>> Lived in a house where the primary heating was a wood stove, can confirm it's better to start the fire right away. <<

Yeah, we have one and use it a lot. In autumn and spring, we can usually get 4-6 weeks without needing to run heat/air conditioning. In winter, we use the woodstove to augment the heat pump.

>> I did kind've one of those cat shelters for Major Tom before he came inside -- a big dog house with a smaller cardboard box inside, various blanket scraps & straw & such in between with a nice cat bed inside. He REALLY liked it.<<

Awesome! :D