Review on 🏠 Petmate Aspen Pet Petbarn Dog House: All-Weather Shelter with Raised Floor, Easy Assembly, Multicolor Design by Deejay Cowan

I bought this Petbarn as a home for a street cat (neutered). It became a weekend project to insulate and waterproof it. In addition to caulking the rear vent and locking tabs like other buyers have done, I made the vent smaller. The main reason for the water issues that other people have mentioned is that the door is too big and too low and rain/snow will just pour in if this house is weatherproofed. If you're storing it in a shed or garage I would suggest just insulating the interior (because it's still a fridge) and leaving a large opening. However, cats only need a 6 inch diameter hole, which also helps keep out unwanted larger animals like raccoons and foxes. I mainly used materials I already had at home. I started with a bamboo garden stick, which turned out to be the perfect diameter for the rear vents. I cut two small pieces to the correct length and used them as support rods and then used DAP 230 Dynaflex sealant on the vents inside and out. To make the front opening smaller, I glued the front panel of an old litter box with Loctite Marine Epoxy and sealed the edges with Dynaflex. I used a hair dryer to soften the plastic and cut it to shape with scissors. The easiest way to insulate would be 1" thick rigid foam insulation with foil. However, since it comes in 8ft sheets, I couldn't fit any of these in my car. Instead, I bought a roll of Reflectix HD insulation and used it along some leftover styrofoam I had at home. From both materials I cut out sheets for the floor, ceiling and walls and wrapped the edges with silver aluminum foil to hold them together. Reflectix is a great material: it's non-toxic, adds warmth, prevents the styrofoam from being damaged by a kitten's claws and washes easily if a cat squirts into it.So I created a box within a six panel box.Finally I added some straw bedding, also bought it in HD for $10 (a bale), snapped the lid open and sealed the latches with Gorilla tape Internal dimensions with insulation panels installed are approximately 18". 11, 5"(W) x 11.5"(H). The new opening is approximately 6 inches (H) x 7.5 inches (W). Perfect for a large cat to cozy up inside in the winter. My cat Priscilla tasted it before I put the lid back on. I have to say that despite the extra work and money to weatherproof this thing, it was a fun project and the end result is still a lot more affordable than the kitty tube I used to buy. The Petbarn is also made of durable plastic and weighs 10-12 pounds. So if you hold it up against a wall outside like I did, it's heavy enough not to get blown off. I have a townhouse with no porch, so I hid a petbarn across the street behind my azaleas. The first night I pulled it out, Thor was already in!