Our readers have been kind enough to share with us
pictures of cat enclosures and cat runs they have built.
Today's outdoor cat enclosure needn't be just a cat cage, it can
be a piece of work to be proud of. What better example than the
Deluxe cat enclosure built by Murray and Jeanette for their
cats. It is complete with pond, waterfall and tunnels for cats
to explore. (Pictured above)
Cat proof fences can enclose
the whole or part of your yard giving your cat freedom to the
outside world but within the safety of the confines of your
garden.
See photos below of cat proof fencing
Below you will see photos of cat enclosures
our readers have built to give you some design ideas to
build your own. Readers tell you of how they built their cat enclosure and
what it cost to build. If you are not a DIY person we also have photos of
cat enclosures and cat runs that are built by
Professional outdoor cat
enclosure builders
A cat run built outside your house, maybe
enclosing the side of your house as pictured below may be an
option for you, or cat tunnels starting at your house with a
cat flap and leading to an outdoor area might be what you are
looking for. Cat tunnels are a fantastic way to let your cat outdoors.
Marianna has a great idea with a series of cat tunnels that run
through her yard leading to a cat playground and Cat Gym
Cat Netting for
pet enclosures. You can use the special
netting to to make a safe outdoor area for your cat. You could enclose the patio or the side of the house.
See pictures below.
There are several professional pet run builders.
Cat Nip, Aussie Cat
Enclosures, Catmax and Classic Pet Enclosures
who
specialise in building tunnels for cats, enclosures and cat netting
to give your cat a taste of the great outdoors.
Please visit their websites for further information. (Page
2)
Whether you would like to
build a DIY cat enclosure or get a professional builder to do
it for you I am sure you will enjoy the following cat run and cat
enclosure information, ideas and photos.
Sunni
We used a powder-coated
steel dog run that we bought for about $350US. Because
our windows are high, we had to get creative with
the roof. We filled the gaps with painted plywood.
There's a rope cat scratch that gets used constantly.
The inside stump is also for scratching and sitting on.
(The one on the outside was just there temporarily,
while we decided if we needed it or not.)
The lounge
chair is for me on nice days, so I can read outside with
a cat on my lap. There's now a covered cat box
behindthe chair
that is used often. Nice! Less smell and tracked
litter in the house!We live in a desert area so we stuck
with gravel instead of grass
Isabella
All our cats are
indoor cats with full access to our first floor balcony (which runs
the length of our house) and a enclosure (we call it out "cat sun
room") connected to the balcony located in our small garden.
We built our enclosure extension at the end of 2005. The main
enclosure extension is hexagonal shaped with a built in staircase
connecting the enclosure to our first floor balcony. We have also
installed blinds and vinyl water proofing to shelter our precious
babies from the harsh weather. It is literally a dream house for any
cat. I've been told by my friends that it is 6 star cat sun room.
OUR CATS DO NOT SLEEP IN THE ENCLOSURE. THEY SLEEP ON OUR BED :)
This enclosure
suits a more a rural setting as it blends in
with the surroundings. It is made of poles
and wire. The cat enclosure is very simple
to put together with fencing wire and
overlapping poles placed at the top of the
fence. A single wire is strung and the wire
attached and then tensioned. This cat
enclosure has lots of room approx - 15
metres long and 7 metres wide which gives
the cats plenty of room to roam outdoors.
Old branches are placed inside the enclosure
for the cats to climb on. There is a cubby
house for shade and beds.The cubby house has
a verandah for shade in summer and shelter
in winter. The cats love it! They have a
pond to drink out of, and there is lots of
space to explore. It is accessed from the
house through a cat flap in the window, so
cats have access to inside and outside.
I have never had a cat escape from this
enclosure.
Building Dimensions, Materials and
Sources
Overall Dimensions - 12' x 20' x 10'
Labor - One
boyfriend/fiancé helper – Not for sale
Roof – Because we wanted
the most sun exposure for our cats, we used clear
corrugated Polycarbonate roofing panels Purchased at
Lowe’s. Note: If you plan to walk on the roof, use
something else. Though it has served our purposes as far
as translucency, it is not terribly durable for walking
on and it recently rendered us rather helpless during a
rescue effort to retrieve Cutie from over 100 feet up in
a tall maple tree nearby!
Fountain – Three tier cedar
fountain purchased from Drs. Foster & Smith for $149.99.
I added a coat of stain since the fountain was placed on
the end of the enclosure exposed to the elements.
For more
pictures of this amazing cat house and building
materials used to build it please visit:
Sally's Cat House "This
is a story about a house that love built and the rescue
effort through which it began. More importantly, it is a
story of 13 homeless cats and their trials and triumphs
in the pursuit of life, love and home."
Jan
What a great idea! The cats
can exit the house via a cat flap just above the window.
(see picture 1) They enter an aerial tunnel which runs
through to the outdoor cat enclosure with all the mod cons a
cat could ever need.
What a wonderful way to
keep your cat safe while allowing them the freedom of the
great outdoors
The cat run was
originally built for two longhair tabbies one ginger and white (Tim)
and one tortoise shell (Tam) Brother and Sister respectively. The
shade clothed fernery was originally installed to keep the sun off
the house in the afternoon but was easily converted to a run for the
cats by
installing a gate at the southern end (as seen in the photo's). The
northern end currently has a cat door into the garage which in turn
is attached to the house via a standard door (no cat door due to the
house alarm). From that it grew to a caged outdoor cat run along the fence which
also consisted of two small cubby style house one of which has now
been replaced by a large aviary style caged area (as seen in the
photo's). This came about due to a recent addition to the family, a Birman
cat by the name of Rascal.
Total cost about $1500 to build the enclosures for our cats.
The cats access the cat run via a cat
flap in the laundry wall.
The cost of materials for this cat run set me back about $1200
And the labor to build it was about 40 Hours.
Sarah
Photos of Sarah's
amazing cat enclosure system. Her cats must get immense enjoyment from using this
cat adventure land.
How much did
it cost to build this cat enclosure system?
What Sarah has to say All up, I would say that
we have spent about $1200 on everything so far. That includes a
second hand cat enclosure system, timber for furniture which my hubby
made, and actual made-to-measure furniture from an cat enclosure place.
How
long did it take you to build?
We spent a full weekend
outdoors putting the cat run together. Building included cutting of bricks and pulling up
concrete. We have a second aerial cat run which will soon go up and we
are looking at 2 more modules to connect it up on to the roof!
Overall, we have spent about 3 weekends making cat furniture, putting up
the cat run, gardening the modules, laying bricks in the module because
of the appalling cat-poo smell!
You can get a lot of things made for you or you can build them
yourself. I would recommend making the cat walks yourself and finding an
easy plan to make your own hammocks if possible. Mind you though,
the cat hammocks we got from South Australia are just amazing. They have
metal outers and properly made mesh overlays. The cats just love
them!! "
Marianna has made her garden a wonderful safe
playground for her family of cats. A series of cat tunnels allow her
cats to access the playground and Cat Gym.
Netting is placed on top of the fences
to make them cat proof.
How much did it cost to build this
enclosure for our cats? I bought two 50 meter rolls of bird wire to
cat proof the top of the fence. They cost less than $100. I also
bought four 10 meter rolls of chicken wire for the wire tunnels and
the cat enclosure in the garage from the reject shop for only $8,
what a bargain! I went to the local furniture factory and got off
cuts for the wood needed to build the cat run. The indoor wire doors
were bought at a demolition place for $10 each. We didn't have a lot
of money to spend to create a run for our cats so I was always on
the look out for cheap materials. For the cat furniture we got cheap
off cuts of carpet. I even got the paint for the enclosure cheap at
an auction.
Julia
The Safe Garden
A delightful garden in
the UK. Read the complete story and see more photos. See how this breeder created a
'Safe Garden' for her cats by visiting her website. The entire
garden has been made into a cat enclosure
Rameses Burmese,
Tonkinese and
Old-style Siamese
from Oxford, England
This is the cat proof fence and
now some of the plants are starting to grow. Eventually it will be
totally covered with plants and you won't see the wire mesh any
more. We actually tore down and replaced our last fence which was
cat-proofed in the same way and where the plants had totally covered
the mesh, no-one even knew there was mesh there. I can't wait for
the current plants to grow up now...
And here is our front
gate, the little monkeys either climbed up it or jumped over it...
until we put a piece of clear Perspex at the top. It is now too high
to jump over, and the Perspex is too thin for them to get a grip on
top, and the smooth surface of the Perspex over the wrought iron
means their little paws have nowhere to grip as they climb up near
the top. Very effective, and more slightly than putting mesh over
the top of the gate. We drilled a few holes through the Perspex and
attached it with screws and washers on both sides.
Christina
Photos of Christinas
Enclosed
verandah.
A very effective Cat Enclosure
The verandah is L
shaped. This is the other end.
Cat flap is in the window
These
outdoor cat runs are at the side of the enclosed verandah with a walkway between
so all cats can see each other & don't get lonely. The 1st half of the
cat runs are positioned between 2 sheds & the 2nd half in the open
garden. Each run is 8 metres long by 1 & half metres wide. Lots of
shelves & branches for
climbing.
It's
hard to photograph. It is an L shaped sleeping place & a small run for
females if they need to get to know the stud first. This is about 4 by
3 metres to the left. It was all quite easy to
build & protected from too much hot or cold.
David
My outdoor cats can stay in here
full-time as we have mild climate and the enclosure features a
covered weather shelter at one end. The blue box in the shelter is
a plastic storage box with doors cut into each end, and has a
cooling fan for summer (the shelter portion is in the shade ofa
tree) and a heating pad for winter.
For climbing, there are ramps leading
to an elevated deck and a natural branch. I will add more climbing
features.
It's located in the corner of my llama pasture and the llamas just
love
Links to other websites Plans
and diagrams detailing how to build a cat enclosure
Cat Enclosure Manufacturers in the United
States and Canada
Bandobi Pet
Products We offer several different outdoor cat enclosures in various shapes
and sizes. The modular construction of our cat enclosures allows us to
offer custom enclosures as well. All of our cat enclosures have a
provision to attach to a house so that cats can go in and out whenever
they wish.
The Cat's Den Outdoor Cat
Enclosures
The Cats Den offers a large range of modular cat enclosures for many
situations including apartment living. You can purchase an easy to install
cat enclosure kit or a custom made enclosure. Their cat enclosures are
sturdy and escape proof. There are many photos from satisfied customers.
They ship all over Canada and North America
Affordable Cat Fence
The AFFORDABLE CAT FENCE provides
effective and humane cat containment by turning your yard into a secure
enclosure. Rather than causing pain to your pets through electric fences
or collars, our cat fence is a barrier of netting supported by
heavy-gauge steel stanchions (unlike the wire brackets of the Cat
Fence-In product) which attach to your existing fence. The barrier
angles into your yard providing an overhang which cats will not climb.
There is also a vertical component inhibiting the entry of feral cats
and other animals from outside your yard.
Purrfect Cat Enclosures and
Cat Fences
Purr…fect Cat Fence enclosures are free-standing, backyard fence enclosure
for cats. Lots of photos and testimonials.
"Installation of our outdoor cat enclosures are uncomplicated" They also
offer installation in some states
Different breeds of cats
with pictures, description and information on each of the listed domestic cat
breeds.
Which breed would you choose?
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