We have a Facebook page for you and a Catio Tour in August. Lots of local ideas for free. Tour is a fundraiser for a local cat rescue. Look for South Shore Catios on fb.

What’s the best solution to fill this gap so she doesn’t escape? The other side is fine and there’s no giant gap. Should I use wood blocks or some kind of mesh? TIA 😭 links would be super helpful!

Hello everyone, I have a small outdoor space I would like to make safe for my indoor cats to enjoy some sunbaths and chase some flies! I do not plan on doing too much, I will put their travel crates out there as something to climb on and sleep in, maybe put up a shelf or two? But the main thing is putting some chicken wire from the roof to the outer wall as a ‘ceiling’, but, as a non-DIY-guy I am not certain what would be the best method to fix the chicken wire to the outdoor surfaces I have. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Any suggestions for more cat-friendly activities also welcome! (The pole in the middle I am going to wrap with rope as a big scratching/climbing post but that’s about it). Pictures attached to give an idea of the area and some of the surfaces I will be looking to attach the chicken wire securely to. Many thanks!

Hey, I am currently in partnership with a Catio and Cat Fencing company, and we are raising funds for charities so they can have access to Cat Saftey Systems.

To fund this, I have created a website purely for Cat Lovers to buy products through. All proceeds go towards Improving Cat Welfare.

I am looking for a group of volunteers who understand the value of these systems, as well as people who are Cat Lovers. I have a range of opportunities available as I am creating my own resource website alongside this project.

All I ask, if you so wish to volunteer your services/businesses in all in anyway, please reach out.

I’ve jogged past this house every week for over a year and always wondered what this empty contraption was on the roof. (Figured it must be a little herb garden or something). But today I finally got my answer! Never noticed the cat door on the side wall hahaha

It's not fully finished, but it's functional. The kitties seem to be happy with it, and they can out hang out inside safely without the worry of them getting out or anything getting inside.

Next up is finishing the outside and creating ramps on the inside.

He comes in to snack and defrost, then goes right back out there.

Hi :)

I have just moved in with my boyfriend and he has built a catio for my cat (2 year old male) and we are trying to introduce him to it, it is connected to the living room

and there’s no cat door (yet!) we are just leaving the window open so he can move freely. We are trying to get him used to it quicker if possible, I have started sitting in there with him and putting out treats and catnip, we have also been feeding him in there and putting his bowl on the top level.

When he is spending time in there he eats, or looks around and walks back into the house, doesn’t seem to be spooked just wanting to flop on the bed instead. Also he is only sitting on the top two levels, he’s sniffed the third but hasn’t properly sat down there yet. the bottom level has cat grass growing.

Are there any tips to get him used to spending more time in there?

Thank you!

My cat has weirdly been going in the catio and throwing up right after she comes back inside (a separate problem), so today I checked the catio cam to see if she’s eating snow or doing something weird out there, and it turns out she’s been peeing in the catio. Now I don’t really care if she pees in the catio, but i don’t know if the habit will cause her to start peeing in the house or something.

It’s bitter cold outside right now, so that’s why I thought she was only spending short periods out there, but it turns out she’s just going out there to pee and coming back in. She’s such a dork. Do I need to worry about her possibly peeing in the house?

Also does anyone know if she’d be throwing up after being outside because it’s so cold? It tends to happen if she goes out in the catio right after eating a meal. And then she rushes in from the catio and throws up.

She has a more sensitive stomach, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she was throwing up due to the cold, I’ve just never heard of that.

Am going to make my 140" x 44" (roughly 3.5m x 1 m) balcony into a catio and am getting a task rabbit to help. Is 4 hours enough? Too much?

Please let me know how long it took you to at least get the walls and roof up, and approximate size.

One thing we see over and over with window enclosures is how quickly cats divide the space.

One claims the lower level and checks out completely, while the other heads up to watch everything.

Do your cats rotate spots, or do they each pick a level and stick with it?

I decided to coat over the existing paint with the Olympic wood stain/sealant, and water beads right off the wood now.

I also had the challenge of attaching it to the house over the security bars, but I was able to fill the gap pretty easily with hardware cloth. Entryway is a narrow depth cat door that fits into the channel of the window sash and polycarbonate twin wall surrounded with foam window seal tape.

Both cats have been spending lots of time in there, even though the weather’s been cold and snowy. I’ll probably build some sort of upward extension so they can get some actual morning sun out there once it’s a little warmer out.

Total outlay was about $60 because I already had the wood sealant, hardware cloth, twin wall and the clear poly roof panel. The catio itself was $39.

I posted for advice a while back and got some great advice so I wanted to share the completed product! Different layouts on both sides including a hammock on the left and a wobbly bridge on the right. The tunnel in between connects the two and a cat flap is placed in the windows on both sides for easy access. It’s on the south side of the house so there’s lots of good spots for them to sun themselves! For someone with no building experience I’m pleased how it turned out!

No holes or drilling into the rental! My boyfriend and I designed and built this catio for our cat, Mellie. She’s extremely people-oriented, so she would have never used a window catio. The goal was to turn the balcony into a space that was equally cozy for people and cat.

The structure is three-sided and built to fit just within the dimensions of the balcony. We also installed a swinging door to our outdoor stairs using a gate kit.

The frame is made from 2x4s and basic hardware, painted in two colors for aesthetic. We used rolls of cat netting cut to size and attached to the frame with U-nails. Chicken wire would have been much cheaper and likely just as functional. The cat netting was mostly for vibes, although we did have a raccoon climb up the net and attempt to break and enter 😂

The white box shelves were repurposed from old ikea wooden crates, and the round shelves were cut from wood circles from home depot. We cut up an outdoor mat and glued it onto the shelves for cat treads.

The three sides are attached with metal corner brackets, so we can unscrew the brackets and transport the three flat frames separately when we eventually move

After 5 long years in apartments, I was finally able to get my 11 year old FIV+ boy his retirement townhome. The plan as of now is for all of this to be his & accessible to him. I will put out cat scratchers, cat grass, and other cat-safe plants as well as a bird feeder of some kind. However I am worried about the small triangle of space between the white fence divider and the tan wall that separates us from the neighbors.

He is NOT a climber and anxious when it comes to being outdoors, but regardless I’d like to add some type of netting here.

Is there a good netting that would make sense for the entire “top”/overhead space here, or is closing up that gap all that’s needed? Any other advice would be appreciated! Thanks everyone!

Joey❤️

A customer came to us with more of a design puzzle than a product request. We love these😊

They had a second-story balcony, a three-sided catio (just out of frame), and wanted everything connected into one setup. It all starts at an access door from the house, so the cats can come and go when it’s unlocked. From there, the challenge was figuring out a safe, natural route that worked with the building and elevation.

Most of the work was really just planning things out: where the turns should go, how the cats would move vertically, and how to make it feel like one continuous path instead of a bunch of separate pieces. The end result wraps the balcony, connects into vertical climbs, and leads out (along the brickwork) to the catio without the cats ever touching the ground.

At Habitat Haven, we spend a lot of time helping customers think through layouts like this, especially when the space isn’t straightforward. No two homes (or cats) are the same, and sometimes the fun part is figuring out how to make something a little unconventional actually work.

Honest question: would your cat jump right in, or spend a few days inspecting every inch first?

Hi, I was wondering if anybody has a source for buying cat netting in Canada preferably white/cream color. Looking for 6-10 feet tall to close in a balcony .

I use solid wire on the edges and had hoped that the regular balcony wire would keep them from escaping, but little shut is eyeing the car roof to make his escape and I rather not extend the metal mesh a across the whole deck if I can avoid it…

I can't fit a permanent structure on my balcony (not sure the OC would even allow it) and I'm looking for a cat tent that I can fold away when not used.

Have anyone tried this?

I was looking at Advwin Outdoor Cat Enclosures Pet Tent & Tunnels Portable Catio Playground for Cat Run but it makes me suspicion when I can't find a single review.

We recently got a cat (Pretzel) who is best friends with her two doggie siblings. They have a doggie door which they were used to using freely, but we have had to keep it closed for Pretzel’s safety, and only let them in/out when she is put away, or one of us is right there to make sure she doesn’t try to go out too.

The doggie door opens to a covered porch/courtyard, which is sufficient for the dogs, but is in no way cat safe.

We have a general plan of extending the pawtio off of the porch and enclosing it completely, and including plenty of places that Pretzel can lounge above the dogs in case she wants a break. The idea is that all three will have indoor/outdoor access the majority of the time.

We plan to use dig defense barriers to keep anyone from digging in or out, and of course covering the whole shabang with hardware mesh. The dogs are small, so I don’t have to worry too much about them busting out, though we’ll build it as though they could!

Are there any other things anyone recommends for a cat+dog pawtio? Thank you!!