Moggie stayed in her outdoor pen except for the REALY cold nights, but I am in Florida. She has what I term her "hot box". I thought it up on my own as a temporary fixture but it's worked out so well that I haven't changed it yet.
Her hotbox is a dog crate(wire) that is sitting on the ground in a corner of her pen. I sat a heat lamp on top of it so it shines down into the "box". Then I overturned a rubbermaid bin over the light AND the cord which is coiled up and tucked into a corner of that bin, so the cord and the end of the plug(where it plugs into the extension cord) are under the bin. This weatherproofs the light and the cord. Then I covered the entire crate/bin with a few blankets, and then a weatherproof covering. I left the front door open, with a flap arrangement that can hang down over it, with the door either closed or open.
I originally planned on closing her into the crate when it was really cold, and at night, but that proved totally unnecasary, as she will walk right in when she gets cold. When the temps dropped I dropped that flap down to keep the heat in, and she used it like a doggie-door to come and go as she pleases. My temp-gun said the hottest spot was 120F and the coolest inside the box was about 90F. She spends almost all of every day basking outside in the sun, unless it rains, which means she will go into the box. She enters the box at night, or during rain, or if it gets cool(pre- or post-storm).
So far this arrangement has worked really well. I used some heavy HEAVY duty clamps to secure everything so she can't drag the covers off or knock things around. Since the heat lamp is on top, she can't get to the bulb either. This works super well for me, and means she got to enjoy her outdoor pen all year.
When I have to bring her inside(severe cold, or earlier this spring the wildfires' smoke) she gets very grumpy and nasty, slapping her tail at everything.
Thanks for the compliments too, I really adore her!
Here's a second vid, and you can see the green water bin(it's NOT her drinking bin, and obviously needed changing, I kicked myself for not changing it before videoing!)
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v6...=MoggieVid.flv
Wolfy