Catio Repairs

Bear here...

In 2010 we decided to build a large cage on the back of our house with a pet door so our cats could go outside and be safe whenever they wanted. It was a patio for our cats so we decided to call it our Catio. It was a cute name and we thought it would catch on, but a while later I found other people using it too on the internet. So much for being inventors and getting patent money.

We used untreated 2 x 4s for our frame because we didn't want our cats resting on the chemicals they use on treated lumber. We weren't sure how long it would last, but was hoping it would be a while. Below is a picture of it brand new.  It is still standing over a decade of tough Wisconsin winters later and seems to be in good shape. We noticed in 2020 we needed to do a few repairs to the inside to keep it safe for the cats. We thought you might like to see the simple repairs that may help you if you have a catio. If you want to build one and want ideas on how, here is our catio page link. 

Part 1.  The horizontal boards on the frame seemed a little loose, so our simple fix was to put supports in under them. We cut a 2x4 down to 4-6 inches, and we had some leftover bits from other projects, so we screwed them into the frame with 2 1/2  inch screws and we were good (below pic). Any of our 1x6 boards where the cats walked that seemed lose I either replaced or put the screws to them too. In case I forget later, notice the tree branch under my arm pit in the second photo? It was getting unsafe. We put up a new branch or Princess would have never forgiven us because she is a ninja climber.

Part 2: the cat entrance to the catio. We like to have at least two ways to get down into the catio. The first entrance is a ramp, the second is steps. You can see below the old ramp was bent and needed replacing with a stronger (thicker) board...

We figured while we were at it we would reconfigure and make the step path better too. We made sure there is enough steps that it will still be easy access when our cats are older and less mobile.

Project 3: kitty sleep space. We built a shelf for the cats to sleep on in one corner of the catio. We like to use wood scraps from old projects and we had a piece of plywood that lasted a long time. We put a pad on it in the summer so the cats would be more comfortable. As you can see below it was time for that wood to be retired...

... So we upgraded the corner to have three different levels to nap on. The hole to jump between levels is now a clear space on the back of the top level:

Final project! The cats are comfortable, so now it's our turn. We replaced the stumps we sat on with an outdoor love seat. It's MUCH softer for our ageing buttoxes and the cats can lay by us too.

As you can see from the last photo we also upgraded the human area with shelves that can hold stuff like our drinks while they are not holding cats.

One repair weekend in ten years? Not bad. Hope this gives those of you who are thinking of building your catios some ideas. 

Type at ya later,
​Bear