This is my homemade catio. I used what’s called “deer fencing”. It doesn’t obstruct your view or the view of your cats. It was simple to do and cheap. I wrapped it around my deck and then… 🙂 once it was installed (used steal beams for reinforcement in between) I cut sections of additional deer fence and attached it to the top at a 45 degree angle all the way around the top and about 10″ in depth. It isn’t the most beautiful job as I am no expert, but it works and we are all happy! 🙂 …. Carol
P.S. from Michael — there are quite a few pages on PoC about catios. I have always liked them and as Carol says they can be made cheaply. However, not everyone likes them.
Update: Here is Quentin, the guy with the dodgy leg who lives with Carol:
Hi Ruth, sadly, we do have mosquitoes but not many.. 😉 I just saw one in my home today. They don’t bite cats as far as I know but they do bite people, occasionally at night (usually) while sleeping. It is fairly rare though in my experience. It probably depends on where you live in the UK. Don’t mosquitoes like ponds etc.? If you’re near still water and trees there’ll be mosquitoes in the UK in summer.
I hate that when mosquitoes are biting Monty. Sometimes they are not bad here in town. It depends on the year. Dusk is a great time for him to be out– cooler, the birds are going to sleep as are the bees. But sometimes there are too many mosquitoes to be out. Does the UK have mosquitoes, I wonder? If they don’t it is a paradise and we should all consider moving there to get away from those little blood sucking fiends.
Two Rivers is roughly one hundred miles from West Allis, but by taking the interstate highway system that is only about a two hour drive. Devil’s Lake in Baraboo is about two hours (a little more, I think once you drive through Baraboo slowly so you don’t get a ticket) and I’ve driven up there, hiked and/or swam, and driven back on the same day lots of times. When I work in Stoughton that’s about an hour and a half drive to get to work, but I get a higher rate of pay from the staffing company for anything over 50 miles from my house.
I read once that the difference between Americans and Europeans is that Americans think 100 years is a long time ago while Europeans think 100 miles is a long way to go.
As soon as I saw Carol’s address I thought of Ruth (Monty’s mom). It is nice that you’re in the same area. Although America is a big place so distances are further than one imagines for a Brit.
Mosquitoes definitely! Rarely flooding I am in the East Point subdivision which is on a hill right off hwy 42 actually…
by the way Ruth my email addy is: angeltherapy52 at yahoo
Yes, a kitten would certainly be an easy target for a bird of prey. But my pastor’s cat, Gideon, would not. Pastor had two cats, Gideon and Jonah, but one of them died. I think Gideon is the survivor. Both looked like barrels from above. Once Pastor came up there in the balcony at church while I was practicing organ and we get talking and he says, with a straight face, that Gideon is really doing fine at 18 pounds because he can get up to the sofa at that weight. When he’s 19 or 20 pounds he can’t move around too well, but at 18 pounds he’s fine. I’ve seen his cat waddle around. He’s not fine. I don’t know how I managed not to burst out laughing. I think if your cat is 18 pounds you get him outside and a bird of prey taking him is the least of your worries. Getting him more active and dropping some weight is certainly the more pressing concern.
Pastor loves his cat, would never think of having him declawed, and keeps him in because he worries over him. But sometimes you have to say no to more food. It’s not easy with Monty either. Monty is not 18 pounds though, because he goes outside. The outside time is what keeps him fit and somewhat trim. He’s still a bit chubby because of his feral starving days, I think. But he gets more active out there than inside without my having to do a thing. He runs. He climbs trees. He marks every tree with his claws. He constantly walks around sniffing everything. He’s just moving more, unless it’s really hot suddenly and he hasn’t lost his winter coat yet. (Poor Monty, but he still wants to be out there.)
If he’s in the house all day he sits and looks out the window or sleeps on my bed. An hour or two outside does wonders for him, even if sometimes it’s a pain to supervise him. It’s worth it, because as much as there are risks out there, feline diabetes is a real health risk also. I read that humans who do their workouts outside stick with their exercise plans better. I’ve been working out in the back yard with Monty and it is a routine I’ve stuck to for a lot longer than almost anything else I’ve tried. Catios are good for our cats’ health because of the increased stimulation and the increased desire to exercise that comes from the increased stimulation they get from that little taste of the outdoors. It works for everybody– humans and cats. I just don’t think cats do as well being kept inside all the time. I know it can be unavoidable, but it’s a lot harder to have a happy, healthy cat that way.