Catio compromise

I know this is a contentious topic, so to start off with, this is not intended to be a debate about outdoor vs indoor cats. The reality is there will be circumstances where cats are not allowed to roam outdoors, for example those with FIV. What I like to think we can all agree on, is that if you do have an indoor cat, they need feline enrichment to make up for the experiences they miss outside.

A good compromise is a catio. A safe space where your cat can be outside, ideally freely accessible so they can use it independently when they wish. J was not a fan of catios, so we first tried cat proofing the garden. It kept them in as kittens, but as they got older we had to admit defeat. It was a shame, as provided it works, giving your cats the whole run of the garden gives them more territory than a catio.

I would have preferred to get a catio designed and fitted to our awkward outdoor space, but given J was less keen the agreement was we get a cheap one. We went with a catio from Animal Housing Direct Ltd as they regularly have sales on. Based on our available space, this is the one we chose:

https://www.animalhousingdirectltd.co.uk/6-x-6-x-6-all-mesh-run-with-sloping-mesh-roof-13-p.asp

I would have liked a taller one, but that option was also wider and would have been a bit too large for our narrow garden. The advantage of the sloping roof other than the rain running off is that it is a bit taller on one side, meaning the cats can be nosy and look over the neighbours' fence. 

This particular run isn't specifically advertised as a catio so something to remember is that you must go with a 16g wire and in my opinion no bigger than 1 inch holes. My cats can get a paw through so half an inch may have been better. 19g wire is too thin and will hurt a cats paws if they try to climb it.

Whilst significantly cheaper, the major con of buying panels is of course dealing with delivery and putting it together. We had a long wait until ours arrived and the courier had a hard time getting it off the van. When it was finally off, we realised several of the panels were screwed down, so off we went to find a drill and get it out of the road as soon as possible. A few screws broke right off in the process and I definitely would have been screwed myself if I didn't have J's brute man strength that day.

Compared to that, putting the panels together wasn't too bad, although you'll have an easier time with ample space and a second set of hands to hold the panels whilst they're screwed together. We've had the catio for a good six months now and up close you can see the quality of the wood isn't brilliant and the mesh is bulging out in places. I've seen considerably thinner panels for sale though and at least with this one I have no concerns it's going to move. You get what you pay for, and given wood swells in rain and makes it difficult to open and close the door, I would go for a steel catio next time round.

Once we added shelves and fun stuff, even J had to admit his initial view of a cat cage actually looked quite nice, to the point where he expressed an interest in sitting in it on a nice day. A catio needs a few levels so your cat can get up high, jump around and enjoy their bit of outdoor space as much as possible. I'll talk about what we've put it in another time, as catio stuff can be hard to find in the UK.