Halls explains that while outdoor cat houses may be suitable for your family cat who spends large chunks of the day outside, they’re most useful for supporting street cats or strays. “For pet owners with cats that have access outdoors, they [may] want to give their cats shelter from a variety of weather conditions,” Halls explains. “But I would say that most shelters are created for cats that live exclusively outdoors, many of which are not owned as pets but are free-roaming. Often these are individual cats that a cat lover becomes aware of on or nearby their land and twant to make their lives seem a little less harsh.”