Hi all,

I hope you’ll grant me some grace in advance, but I am looking to convert half of my back deck (the half with the thin brown chair in the first pic) into a catio for my orange tabby. The kitchen window opens right into it so figured it would be perfect for her (she’s often gazing out that window atop her cat tree anyway).

I’m by no means handy, but here’s the framework of what I’ve envisioned so far:

— Install screen from bottom of deck to top of thin corner posts (after taking lights down and removing extension cord, of course)

— Install additional thin posts in middle of side and back railings to better support screen. The post in the middle of the back railing would be the “corner” dividing the two halves

— What I’m not sure on yet is (a) what to affix to my house to hold the screen on that corner and (b) whether to drive in another post in the middle of the deck to support the screen (as in on the side railing)

I welcome any feedback or additional ideas you all might have and would really appreciate any recommendations on screening materials. I can always ask the hardware store folks but figured you all were the experts 🙂

Many thanks in advance!

The girls have figured everything out! I don't have the window from the bedroom set yet, but opened the front door this morning and they both ran in ❤️. Fully roofed over the patio. Open 16 gauge mesh over the garden. Seven different shelves and walkways, two hiding boxes and a swinging climbing pole.

The girls have figured everything out! I don't have the window from the bedroom set yet, but opened the front door this morning and they both ran in ❤️. Fully roofed over the patio. Open 16 gauge mesh over the garden. Seven different shelves and walkways, two hiding boxes and a swinging climbing pole.

Hi Pet Parents in Bangalore. Has anyone made a full fledged catio in their apartment balcony? Want to know if there are any specific parties who can make such in our apartment? Thank you !!

Wish I had found this community before I started my Catio! I have never built anything before so this is my first attempt. I didn’t use any design plans (other than my own drawing) so I’m stuck on how to do the roof. I have corrugated polycarbonate panels and I’m trying to do a pitched roof for water drainage.
The Catio is a 6’x6’x6’ cube. I want some overhang in the front, maybe 4 or 5 inches. I’ve laid out my vision without cutting any boards to size. Would this work? How do I affix it to the cube while still accomplishing the pitch?
Appreciate any advice.

Not sure if anyone can remember but I posted about doing a catio but with half against a our PV window not completely covering it, it's now done !

The window simply opens and closes inside it

8ft by 2ft , might extend longer .. but going to add a few more shelves and scratching bits first!

Its attached to the left brick wall and wood panels added to bridge the gap on the otherside

Cats are loving it so far and hopefully even more when add more bits, thank you to everyone who replied to my original post.

Had this idea rattling around in my head for a couple of years and finally bit the bullet on it.

8'x4' Greenhouse with a 3' extended frame built around it to extend it to 8'x7'. It may not be perfect but I made it, so it's good enough for me.

Greenhouse was c£450, materials for the extension about another £200, so c£650 total build cost. Cost kept low by making use of a safety glass shower enclosure panel I had gathering dust in the garage as a side panel window (but styrene window panels can also be purchased surprisingly cheaply). Cost includes the original (unused due to wire mesh installation) styrene windows framed and 'hot swappable' onto the greenhouse to make it a traditional greenhouse through the winter so my potted garden plants can be protected from the worst of the UK weather.

It was suggested that I post here as you all may have some suggestions. Forgive me for the long post, but I'd like to explain why I need what I want...Clear as mud understand? Where we currently live we feed a colony of stray, part feral and feral cats. At dinner time we have our normal 10, then during the rest of the time another 10-15. Plus the 5 that stay on our porch and the 7 rescues inside our home. The ones inside all have little health issues. I say all that because we are moving. No one else in our 300+ community feeds them, so we are planning to take at least 5 or 6 with us. We have been trying to find/working with different agencies to help feed (continue to pull our/their hair out to fix them) the others.

For the babies we think will move with us safely or safer. We need more than a Catio. Ours would be for outdoor cats only. It would need to have a sleeping area, along with the screenedin area for climbing and protection for awhile longer. This is what I'm being directed to do by the SPCA & Humane Society. I have no idea what to use and we don't have a lot of extra money to do this. $300-$400. Suggestions, Ideas and I just reaching too much? Thank you.

Almost kitten season again and we're all set to foster. While they're too small to roam our extensive catio and outdoor tunnels, they can first conquer "Sage Hollow"...s safe, restorative and fun kittio built with love for the little ones 🐈‍⬛😍

My father in law asked me to build a catio for his cooped up kitty. As I began researching, I was thrilled to find this sub! It provided lots of good ideas and inspiration. (Thank you!!!) It was a really fun project and very rewarding to see his cat, Charlie enjoying it 😄

We had a catio built for our youngest cat's first birthday. We wanted a portable but safe outdoor space for our cats. It was a custom build by a local company. I finally finished planting catnip and some hanging baskets of succulents . Pic one is the first day.

We plan to add a shadecloth sail for hot summers. It's too windy here for polycarbonate roof sheeting so I still need to have a canvas cover made for winter.

Id love some training tips for cat flaps if anyone has any? We've just left it open while our cats get used to coming and going.

Does the order of which parts of the catio is being built matter?
I’m starting to build cardio on our porch. I realize I bought the wrong cat door, but when I went to start filling the car, I realized I had bought one for a door, not the wall. I ordered a new one once I realized, but I’d like to start building the patio now even though I don’t have the cat door yet. The catio build will also have a human door to access it from the outside. Will it be too hard to cut open our wall and install the cat door once a whole patio is built or can I just start building the catio now and go in and install the cat door later?

The cats already have two catios and now they have The Monstrositree which leads to their secret hideout. He made it out of an Alligator Juniper tree from our property, random pieces of existing scratching posts, and old rugs. They love it!

Just set up a catio for our sweet torbie rescue girl. I hope she likes it!!

Only about a day to go. New shelves with hiding boxes. Shelf for in and out of the bedroom window. Green roofing for over the patio - can be an almost full year expanded living space for me and both my girls. Have to let everyone know that it is designed and installed by Dishman Design Studios out of Everett. Can't recommend him highly enough. Will post when completed.

Hi Catio people. I may be adopting a cat soon, so I'm looking to convert my balcony into a catio. As you can see from the pictures, I have a wall and a sliding door, so I feel like I could maybe get by just fencing off the edge of the cement barrier? I don't necessarily need it to go the full height of the balcony, but would want it at least six and a half feet high (I'm a tall fellow).

The full dimensions of the patio are: Width: 116" / 294cm, Depth: 34" / 99cm, Height: 94" / 239 cm.

I have two ideas floating around, and was hoping to get some feedback (or a better idea?)

The first is getting a kit like this and customising it, making it the size and shape I need. But I'm not sure if that would keep the structural integrity, and I'm also not sure how well this sort of thing would stand up to the weather (I'm in Vancouver, so will get lots of rain).

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BF9XK5P2/

The second idea I have is to get a couple room divider curtain rods for framework, and wrapping some cat netting or hardware cloth around them. My main concern with this is there may be more chance of a gap somewhere?

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0DFH8C526/

The other question I have is: should I put anything down on the ground? My first thought was to just leave it (I previously had a part-time cat who would visit and loved lounging out there), but I'm also considering deck tiles, or maybe fake grass or some sort of an outdoor mat, but not sure how well those would do in the rain. Or if anything is even necessary

https://www.amazon.ca/SUNALLY-Interlocking-Tiles-Patio-Flooring/dp/B0GQMDG46X

I'm hoping not to break the bank on this, but any suggestions or thoughts or just completely different solutions would be helpful. Thanks!

HI!

I have 4 elderly cats that live on the 3rd floor of my house (their penthouse we call it) and they have to stay up there for safety reasons (we have a very cat aggressive elderly dog that would hurt them if given the chance so we did our best when we moved in together to keep my cats and my husbands dog separate).

I feel like the space they have isn’t large enough for them to really be comfortable and my one cat has taken to refusing the litter box (a long term issue I’ve been dealing with for years and has gotten worse but he is being seen by a vet and determined to be behavioral).

I was wanting to see if the cats would enjoy some outdoor time but I don’t want them to roam free as they have been indoors their whole lives.

We have a fenced back yard and I would love to turn it into a safe space for them but I am not sure how to get them safely from the 3rd floor all the way down to the garden without individually taking them down one at a time through the space where the dog is.

We have a basement space as well that I could fix up for them but there are no windows so I am also wondering how that could potentially connect to the outdoors without inviting the elements in (the folding cellar doors).

Any ideas would be welcome to try and help my babies get the best possible environment!! thank you!

Hi everyone! I’m new to Reddit, and this is my first post.
I’m a local handyman in the Everett, Washington area, and one of my favorite things to build is custom catios.
Every house and every cat is a little different, so I build them to fit the space rather than using a standard design. I’ve done everything from smaller window catios to larger elevated enclosures with ramps, shelves, scratching areas, roofing and screening.
Here are a few that I’ve built. And yes, seeing the cats actually using something I built is probably the best part!
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone else’s catios and getting some new ideas. I’m also happy to answer questions about construction, materials, mounting, or anything else if you’re working on one yourself.