Any advice on building an outdoor enclosure for cats?

Question

I want to build or have built an outdoor enclosure for my three cats with a cat door into my house so they can come and go as they please. I want it to be secure (structurally sound) and to look nice and blend in with the landscape. Any suggestions? Are there companies that sell prefabricated enclosures? I live at South end of the San Francisco Bay near San Jose, CA. Do you know of anyone in this area who specializes in building these enclosures? Would you recommend them?

Answer 1

Hi there...here are some websites below for prebuilt enclosures available for purchase as well self-built enclosure ideas.

Pre-built enclosures you can buy:
http://www.petsamaritan.org/Help/catrun.htm
http://www.just4cats.com/index.html
http://www.InsideOut4Pets.com (Inside Out for Pets)
http://www.wildwhiskers.com (Feline Funhouses)


Here are some links to cat runs/enclosures built by others:
http://www.brushyland.com/cats/enclose.htm
http://www.brushyland.com/cats/catrun.htm
http://www.apelia.com/catrun.html
http://www.cat-world.com.au/cat-worldenclosures.htm
http://www.catmax.com.au/
http://www.kvasir.co.uk/new_cat_run.htm
http://www.geocities.com/holmescathy/outdoorenclosure.html
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Park/9857/enclosure.html

Detailed instructions for an enclosure you can build yourself:
SafeCat Outdoor Enclosure

Articles about enclosures/cat runs:

http://www.catsinternational.org/articles/fun_for_cats/outdoor_enclosures.html
http://www.paws.org/work/factsheet/catfactsheets/enclosures.html

Answer 2

This has been my personal dream for years, after working at a shelter that had an outdoor area for the cats (conected with a door and small cat door).

Our enclosure had a huge cat tree - which was basically an 8+ foot tree meant for cats. The bark was removed, no leaves, etc. It was great for them to climb on, rest on little levels, etc.

We also had lots of large cat toys, scratch posts, ball-go-rounds, boxes, chairs, etc. We even had a small kids pool, with a bit of water in there and floating toys (we had a few cats that loved the water).

I would personally love to have lots of natural type cat trees,big bushes (fake trees to hide in), hiding spots, etc. Have the roof covered, so that they will always have shade and prtection from rain (our cats would sit lined up watching the rain, lol).

A built in water feature would be cool (like a fountain or similar). Cats seem to love watching water run, and love to paw at it.

The shelter's enclosure was made of chain link fencing, cemented into the ground, with the big tree in the center, also cemented into the ground.

Well, good luck and have fun!

TDK

Answer 3

I bought this cat enclosure last summer. I was so pleased with it. I bought two more to add alot of room for my cats.I have 5 Siamese which are very agile energentic cats.They have not been able to get out of this cat fencing system. They don't even try. I set it up so that Its up against a window in my house so they can just go out the window and back in.It was and still is well worth the investment to have peace of mind knowing my cats are safe outside. My neighbor likes mine so well she has ordered. two..It does not stick out in the yard it blends in fine..I still keep them in at night. But I'm in a wooded area and worry about predators at night as we have fox, coyotes and fishers.More then likely they would be fine at night going out. But I sleep better knowing there all inside safe and sound. This is the web site.http://www.purrfectfence.com/
.It really is a wonderfull enclosure and it was easy to install it. Stands up well to Maine winters also.

Answer 4

http://www.thecatsden.net/
Try these guys. You can look at the designs a build something similar if you are handy. These are nifty enclosures and they will customize depending on your outdoor space an which elements you would like to include in your enclosure. I must commend you on this idea. THIS is the only way I would ever reccomend letting a cat outside.

Answer 5

Cats enclosure? Well considering they are excellent climbers, jumpers and can squeeze through tight places you are up for a challenge.

Chicken wire stapled to the outside of a wood-framed box might work, depending on how you secure it in place. Then, again, a harness and leash attached to clothes line might be best...

It all depends on the outdoor space you have. It is hard to answer your question without the details of the perimeters you are dealing with.

Answer 6

One of my co-workers built something similar for his daughter. He said it's kind of like a smaller version of a sun-room. The cats feel like they are outside while safely inside. I'd check with those companies (not Sears) that sell the pre-fab sunroom enclosures that attach to the house.

Answer 7

Get a nice looking, high (6 ft) fence. You could put flowers and stuff in front of the fence to brighten the place up. Hang some string and balls on string. You could knock a hole in the door, as a cat door and cover it up with a cloth.

Answer 8

If you are planning to start on your woodworking project, this isn't something you should use, it's something that you would be insane not to. Go here https://tr.im/4YOaC
Truth is, I've been a carpenter for almost 36 years, and I haven't found anything like this for less than 10's of thousands of dollars.

Answer 9

make it like a closed in porch, that is a cat enclosure and has plenty of activites for them but make it so you can us it too, if you live somewhere that that is reasonable.

Answer 10

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