So You Are Looking To Get A New Catio

 

I am going to try and help you with picking out a Catio. There are a lot of things to consider when getting a Catio.  How many cats you have, how long you will keep the Catio, and a budget are the big ones.

How many cats you have?

You must think of your cats first. Some people have 2 cats, and they have determined that after those cats they will not have anymore. Some people keep replacing cats over the years. This is something you will have to determine on your own. I always say after you get a Catio you will have another cat within 6 months. Normally less. After you get a Catio your life changes a lot. Now cats have something to do other than always wanting attention from you, laying in a window wishing, and getting stressed out from things going on in the house. For them just to get out side is a big thing. It just helps everyone within the house. 

You might have 10 cats. This requires a whole different Catio. As you can imagine, it needs to be bigger and will need many more areas that they can lay by themselves. Lots of cats like to lay by themselves; others lay in a pile. Every cat is different. If you have 10 you are pretty committed to them. You will probably have many different cats over the years to come. So, your approach will need to be different when choosing a Catio.

How long will you be in the house? 

People are if different phases of life, just like cats. Young people will most likely move a few more times in life. As we get older, we tend to stay in the same spot. One thing I ask is, “are they going to cart your body out of this house? "Lots of people cannot believe I ask that, but it tells me where they are in life.  I’m 55, I have heard that phrase when people just talk about their house or in general conversations all my life, so we all think it.  I will move one more time prob and I will stay there.  When people get the home they are going to retire in and be happy in this is the spot. This is when you want a good quality Catio.  Take me, I’m 55 so I might live to 95.  That’s 40 years. If your 40 that’s 55 years. That’s a long time. So, you want your Catio to be well made in the beginning.  And keep up the little maintenance you must do to one.  You don’t want to have to build another but maybe add on to it.  I call that phase 2 then phase 3 and so on. You can have as many phases as you want. With a good quality Catio you can keep adding on.   

The other thing is let’s say you build a nice Catio on a home and you plan on selling in 5 years. There is a good chance the next owners will have a cat. It becomes a selling point.

These Catios I build are intended to go on and on. We want more and more cats to enjoy them. It is good for everyone. If you live in a house for 5 years, it is worth getting a nice catio. The size can be very small, but you want a nice one. You can see my work at CatiosofTexas.com. 

I can also build Catios that can be moved as needed. 

Budget

As a builder, I must get a budget down first before we start talking too much. If you have a 5ft by 5ft square to work on, there will be no need to talk about a 10ft by 30ft one. I always work within my budget and try to get the cats as much as possible. This is the name of the game to me. In my case, I do not draw out every detail. You are pretty lucky to get anything but outside walls. I am on site making it, and I come up with cool ideas. Sometimes the owner might want something that is outside of the budget that is normally ok, but it needs to be said early on in the building. This is because I have an overall design in my head. If you wait for the last half of the building, it might not be possible. It may or may not be an additional cost. But I personally do the most I can, not the least. I do not cut corners; I have built enough to know how long things take and how much time they need. I will tell you up front that things take a lot longer than most home owners think. I make a lot of things seem simple, but I have had a life of building.

Remember, it is always most affordable to have someone in your own state make your Catio.  If you are in a money pinch, you can still make one with chicken wire and plain wood. It just needs to keep the cats in, even if they can only walk on the ground.

My goal is to get cats out in the air and sun. Its hard for me to see cats spend 20 years in the same window. 

I hope this helps you some. There is a lot more about Catios, but this is kind of a start. I will write more about it over the years.

Todd S

CatiosofTexas.com