Outdoor Cat Enclosures

[PitterPaws]

Has anyone every built an outdoor cat enclosure, and if so was it easy or very hard to build. and can you show photos.
Thanks

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

I was thinking of asking the same question.....plan on getting two kittens as out door mice/rat/mole/ control....we do not have a barn but we do have a tackroom attached to the shelter ....I was thinking of putting in a cat carrier tucked under the saddles ...add some straw ...leave their dishes in there also.....I cannot have a cat indoors because I already have an indoor cat that rules the roost inside ...or I am sure the chickens would let them sqeeze in ...

 

[ladycrotalus]

Not mine but i saved the pics for ideas.

 

[redhen]

That is awesome!!!

 

[Whispering Winds]

My gosh, I'm not even a cat, and I would set out in this thing! It's beautiful.

 

[PitterPaws]

That is Beautiful--I wish it were yours then I could get the plans from you to build it

 

[SarahBeth9394]

I recently had to boot one of our cats outisde because she decided to not use the litter box anymore. That stinking cat loves it outside. Well we have a screened in patio and I bring her in on it a couple times a day to eat. I'm getting tired of that. So I was thinking of putting a small doggie door on the patio door so she can get in to eat on her own. Then when winter comes I can set up a nice warm shelter for her on the patio. Do any of you have cats that use a doggie door. I'm hoping she will figure it out and use it.

 

[PitterPaws]

You don't have to get a doggie door they sell cat doors in different sizes, get the one that fits your cat.
Edited to add: It's easy to train them to it offer cat treats on the other side of the door, eventually they will get the hang of it, if you have to prop it open until the cat figures out to go in and out it shouldn't take to long.

 

[Hoosiermomma]

Great ideas.....We have 7 cats that live in our garage turned cat house. Well my husband has decided he wants his garage back and so now I am trying to get ideas on how to turn our shed into a cat house. I have to insulate the inside, put vinyl flooring down, put two windows in, a vent and a few other things as well as attach a dog kennel to the outside with perches, cat trees, some catnip, grass etc for them to keep amused. I sure hope others have some pictures so I can get some ideas.

 

[patandchickens]

Wow, funny you should mention this!

I have spent the weekend building an elevated walkway across my kitchen, and drawing up plans for an outdoor run (system of chambers and tunnels) for this BUTTHEAD CAT that we adopted last month who apparently wants to return to an outdoor lifestyle and has chosen weeks-long hunger strikes as his method of protest. (Vet bills at $800 so far, without any particularly clear sign that it's a physical problem). So we are treating it as largely, or perhaps totally, a stress issue, and so instead of rebuilding the rotting deck, re-fencing a crucial horse paddock, replacing the 80% or so of our plumbing fixtures that are not working right, or anything else useful, I am playing playground designer for this BUTTHEAD CAT.

(We do love him, but he is a BUTTHEAD, have I made this clear?

)

If you google "outdoor cat enclosures" and "outdoor cat run" you will find lots of sites with excellent photos. The do-it-yourself ones vary in how robust they are -- personally I would not use chickenwire -- but there are some great ideas. The commercial sites will make you fall over if you look at the prices, BUT contain some excellent construction ideas so are well worth viewing too.

In terms of complexity and cost, it's like chicken coops. You can do it any way you want, depending how picky you are

My suggestion is that if budget is severely limiting, see what materials you can scrounge and then say "ok what can I do with these". And yeah, you *could* probably get away just fine with chickenwire as long as it's a dogproof yard and you shut the door to the house at night to prevent exciting raccoon experiences. Although I am going to pop for 2x2 welded wire mesh instead.

Good luck, have fun, post pics!

Pat, with three perfectly good cats and one BUTTHEAD (who is at least eating well at the moment, having apparently been temporarily cured by the application of $490 to the vet's bank account)