And Now I’m Planning A Catio

Of the ready-made options, this one from Wayfair is probably my favorite (affiliate link).

It’s just over $300. With the cost of lumber and materials today, I don’t think I could build it from scratch for less than that. The structure measures 71” H X 35” W X 65” L. I do wish it was bigger. That would be plenty of room for Felicity to lounge around, but Tiger is much more energetic, and I’d like for him to have more room to play.

Another pre-made catio that I liked is this one from Wayfair.

It’s quite a bit bigger, but our back yard is huge, so we have plenty of space for it. This one measures 74” H X 74” W X 110” L. But of course, a larger catio comes with a larger price tag. This is about $250 more than the smaller one.

Even with a pre-built catio, I would still have to build some things from scratch because they would need a way to get from inside the house to the catio. So I would need to build a walkway from one the windows in the house to the catio. I was trying to think of which window I could use for the access to the walkway, and I think our bathroom window is the best option.

For some strange reason, both cats love to be in this bathroom. They play in here all the time, and because Tiger loves to play in here so often, I’ve had to remove the rug. Every time I walk into this bathroom lately, the rug is crumpled up on one side of the room because he runs in here onto the carpet and skids across the floor, leaving the rug in a pile on the other side of the room. I was fighting a losing battle with him and this rug.

But since both of them love being in here already, I think using this window for their “doorway” to the outdoors that leads to an enclosed walkway to a catio would work out perfectly. And I really like the idea of the catio being on that side of the back yard as well. I was initially trying to think of where I could put a catio on the other side of the yard — the side with the carport, driveway, and my workshop. But I couldn’t envision it. I think adding one more thing to that side of the back yard would start to look a bit junky and cramped.

Clearly, I need to take some updated pictures. This picture was taken just after we had our driveway poured, so it doesn’t show how cute my workshop exterior is now. But you can see how this side of our back yard already has a whole lot going on.

But the other side of the back yard only has Cooper’s fenced in yard, and that’s it. There’s plenty of space for a catio of any size over there, and that happens to be the side of the house where our bathroom is.

I’m going to continue to think through this. It sure would be easier and faster to purchase a ready-made catio that I just have to assemble. But of course, I also came across all kinds of built-from-scratch options as well. I spent quite a bit of time watching videos on this Cat Topia YouTube channel, and there are so many creative ideas that they use to customize catios for the available space.

So at this point, I’m 100% sure that a catio is in our future. I would feel so much better about Tiger being outside in a catio. While he does mostly stay on our property while he’s outside, I’ve seen him mosey across the street a few too many times for my liking. We don’t live on a really busy street, but people do speed down our street way too often for me to feel comfortable with Tiger crossing the street. A catio sure would give me peace of mind, and I love that Felicity could enjoy it as well.

Now I just need to figure out all of the details. How, exactly, would I create a “doorway” through our bathroom window? How long would the walkway to the catio need to be, and where would the catio be placed? How much would all of that add to the cost? These are the details I need to think through and plan. But I’m determined to have a catio now.