Building a Kitty City

 2 years ago we adopted Nova & Naveen from a good friend who was fostering them in the Safford area.  Nova's previous owner didn't get her spayed and she had multiple litters.  We believe Naveen is one of her sons from her last litter.  My friend fostered Nova until she weaned her last litter and then I paid to have her and Naveen fixed.   

We weren't really prepared for cats since one of our dogs can't be trusted with cats.  Nova and Naveen had already lived as 'garage cats' and when they were fostered with my friend, had their very own heated room off of a work area.  We never really use our garage for parking, just storage. So the past 2 years I worked on converting the garage into a work room for me.  The walls were already fully insulated and finished, so I started working on insulating the garage door, then the garage attic.  With a little space heater on a timer, it stays about 55*-60* in there, pretty comfy for a cat.  I quickly built them a catio where they could safetly enjoy the outdoors.  I didn't want to put a hole in the garage wall for a cat door, so I put a cat door in a 1" piece of foam board insulation, which fits snuggly in the window.  

I built a matrix of shelves for them to climb up and down.  I drilled them directly into the studs for extremely secure climbing.  I also added a ceiling shelf from HyLoft to hold a large storage bin.  This gray bin has a smaller bin inside it, stuffed with blankets where they love to take cozy naps together :)

On some of the shelves are patio chair cushions for comfy napping.  I also keep their food and water elevated off of the floor.  This helps with any ants that sneak in during the summer.  I also firmly believe in allowing a cat to 'work' for their food, so a little jump on/off the table forces a little effort in order to eat.  (I have strong opinions on allowing cats to demonstrate natural behaviors, which can help fight obesity in indoor cats.) 

 Nova & Naveen have all their nails, like nature intended and I added a wall mounted scratching post.  I took a shelf, drilled it into the wall studs, then purchased a cheap floor rug, cut to size and stapled into the board.  Staples are put in vertical to keep them from snagging a nail while they scratch.

Their litter bin is inside the blue tote on the ground.  I love putting litter bins in totes because it helps to keep smells contained, gives them privacy, and helps to keep litter bits contained when they scratch around.

On the other side of the garage is another area where they can climb up.  I put up these shelves this summer and Nova & Naveen love to snuggle in the carrier, or lay on the cushion and look out the man-door.

The garage really is my work area... I have 2 freezers out there for our dog food, my mealworm bins where I breed my buggies for chicken food, and right now my seedlings are growing in there waiting for warmer weather to be transplanted in the garden.

Going through the cat door, they can go outside in the safety of their catio.  The catio is 4' wide, 8 ' long, and 7.5' high.  It sits under an oak tree which gives ample shade in the summer time.  It faces the garden where the chickens and ducks free range, allowing for ample enrichment.

Building 'kitty cities' isn't necessarily expensive, but it does take a bit of work.  Most importantly, it's a great feeling to know you're offering your cats their own special place!

Catios, and Why They're Awesome!

8 months ago we didn't have any furry kids of the feline persuasion and now we have 3!  Right before Christmas we adopted a Mom cat and her juvenile son.  Mom had a few liters of kittens before a friend of mine took her in and got her spayed and adopted the last liter out.  Once the kittens all found homes at a proper age (I think she waited 8-10 weeks), I adopted Mom and her son and renamed them Nova and Naveen (both have meaning's of "New" in different languages).  They live in our garage and I was determined to build them a safe and fun catio where they could go outside, move about, but still be completely enclosed.  I'm a determined woman and I'm still amazed that I built the whole thing by myself - the frame is 4 feet wide, 8 feet long, and 7 and a half feet tall.  I'm only 5'0" so moving this thing around as I built it on the driveway was quite a feat! My husband helped me move it into place outside of a window, and planning is essential because I knew the overhang of the garage was 8 feet high, so I only allowed 6" of vertical clearance to move it.  I have since done a few upgrades since I installed it a few months ago - I originally wrapped it in chicken wire but decided to take the majority of it down and wrap it with a stronger wire though it has larger gaps.  I also just finished installing a landing pad and a ramp up to the window.  Originally they were jumping in/out through the window down to a camping chair but Nova has been very sore lately after having an altercation with a friend's dog so I wanted to make it as easy as possible for her.

When I first put the catio in place, I salvaged an old branch from the yard and put it about 12" into the ground and then drilled the very top portion of it to the frame, allowing for a more outdoorsy feel.  I added 2 shelves at different heights, which they love to lay on and fall asleep while bird watching.  The camping chairs have been great for giving them a 'hammock' type bed to sleep in, and they do most of their napping in the chairs.  There are 2 bird feeders just a few feet away and now that we have free ranging chickens, the chickens actually enjoy sitting right next to the catio and both birds and cats take naps just a few inches away from each other.  The door is about 6' tall and I put a gate latch on there if I ever wanted it locked, but I don't really see the need for that.  I go in there quite often and sometimes in the evening I'll go in there and sit with them while the sun goes down :)  The location is rather perfect as they never get any direct sunlight - the catio is on the west side of the garage so there's no morning sun, and it also sits below a thick oak tree which strongly filters any afternoon sun.

(Click picture to enlarge)

I also have a coffee can out there for a constant access to water - it gets changed daily so there's no chance of harboring mosquitos.  I recently put up a chicken swing from one of the oak branches - chickens supposedly like to swing and I'm hoping they'll start using it soon.  They really love to sit next to the catio for some reason.  The cat's don't care very much, sometimes Naveen will look at them wide-eyed but he's a lover not a hunter ;)  I have also started growing oat grass with bulkseed I buy online, and then plant it in my own containers.  Once the grass is long enough, I bring a container into the catio for them to snack on - they love it!

If you don't have the ability to build your own, there are pre-made ones you can purchase online for hefty prices, or maybe hire someone to build one for you?  There are so many benefits to catios - some people even move the litter boxes out there so there's no indoor smell!  You can install a cat door in the wall, a cat door through a window or configure something else through the window.  Because ours is next to the garage which we don't really use, all I did was cut a square large enough in the window screen.  We haven't had any strange critters in there, and if I ever need that screen again, they're pretty easy to re-screen.  Read some more benefits about catios here and I hope you consider one for your indoor kitties!