As winter rolled into San Francisco, California, last year, residents braced themselves for brisk, rainy weather. While most people took shelter inside, one homeowner became preoccupied with the well-being of an adorable stray cat in his neighborhood.
“This is Domino,” the homeowner, who refers to himself as “Domino’s dad,” shared on Instagram. “[A]s nights turned cold and rainy, I was worried about [him]. I wanted [him] to be warm and safe.”
An avid woodworker, Domino’s dad decided to build the sweet cat a home. He sadly couldn’t take the cat in for multiple reasons — Domino was feral, and the man already had five cats and two dogs — but he decided to do everything he could to make Domino’s new house as comfortable as possible.
Domino’s dad researched the best floor plans for cat shelters, then designed a single-story house with two exits for safety. He placed a heated bed in the wooden house and mounted an indoor camera to monitor Domino’s movements.
“The houses are heated by heated pet beds … rated for outdoor use,” Domino’s dad wrote on Instagram. “[And] they have a built-in thermostat to keep them at a temperature very comfortable for cats.”
Domino spent nearly every night after in his new home and, before long, he started bringing a guest around. Cameras captured a female cat, later named Tabitha, following Domino’s every move. The two were inseparable, and they both found comfort in the homeowner’s backyard.
As days passed, more and more stray cats started showing up to check out Domino’s home. Outdoor cameras captured a mama cat with two kittens, later named Winnie, Bowie and Ziggy, playing in the shelter box.
A large tomcat, affectionately named Big Howie, took a liking to Domino’s new house, too. He quickly made himself comfortable in the warm shelter box.
“He became a fixture in our yard and enjoys all the food, catnip and the cozy warm shelter,” Domino’s dad wrote on Instagram.
As soon as he saw other cats taking interest in the cat house, Domino’s dad decided to build another shelter — this time, a blue two-story condo with extra space to fit more stray animals.
“[It] has a larger footprint and features other improvements (such as a shingle roof),” Domino’s dad wrote.
The colony of strays is beyond grateful for their heated homes. Especially Howie, who loves to sit on the porch while waiting for his next meal to arrive.
While he can’t adopt the entire colony, Domino’s dad is dedicated to taking care of them as if they were his own. He’s captured most of them and, on top of getting them neutered, microchipped each cat with his contact information just in case they wander off.
The kind homeowner wishes he could take in all of the stray cats in his neighborhood. But he is comforted knowing that, with his custom cat houses, he’s still making a big impact on their lives.
“Giving shelter to a stray cat won’t change the world,” Domino’s dad wrote on Instagram. “But for one cat, the world will change.”
