A must-have home addition for animal-lovers

Two infectious leisure-time trends—animal-keeping and do-it-yourself remodeling— have collided to create the latest must-have project for weekend warriors. Catios, short for “cat patios,” are popping up on TV shows, home and garden blogs, real estate magazines, and animal-protection newsletters. Basically any kind of outdoor enclosure qualifies as a catio as long as it protects cats from traffic, predators, and other dangers, and also protects wildlife from cats. It can be as simple as an outdoor window box, and as elaborate as you can imagine when competitive handy-manhood sets in. The home catio builder will enjoy not only the gratitude of her cats (if they are the appreciative sort), but also the personal satisfaction of doing the right thing by animal-loving groups ranging from the National Audubon Society to Coexist With Coyotes. Whether cats end up as predator or prey, some animal-loving group is going to be very unhappy—almost as unhappy as you will be at the loss of life under your watch. Of course, the catio’s benefits do have to be weighed against spending time and money to complete a possibly challenging construction project. On the other hand, it will be less time and money than you will spend at the veterinary hospital if your cat is hit by a car, attacked by dogs, or chomped by a coyote.

Use your imagination and spring for quality materials, and the catio can be marketed as an upgrade to your home, since it doubles as a doggie deck, rabbitat, or incubator for a new hobby collecting exotic birds. Judy Paulsen of Coexist With Coyotes told us about a cat-loving couple who bought their Corrales home precisely because of the large outdoor enclosure built by the previous owner to protect his small dog. Indeed, in most areas of New Mexico, a catio will look no more out of place than your average coyote-proof chicken coop or dog run, and has the potential to be considerably cooler. Some of the most awe-inspiring catios can be seen at catioshowcase.com, including what looks like a lush tropical conservatory built by a Florida couple for their four Scottish Folds. This 6’ x 12’ screened catio boasts cat-safe foliage, climbing ramps, perches, and plantings of catnips and wheatgrass.

More commonly, catios are built on an existing porch or patio, or attached to the side of a house and accessed by a window that becomes a closable cat door. Some of the most appealing designs involve catwalks that extend from an upper-story window into nearby trees. The simplest catio is just a wire cage attached to a window, like a room air conditioner, offering a fair-weather fresh-air perch. Not surprisingly, an entire industry has sprung up around custom catios, modular catio units (tunnels and rooms you can snap together), and do-it-yourself catio plans, although any inspired handyman should be able to design one just by looking for ideas online (search "catios"). Still other entrepreneurs have repurposed what appear to be camping enclosures and dog pens into “portable” catios that are basically just covered playpens—not particularly appealing from a feline standpoint.