Impress Your Feline Friends With A Crafty Catio

Cat owners and cats alike are going ga-ga over the idea of a catio. As the name implies, a catio is a simple addition to your home that allows indoor cats to have a taste of the outdoor life in a safe environment. Typically, a catio has a cat-sized entrance and exit adjacent to the house. You can put this doorway anywhere in your house that’s appropriate, such as the master bedroom, living room, garage, enclosed porch or laundry room. Check out how you can build a catio with minimal investment on your part.

Pick a Solid Spot

Choose a solid spot for your catio. This means a concrete pad or solid wooden foundation that can hold the weight of your catio’s components. Consider having your catio with a spot that already has an opening, such as a door or window, for your cat to come and go as he pleases.

Sketch Out Your Plans

Before you start buying materials and building your catio, determine the size of your catio. The structure can be something as simple as a box surrounded by screen material on all sides, or you can go all-out with a room-sized addition to your home made of wooden planks, chain-link fencing and cat furniture for an outdoor playhouse. Measure out how tall you want your wooden planks, decide on how much square footage of screening material you need and then pick a roofing material for your catio. Make it as fancy or as basic as you want.

Build the Framing

For an all-out catio, your first construction step includes building the frame. Cut planks of four-by-fours to the correct height and anchor them to your sturdy floor. Place horizontal beams in between the vertical beams for support of the roof and to help keep the the vertical beams upright.

Add Screening

Add heavy-duty screening around the sides and upper part of the catio. It must be able to withstand wind, weather and your cat’s claws without making larger holes. Consider sturdy metal screening or narrow chain-link fence. Bugs may get into your catio, but those provide a way for your cats to have some extra fun. Attach the screening firmly because you don’t want to let any large animals into the catio.

Click the button below to learn how to finish your catio project.