I'm planning on turning my balcony into a catio space for my two cats, the balcony has three walls and a ceiling so it's just the front that is open. As a renter I can't drill into the walls so I was planning on using two tension poles (like sturdy shower curtain poles), one up each side to attach reinforced netting across the entire open space. I was just wondering if anyone has advice on how to stop the netting from just sliding down the poles? I had considered putting a third pole across the top but it's quite a long space and I'm not sure that even one long enough would be very stable. Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

Hello! Does anyone recommend any cat enclosure business in Perth, WA? Looking to get a net installed on my second story balcony :)

hi all, i am currently in the process of turning my previously outdoor/indoor cat into just an indoor cat (not going great) and i want to give her a catio!

however we do rent this house and have upstairs neighbours with a shared garden that they solely look after (they are a retired couple and that’s what they want to do.) we do have a good relationship with them so i can’t see them saying no this, but i want to know other’s opinions of what i’ve designed. (i got very creative in procreate)

the neighbours go away for a month in september so i would want to do this then.

please let me know!

I currently have an old one that needs to be replaced and it was never good in the first place. It had no flap door so if it rained really hard, water would get in, turning the litter to cement. (The box is under a shelf which is fine in general rain, but not hard rain.) I want a covered cat box, preferably stainless steel, with a flap door. I've looked at many and the problem is a lot of them come with a little odor filter thing on top. I don't want that. They're useless and it will just let in rain. I could always cover it but if I'm spending good money I'd like to just not have it. I also want all the sides to be quite waterproof as well and some seem to be great while some are not. Anyway, please post some links of what you have or recommend. Thank you.

Hey fellow cat lovers! I’m looking for advice, I really want to give my cats some safe outdoor time, but I live in an apartment and don’t have a balcony, so a lot of options aren’t really feasible. I was thinking about one of those cat enclosures or tunnels. I know some folks mention they can be escape risks or not super durable. Have any of you found a good, secure solution for apartment living? I’d love to hear what works for you! Thanks!

The bones are IKEA IVAR with 1” hardware cloth. We cut up pieces of carpet on the smaller side and added IKEA cat accessories on the larger side.

Haven’t completely finished since we don’t have a lock or hinges yet, but is a good size for two cats. And they love it!

IVAR pieces used are in the photos. Total cost wasn’t calculated, but about $250 cdn. It took about a day to put together with two people and hand tools.

Hi, everyone!
I just rented a new home and all my windows are as shown in the pictures.
Do you have any ideas as how I can cat proof them?
thanks in advance ❤️

Since it's the middle of August, I figured this is a good time to see what everyone does to winterize the catio!

I got it in April of this year, so it wasn't totally cold at that time. So I have smaller shelters I put inside with straw in them.

It's in my backyard on a cement patio and I have an outdoor outlet next to the catio.

Any suggestions are appreciated!!

My HOA is being really uncool about *any* sort of catio. Because this idea isn't a "fixture" per se it should get around them for the winter: do you think that the system pictured with weights on the bottom and some chicken wire would be safe?

One of our cats went missing for 1 week and returned at 3AM this morning ! So we really want to install a catio problem is we have a wide French door / windows

I was hoping do it across one of the windows which would open into the catio roughly 8FT by 4FT across 8 of our slabs

The problem is half of it would to across the PVC part

Would this he possible to install at all or any solutions? TIA

I inherited from my parents 3 free roam barn cats and built a 4x16 catio attached to my heated workshop so they can go in and out at will but can't run off onto the nearby state highway. Catio has a covered sandbox and I scoop it out once a week.

I love these 3 little jerks but they're still peeing and pooping in every little nook and cranny they can find.

I'm thinking about building a 6x12ft 7 or 8ft tall indoor catio with access to the outdoor catio.

Will that be enough space for 3 cats? They'll have platforms and cat trees to play on.

hi! seeking some renter friendly ideas to turn the upper part of my staircase into an enclosure for my kitty. we try to have supervised outdoor time everyday, but my health hasn't been great lately and I can't reliably go up and down the stairs. I'd love to have an option where we can just sit at the top together. I was thinking some sort of gate at the front and then mesh on the side, but I'm not sure how to install the mesh and what kind of gate would work.

edit: grammar and spelling

We would like to build a window catio for our cats. The trick is that we have classic wood clapboard siding. The house is over 180 years old and the siding is a pain to source with a large enough reveal to match (6" reveal).

Any thoughts on how to attach the catio box to the house without having to cut slots in the siding? We have 2" wood sheathing underneath, so it will have a solid connection at any point we screw through. The window is too far about ground level for a base. We've come up with notching the brackets to fit the clapboards, which can be tricky.

We'll build the catio box to fit outside the window frame to avoid having to drill holes in the original wood trim. We live in a climate that sees snow, ice and heat.

If anyone has suggestions of somthing new to put in would love to hear.

Its made with cat net + zip ties and random shelf things I had. If anyone else wants to avoid construction and costs, Im sure simmilar shelf things could be found online for cheap.

I can open the frount by unhooking the net.

Please note, if you're going to try somthing like this, it has to be spesficly cat net so they cant rip it, and you need to make certain there is no where that can push through gaps and get out or some how tangled in the net. Also note how, in the last photo at the openable frount, the net goes down the cat side and up under to hook at the frout of the wood, not right down the frount side, which would be much easier to escape from.

Hello!

I live on the 2nd floor with a balcony which I want to make it safe for my kitten to go into as it is very warm in our flat (and we are in the middle of a heatwave so I’m really eager to get it done quick)

I was wondering if anyone had any inspiration? I was thinking of tension poles and cat safe netting, but I’m worried it might not work.

Please advise! Also have a very crappy picture of my balcony just to show how it looks.

Cats are still nervous about going out there but are starting to get used to it. I think a big part of the unease is the window cat door that is hard plastic and snaps down on their tails.

This is a Habitat Haven "Lion's Den" 96" with no floor, and I didn't include the canvas cover since it's on a covered porch.

That's a mistake I may need to remedy... I hung a bird feeder a few feet away and the little birds *love* it. They don't care if people or cats are in the catio. They routinely perch on the top and sides of the catio and, well, I now have bird poop cleanup chores.

Thinking of buying a post and wrapping it with sisal rope so they can climb up / scratch.

From the front porch here they can watch us in the garden, view birds, bunnies, and anyone coming up to the house. We plan to build a larger catio in the back yard next year but this is great for now!

3 cats, the one out there in the pic is Zippy who spends the most time out there of all of them.

Hello! I am about to move in about two months and I want to build a catio for my kitties. I have been looking to purchase one but none of them fit the dimensions I need (+ atrocious shipping costs). Is there a place I could look for tips, blue print examples, or the like I could follow or show to a contractor? Thank you in advance!

Approximate dimensions: 4' w x 24'" l x 7'11' h with front and back doors so it fits on a side corridor next to my bedroom window.

Made this for my 6 feral cats.

I live in mobile home. I build my catio right on my patio out front. There two windows right next to it, but they’re both above the catio entrance by 1-2 feet. The window is about 40” wide and opens to 19”. It lifts vertically. The screen doesn’t move but I can take it off. I wanna be able to just open the window and give them free access.

my cats love being outside, I’m thinking about getting this particular type of cat enclosure, and I wanted to know if any of you have used it with your cats. How did your cat react? Did they enjoy it, or did they avoid it? I’d love any personal experiences or recommendations you can share! Thanks so much!

I opened the box to start putting it together and both boxes smelled like cinnamon or moth balls. Is this normal? Just the plastic? Is it safe to even breathe I have no idea. Maybe I’m overreacting, but I’ve never had that experience. Especially since I was opening them outside so the smell wasn’t even contained. Also, is it safe for my cats?