Is there a such thing as a heating pad with a thermostat?

a heated "rock" for aquariums for lizards/etc. hit a well stocked lizard store, they'll have a ton of stuff. or google :)

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There's a whole page of them here

Thanks! I should talk with Xta and figure out whether we want to get one of those...

I think the folks that make the heating pads can tell you what the temperature is for each setting. I don't recall, I've had mine for so long. I just know what my cat prefers. I have one which doesn't shut off, and one which does, so if I'm going to leave the house, the one which does shut off can be turned on.
Not sure about maintaining an ambient -room- temperature, for that I tend to use an oil heater and only when I'm home.

When I fostered bottle kittens, they were tiny enough that they couldn't regulate their own temperature. ICRA provided me with a microwaveable heat pad for them, and it worked wonderfully. It's sort of shaped like a Frisbee, only solid. You microwave it for a couple minutes and then it stays warm for a couple of hours.

You do have to wrap it and cover it with a towel, because it's dangerous to let the cat be that close to the heat - more so with tiny kittens, of course, because they won't necessarily know (or be able to) move if they get too hot. It sounds like this would be just the thing for your kitty.

Yeah, the link that Melebeth provided includes one of those, that claims it stays warm for up to 12 hours... That might be the right approach.

Is this the one you were using?

Also, I remembered that we have a couple of little heat-producing pouches. (You flex a metal disk in them to start an exothermic crystallization, and you drop them in hot water later to melt down the crystals.) They're intended for massage, i.e. being against skin, so I figured it'd be safe to tuck them into Tsuki's house, behind some of the padding.

Yep, that's exactly it.

We're using a space heater for the twins that does this, but I'm not sure that'd work as well with a cat?

Not so much. It has to be safe to use outside, and fit into her little house (which is something like two feet deep, a foot wide, and a foot high).

Oh, I was going to recommend something like this to you, and it completely slipped my mind.

I don't recommend the microwaveable one simply because it's too much work for too little payoff. Similarly, for Tsuki, you don't want anything that is fleece-covered or soft-bed-like, due to the extra cleaning that will be required for her.

What we use for animals in outdoor settings (done at zoos, wildlife centers, and frequently with dogs' doghouses) are hard plastic outdoor heating pads like these: http://www.khmfg.com/dogproducts/outdoor-heated-dog-beds-pads-bowls/lectro-kennel-heated-pad-and-cover.html or http://www.khmfg.com/catproducts/outdoor-cat-beds-pads-bowls/outdoor-heated-kitty-pad-and-cover.html. Most of the vinyl-covered flexible ones are not recommended for outdoor use, and I have never seen them used outdoors in my business, either.

What you want to do is plug it in, and set it under the back half of the outdoor crate. This will keep part of the crate warm, but not let it get too warm so she doesn't overheat. She'll be able to choose between sleeping on the warmer side or on the cooler side with no heating element under it (or even outside, if she pleases) without fears of being overheated. Plus, the ambient temperature inside her crate will be warmer, but not too warm.

Regarding the hard plastic heaters I listed above: the small-dog one and the cat one should be interchangeable, but according to the pictures they had, the dog ones look better because they appear to have the cord and power element along one end, making it easier to slip the flat end under half of the crate without making the crate incredibly uneven (un-level?), so you may want to go with the small dog one just in case (the cat one just looks thick throughout). Also, these pads have a thermostat, but not a timer. We have rarely run into issues leaving them on day and night, but you should check it regularly just to make sure it's functioning properly.

I also do not recommend the use of heat lamps with her since she does tend to take shelter in her house. (If she never went in her house, and typically slept in one particular spot outside, then I might suggest that, but it would have to carefully done.)

And yeah, you don't want to put a heating element directly inside her crate. It's unsafe. You want the plastic of the crate as a protective barrier in case something goes wrong with the heating element. If inside her crate, it could start a fire or burn her. Or she could claw it/destroy it (typically one you would put inside a crate would be flexible, and therefore not puncture-proof, unlike a hard plastic heating pad). Alternatively, she could overheat, or she could find it too warm to stay inside, and spend more time outside her house in the cold weather because of that, ultimately defeating the purpose of having it. So, heating element goes under the outside of the crate, and only under the back half of the crate.

Oh, and just to respond to some of the other things already listed here:

reptile heating pad: definitely not. Not enough heat output.

Plastic heating disc: I don't really think it will help a lot, as I said, and will be too much work for too little payoff, but I wanted to clarify that it won't hurt and would be safe to put inside the crate.

Metal-disc pouch: Again, I don't think it will help a lot or for a very long time, etc., and you'll get better heat output from one of the heating pads I mentioned. It would probably be harmless, but I know they are not puncture-proof and the fluid in them gets pretty warm. Tsuki is probably unlikely to puncture it, but you should know the risks.

The Lectro outdoor catpad (along with the accessory that lets you reduce the temperature it runs at) was one of the things I was considering, having seen it on the list of products Melebeth linked to above. I sorta wish I'd read your comments first, because I already went ahead and ordered the microwavable SnuggleSafe disc. I guess I'll see whether it actually provides warmth for twelve hours, like it promises. (I'll put it in the house in the evening once it gets cool, and then see if it's still warm in the morning.) It doesn't really seem like a whole lot of effort; for one thing, I figure I can probably control the temperature somewhat by just backing off the amount of time I zap it for, whereas for the pad, you need to buy an extra accessory to handle that... Anyways, if I decide the SnuggleSafe isn't meeting my needs, I'll try the Lectro.

The massage pouch things were fine, no damage done to them, and I'm sure they couldn't have hurt her -- they're designed for use on bare skin, and if they can't burn us, I don't think they could burn her through her fur. I'm sure they didn't last all night, but I figured the warmth they added to the air in the house would take a few hours to dissipate, even after the exothermic crystallization was finished.

As far as separating her from direct contact with the heat source, there're already a bunch of towels in the crate, so I'd think the microwavable thing should be fine in there -- I don't think it can heat up any further once it's out of the microwave and isn't receiving a new input of energy, so I can test how warm it is by holding it against my own skin for a couple minutes, and if it seems fine for that, it should be fine to go under the padding in the house.

If I get the Lectro pad, I'll keep in mind that it's better to stick it under the back half of the house, rather than trying to run its cord inside so it can be under the padding...

Just to be clear, I don't think the metal-disc heaters can hurt Tsuki as long as it is intact, but if she were to puncture one, the hot water inside spilling out could spell a different story.

If you don't mind heating the frisbee up every now and then, it should probably work ok. I think it's more suitable to indoor use, and to use with small animals. For example, at the Wildlife Center we use them to help keep baby birds warm, BUT they are also in an incubator with high humidity, and the incubator is indoors. I haven't seen the fribees used outdoors, but maybe it will work for you. It's certainly a cheap enough option that you won't have wasted too much money if it turns out not to be enough.

Yes, I think for the microwavable ones, wrapping them in a towel should be protective enough. Technically, even the electric heating pads are supposed to be safe with direct-skin contact, but historically animals can still manage to get burned or overheated, so in my business we always err on the side of caution. And with an electrical element, you really want to keep fabric away from it, because someday it will fail, and the last thing you want is for it to start a fire.

I don't think the metal-disc heaters can hurt Tsuki as long as it is intact, but if she were to puncture one, the hot water inside spilling out could spell a different story.

They're not full of water - it's a gel that crystalizes. So as soon as they're activated they start to thicken and then harden (when the reaction is complete they're basically solid). If she punctured one she would ruin it for future use but it's very unlikely much would spill out of it.

Oh, and she's never made a mess inside the little house, and really, if she did, I'm OK with laundering the padding in there, or the kind of padded slip cover that goes over the various heating devices. My main concern with that is that if she did make a mess in there overnight, she might find it too stinky to stay in there. If she starts making messes in there, it might make sense to get the Lectro thing, and set it up such that it's half under the house, and half sitting out bare, so she can crouch on it.

I was thinking mainly of some of those heated, fleece kitty beds that were linked to. I'm not sure how easy they are to disassemble from the electrical elements. Plus, don't you have enough cleaning and washing to do already on account of the furballs? :-) Why add to it if you don't have to.

Yes, half under and half out would be a good solution. Also, if she starts messing in her house, it would probably be wise to provide her with a second house. But hopefully it won't come to that.

Plus, don't you have enough cleaning and washing to do already on account of the furballs?

If we had to launder every soft object that's out on the porch it would still be 1/4 the work of laundering the comforter!