had both blankets in & over them. They stayed perfectly warm through winters in southern WI.

Your idea of a dog kennel would be fine too though I think having all the walls covered in wool & such may be too warm..

The coldest it gets here is about 23F and doesnt stay there.

usually ranges from 32-68F each day in winter.

Just asking a little background info so maybe we can give some better suggestions.... does the cat stay in the screen porch all the time (never inside or fully outside)? I take it it's not cold right now and you're thinking more for next fall/winter? Is s/he a pet, or just a stray that's kind of taken over your porch? Umm, I guess that's all.... cat's will pretty much adapt to temps as they see fit - I'd think you wouldn't want to make the area too warm just cuz cats have naturally higher body temps than we do and tend to generate a lot of heat (ie: even in the middle of winter, I have to turn my AC on at night in the northeast US cuz Oliver generates so much heat)... a dog crate with some blankets in it sounds pretty cozy to me

she stays on the porch during the night so she cant get attacked by other animals. she had an abscess removed recently. we let her out during the day.

Hmm, is your area safe enough for you to let her out? If there are other animals there during the night... couldn't they attack during the day, too?

I like the dog crate idea--it should be nice and warm. If it's too warm, the cat can always sleep near the entrance.

the theory i think is:

cats are nocturnal so will be more violent at night
the bully cats around here are fat slobs who will be too slow during the day.

the cat needs to go outside sometime.