Self Warming Pet Beds - Are they safe & do they work?

I have one of those. Wonder if I can sew it into a cloth pad--will it reflect the infrared rays of the cat's body heat back to it?

I would think sewing it into a cloth pad wouldn't hurt.

Although, I would make the cloth pad removable to wash off kitty hair!

i just got my order, it seems to work, though i don't think it was designed for outdoor shelter use as I intend. still it's better than nothing, i'm product testing as we speak (i put it on my office chair ).

the thing with straw is they say it doesn't get wet like cloth or newspaper would. which makes me think i could use wool in some way, since that too doesn't lose its insulating effect when wet.

oh, that reminds me, has anybody ever used the micro disc? its the thing you microwave for 10 minutes and it apparently keeps a temp of 120 F for up to 12 hours. might try that at some point.

Originally Posted by sharky

likely the reason Bestys "kids" wont use is they likely are too warm... Kandies type of CRF made her colder and Zoey must just be very yin

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Actually, they make a bit of a crinkly noise, and Ginger HATES that, so I think that's part of it. I'm going to find a place for it on the floor this winter and hope that maybe the Bengals use it.

I found some today!!! $12 each....so I only got two. I set them up in the garage, we shall see how Cow, Fafeena, Tony Bob, & Molly like them. I was cold on the hour car ride home, so I warmed my bum on one.

So what's the verdict Natalie?

My in-laws have just adopted an out door cat. Right now she's in garadge but they want to set up a corner for her in the car port so I'm going to make some suggestions. (The adopted her purposely to keep her outdoors because of mice and with that I'll just say that I have a vastly different oppinion on the subject than my in-laws. DH already said something too. But maybe he can convince her to make a cat flap into the garadge.)

My two are set up in the garage for the farm kitties. Molly has "dibs" on hers.....she sprayed it. She is much warmer, definately always sleeping in one spot now that the pet bed is there.

Fafeena beat the tar outta Cow & comandeered his bed.

I think that means they like them!

Someone on this thread mentioned Microwave Disks that can be put under covers to help stray/ferals stay warm in winter. I see them online but not in stores. I live in a small town but could get to Toronto. Is there anyone on this board from Canada who has seen or bought these from a pet store. If so, which store? Appreciate any help you could give.
Also, on a site about ferals, someone was using solar blankets - the kind you put on a pool - to cover shelters and keep the heat in. Anyone tried this?

You can find the Emergency Survival Mylar Blankets at Walmart in the Camping/Sports/Outdoor Department made by Ozark Trail.  They measure 52"x82.5".  Think I paid around $2.50 for the package.  I cut them up into whatever size I need.  Right now I have a polar fleece square with the mylar blanket stitched inside.  They do crinkle...I sometimes lay another polar fleece square over the top of that to help reduce the noise.  I just throw the mylar square in the washer/dryer when needed.  You can make shelters for outdoor cats from almost anything including styrofoam coolers.  You can Google this and find a lot of information about caring for outdoor cats...here's one link that may help everyone.  There are lots more!  http://www.utahpets.org/nmhcms/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=IifAFxqYpp8=&tabid=93  .  

Old thread is old.

Ducman69 said:

Old thread is old.

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Maybe so, but it's still good info since I missed it the first time around.

This maybe old, but they are still around. I just bought self heating pads from Amazon. The one I bought from Walgreens is out on the deck, still working. Its just too yucky to be in the house. I am buying another in a couple of weeks. Fleece baby blankets only works so long.

My husband and I have used the microwave pads for 3 years.  There are some real drawbacks to them, but they do work. First and foremost do not ever heat for 12 minutes. They are made with a wax like substance inside them.  If you get the wax soft, that is warm enough. If you do 12 minutes they are so hot it will burn the cat, even under a blanket. After you heat it, test it by sitting on it, or leaving your hand on it for an extended period of time. At first we did the 12 minutes and the cats would not get in the houses for a while.  They do have a slightly waxy smell. So, heat as long as it takes  to  melt the wax. Test it, cool it i needed then place it under a couple layers of blanket. We find they last about 5 hours, although if the cat remains on it, it stays warm longer. They do loose effectiveness after long use.  We heat about 5 per night and put them in their beds around 11pm.  When I get them between 7 and 8 they are fairly hard. I used to get them as hot as possible but when we truly watched the cats we saw that was an error. Now we get them about 5 minutes and them make sure they won't burn them. Also, when they are hot never lay them on a table with glass.  It will shatter the glass in a few seconds.  This I know from experience. That will tell you how hot they really get.  They are fantastic and I think when combined with a self heating mat and a blanket in mylar over them it will last longer and work even better.  Always keep an extra around. We did get two that leaked. There are two brands we use the blue square ones made by K&H. We bought them online and for the ones that leaked they did send new ones once we returned  the leaky ones. We do think they are great, just be sure not to heat too much.  Another danger of overheating is they burst in the microwave. So, start at maybe 3 minutes and keep going adding only a minute.  Once melted that is good enough.  To the first touch they do not feel so hot but to leave your hand on them they will burn you.  The cats all expect them and wait to bed down for them to be placed and cool a bit which also heats the house a bit.  This is why I think the mylar and self warming pads will be such a great addition.  Let me know if you love them as much as we do!!

The microwave pads have instructions printed right on them to let you know how long to heat the pad for. 12 minutes is way too long and the pad may leak in the heating process. If it doesn't, the scorching hot pad will burn a pet.

The blue K&H microwave pads instruction says to heat for 4 to 5 minutes in the microwave. If the pad isn't warm enough, heat again in 1 mintue increments until the pad is warm enough.


I use Snuggle Safe microwave pads. The microwave time varies depending on the microwave wattage. For mine, it's 5 minutes.

Always wrap the heated pad in a towel or blanket to prevent your pet from potentially being burned from lying too long on it.

white cat lover said:

I need something to keep the outside kitties warm this winter. I have been looking into self warming pet beds. However, I would need larger ones...so I've looked at medium-large sized doggie ones. They priced about $30/each. And I need at least 4, perhaps 6. So, I'm looking for some advice regarding them.


The benefits as I can see them:

1) no cords/electricity

2) provides constant heat

3) washable

4) no re-heating required by me


Anybody have a self warming pet bed?

Do you like it or not?

Where did you get it from?

Any other suggestions on warming pet beds?


I have looked at these, pricewise....
http://www.harrietcarter.com/index.c...-5a6c6b87e483/


But I have never heard of the company before, simply got a catalog in the mail & they seem too cheap to be worth it!

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"Self heating/warming bed" isn't really true, but they do work. It sounds like your working on feral cat housing? The warming beds use a product called mylar - like for happy bday ballons, or emergency blankets, or even space blankets are all the same basic thing - they are never warm alone - but they work like a mirror, they reflect the cat (or dog, or person, they are used in emergency rescue situations). So what I do since we sometimes get tons of snow and cold. I have used foam sheet insulation, then depending on the house shape I sometimes use rolled insulation, then I use the cheap emergency blanket to cover that stuff on the top, sides, as a door flap, and on the bottom I use jacket type material that has water roll off- you want nothing that absorbs water in the winter especially, so under the water resistant material I put 2 layers of emergency blankets (they can be cut), then under that for cushion I put rolled foam or something nice and attach it together so the padding is under neath and the reflective body heat just under the water resistant material - what happens is the cat goes in the dry place that is insulated, lays on the reflective bed, it gives most of the cats heat back- but if you have a damp cat that comes in and lays on a towel or something that absorbs moisture at all then the cats body heat has to dry the cat, the bedding, and then try to heat the space - instead of spending anytime/bodyheat drying the bedding and using his energy and callories for that - using insutaltion and non moisture holding material that doesn't just freeze when damp gives the animal the space to warm itself.

You can cut a hole or 2 in a cooler that's already insulated, 2 holes- one for in one of out in case of a preaditor is recommended, so is a big around and deep bowl that has a tire or something filled with many big rocks that naturally fold heat - the sun heats the rocks or concrete all day, and that keeps the water thawed all night. There are other things you can do depending on your building skills, like black tubing into rocks or filled with water that are all heated all day and build a solar cat house heater - there are many ideas and things online that give more ideas like these.

I had an "oven" that cooked with a light bulb and I have been looking for a solar set up that would make something like that work when it's very snowy here connected to a thermostat, but I haven't found something cost effective to do that. I did find some ready made mylar\heat reflective beds/mats for $7-$10 on Groupon and my hard ware store...home depot. I would really only do that on the bottom for laying depending on cover.

Welcome to TCS bottlebabymom

This is an old thread, and the original members may no longer be active

I am bumping this thread because I am look to buy a heating pad for my cat. I read the replies and I don't like the idea of just a mylar blanket and a blanket on top of that because of the noise it could make (or am I wrong?). I'd like something within a $25 budget and potentially doesn't need to be plugged it (unless you guys deem it a super awesome product) and aesthetically pleasing too. My cat would really appreciate it.

I have several of the mylar-blanket-with-cover type beds, and my guys absolutely ADORE them! Yes, they do make a little bit of a crackly noise, but the cats don't seem to mind one bit.

I have this one and this one (which I mostly use flat and unzipped), and both types are equally well liked and used. They're in near constant use in the colder months, and one of my boys has been using one over the summer too. They seem to just be very comfortable places to sleep. I have no experience of the more elaborate warming beds, so hopefully someone else will chime in with more ideas soon.

I have found non electric ones by now. Where the cat uses its own body heat to warm it up.
Walgreens use to have one and Amazon.com had one.