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Enclosures |
Outdoor Cat Enclosures
by Margaret Schill
An enclosure allows cats to have safe outdoor time, getting the fresh air and sunshine that really is best for all mammals to experience at least some of the time. Aside from the obvious danger of getting hit by cars, cats let to roam freely can get attacked by other animals. Bite wounds can become infected. Even if not attacked, a cat can get chased away by another cat or a dog, thereby becoming lost. Other cats can infect your cat with a fatal disease, such as FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) or Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV). Then there is the danger of cats being poisoned either on purpose, or by ingesting something toxic they come upon, such as a puddle of antifreeze or eating slug bait.
There are many different types of enclosures that can be made or bought. (See links below.) We started out by latticing-in our back porch, with a cat flap in the house door. Then we added a pen, connected to the porch with a tunnel. The cats enjoyed that small pen for some time, but were really pleased with the large enclosure we replaced it with, which we needed to do, since our fur family grew to seven cats. But also, we can now hang out with our cats outside in the large enclosure.
All the enclosures were made by one person, with minor help. Neither took long to build.
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The Latticed-in Porch |
Before we built an enclosure, we latticed-in our back porch. It is greatly used and enjoyed by the cats still, even now that they have the outdoor
enclosure. The porch is particularly good for when the sun is too
strong, or when it's raining, since it has a roof. Cat friendly furniture make it a great cat
hangout.
Our cat Minerva likes to sleep on a chair on the porch during the spring, summer and early fall, when the weather is mild. She also likes to have her evening wet food meal served to her on the porch during mild weather. She will come into the kitchen when I am getting it ready, meow so I know she wants some, then she will sit on the porch waiting. If I take too long, she whaps on the cat flap to the kitchen door to remind me not to forget her.
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The small pen |
Basically, it is a free-standing wooden framed box, 6' tall, 6' x 4', with plastic netting nailed all around and over the top. It also has shelves around the perimeter four feet up to add more hanging out area. The shelves add stability to the structure as well. There is a short door that human can use to get in the pen.
Five cats spent a lot of time in it, even though it got a little crowded sometimes. This pen had a tunnel to the latticed-in porch. We eventually had to make the tunnel "double decker", since often, a cat would lounge in the tunnel, blocking all the other cats.
Having a chance to nibble grass, catch some bugs and get great view of the wildlife in the yard enhanced the lives of the cats. But, it really was too small for five cats, especially with some developing inter-cat tensions. So we moved it to another area of the yard, attaching it to our small storage building with a tunnel, and built a larger enclosure against the house (pictured below).
 Our cats still enjoy this small enclosure when we let them have a "vacation" at the storage building, which we call the "Cat Barn.
This type of small enclosure is good if you are renting a home, since it is not attached to building. One can then make a tunnel from the enclosure to a window, not making any holes in the doors for a pet flap.
Below is a link showing how someone did build such an enclosure at a house they were renting. They closed the window firmly on top of a board, with a cat flap in the board. Then they attached a tunnel from the cat flap into the enclosure.
The Hobbits' Outdoor Enclosure- Shows pictures of their enclosure in steps as they were making it. |
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The Large Enclosure |
Our large enclosure is 17 feet by 12 feet and 8 feet high. Plenty of room for several cats
to run and jump, getting some good exercise, and room for the humans to be out
there with the cats. Cats who aren't getting
along very well can spread out and keep out of each other's space. One side of the enclosure is grass, and the other side is patio brick.
Ledges are a must. The cats spend a lot of
time on them. Ledges also add more area for the cats. The chaise lounge is a big hit with the cats, used to lie under it when it is hot and sunny as the grass under it stays cool, and of course it is shaded. A shaded place is necessary in an outdoor enclosure. They also use it as a step up to the cat walk ledges, which are four feet up. Sometimes they snooze on it too.
By being enclosed with netting that lets moths and other bugs fly
in, the cats have fun and exercise trying to catch them, and when they do, a
tasty little snack to eat. That also helps the cats from getting bored,
and helps fulfill some of their natural hunting instincts. If you keep
part or all of the floor of the enclosure grass, that is even better as the
cats can hunt ground bugs, the best being crickets. And of course, a
grassy area allows cats to nibble on grass, which cats like to do. We
grow oat grass in one corner as the cats really love it. Cats don't like
all kinds of lawn grasses to eat. Keep the "weedy" grass, as
that is the kind of naturally growing grass cats prefer over the short,
skinny, "pretty" lawn grass people try to keep.
 We wrapped sisal rope around one of the
posts connected to the middle wide shelf, as the cats starting scratching it.
Then since that wasn't high enough, we screwed a flat sisal wrapped board up
higher. We used a Booda Sisal Hang-n-Scratch. The cats scratch on it a lot. We highly recommend you incorporate something like that in your enclosure. The cats taught us how something good to scratch on out in the enclosure is needed. We do have scratching posts in the house, but of course the cats would not want to bother going all the way inside to scratch. Buy 3/8" sisal rope to wrap posts for cats to climb and scratch on.
We also wrapped sisal on part of the beam below the one wrapped in sisal in
the above picture. The cats don't scratch on that one much, but rather
use it to climb up to the ledge, like climbing a tree. More good
exercise for the cats, and meeting some of their natural inclinations for
climbing.
There is a litter box in the enclosure as well. We got the tent that is sold for the
LitterMaid electric cat box, the tent being waterproof, and built a wood
frame with a solid top to fit the size of the LitterMaid tent, then we
put a regular cat box inside. You can get the tent by clicking here: LitterMaid tent .
The cats use the top as a perch or step up
and down for the catwalk. They use the outside litter box a great deal.
Before we added it, they were eliminating in the enclosure, which is
not easy to scoop and is unsanitary, since it is a fixed area they
have out there.
Making this enclosure for our cats was the best thing we have done for them- besides loving them! |
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Carmen's Enclosure |
A W. V. Cats reader send me pictures of the enclosure she and her partner built. Carmen's enclosure is 48 x 44 feet. They added lattice on the bottom part, to keep stray dogs from jumping on the netting and pulling it down. Lattice alone would not be good, since kittens can squeeze though the holes in most lattice, so netting covers the lattice. The netting they used was bird netting, ¾ inch on the walls and on the roof, 2” netting , to allow snow to pass though and not build up on the roof netting. It looks beautiful, and of course, the cats are delighted!
From this:
To this! 
 There is a deck against the house. They remove the deck fencing, and wrapped the deck posts with sisal to make cat scratching posts! (Note: This photo is before they put up the lattice.)
With their 7 adult rescues along with 6 Katrina hurricane rescues, the extra area for the cats certainly was helpful. But aside from that, it adds an extra pleasure for the cats.
Thanks to Carmen for sharing her pictures, and for her helping so many cats!
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Outdoor enclosures helps multi-cat homes |
| The more cats in a home, the more territorial problems and stresses there can be. Even if the cats get along, they still will feel crowded, such as when they want to lounge in a certain area, and another cat is already there, or when one cat "forces" a housemate out of a desired spot.
Since most of us can't build on another room to our homes, adding an outdoor enclosure can make a new "room" for the cats, for three seasons, anyway.
With an outdoor enclosure, territorial disputes about which cat gets a good window view can diminish, since all the cats can have a great view of the outside from in an enclosure. |
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Outdoor items for cats |
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Outdoor Feline Funhouse
Safe Outdoor Time for Cats
Portable! Use on
deck, porch or lawn!
Two heavy-duty zippered doors provide easy in and out access. Do not leave cats unatteneded.
Click here to buy cat grass
Grow
indoors or out.
We grow oat grass in a section of the enclosure for our cats. It grows fast and last all summer. The cats love it! |
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Our Cats Enjoying our Large Enclosure |
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Enclosure kits you can buy |
C & D Pet Products
Twelve sizes of enclosure kits available. Minimal assembly required. These are great for people who don't have the ability, tools or desire to build their own enclosure.
The Cat's Den
You HAVE to look at this site. They have so many options. They don't just have "cage-like" enclosures, but have tunnels that can go around an area above ground level connecting back to the start point. You can design your enclosure "system" in so many ways to meet your needs and the limits of the space you have. You can take the enclosures apart and move them.
You can even get kits to enclose apartment balconies that are not permanently affixed to the property! See here.
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Other People's Enclosures |
C.O.A- Cats of Australia
Show many unique enclosures and cat runs people have made. You must look! Great ideas for all sort of spaces.
Kitty City- Catzebo
A rectangular "gazebo" was built for the cats, and connected to the house with a tunnel since it could not be built up against the house.
WyndAbbey
Their enclosure is
very fancy and beautiful; quite suited to areas with home associations that have
strict rules.
Kits-n-k9s
Shows their cat enclosure in phases of it's development, along with writeups of their cats' reactions.
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