My Cat Enclosures

We adopted our first cat, Snookums, nine years ago. We didn't know she was pregnant but it wouldn't have mattered. She gave birth to two boys, Galen and Sumner. We decided to keep them and we added a fourth cat, Minerva, several months later. As we researched the things cats need, we realized that access to fresh air and a better view of the outside world would improve thier quality of life. The first option was to enclose the back porch.

Our porch was completely open save for one metal support column holding up a corner of the roof. I used some 4x4's measured for height and placed four feet apart to close the gaps. To these I attached 4 by 8 foot sheets of lattice. I also framed in an opening for a back door and built a door to match. The door was also latticed. To make the enclosure even more cat friendly, I added shelves four feet high on which they could run, play, and lounge. A cat flap was installed in the door from the utility room leading out onto the porch to allow the cats free access.

Over the years we added various pieces of furniture safe for outdoor use and our cats really love their porch. They often use the concrete floor during the summer as a cool place to relax. We sometimes join them on their porch and enjoy the fresh breeze as well.

Our cats enjoyed their new enclosed porch but, with further research, we learned that cats need access to grass to help their digestive system handle the hair they lick off of their bodies either by helping the grass pass through their system or by helping them regurgitate the hair back up. This is very important to help keep your cats healthy and it is a natural process cats living outside utilise every day.

We grew cat grass inside, in various containers, for a while but our group soon grew to five. We just couldn't grow enough cat grass in the house. Therefore, a new plan was put into action. We decided to build an enclosed pen to give them access to grass outside. This also allowed them more room to help with territorial problems in the house.

Again using 4x4's, I framed in a pen including a door for easy entrance and exit. This enclosure measured six feet in length, four feet in width, and six feet in height. I covered this with plastic chicken wire which would be easier on their paws/claws. I put in six inch shelves to run around on and put a sheet of two foot wide plywood across the back end to lounge upon. Of course, everything was painted as well. I placed this pen as close to the house as I could.

Planning ahead, I knew that once we started putting the cats in the pen, they would want to go in and out and in and out and in..... ad nauseum. Soooo, I cut out a section of the lattice on the porch and built an enclosed walkway from the porch to the pen. Now our cats could go onto the porch, through the walkway, and into the pen on their own and still be safe without fear of them running loose. We did not want them to roam free outside in order to protect them from dogs, cars, etc.

After a few years, the original pen came to be too small. With so many cats in the house, a 6 by 4 foot pen six feet high wasn't enough. Our cats needed more room. Another factor that convinced me to build a larger pen was the incessant meowing that accompanied us whenever we tried to eat on the patio during and after a cookout. The chorus got to be too much. So a new, bigger, better design was drawn up.

I decided to enclose the part of the patio where we have our outdoors table & chairs as well as a large section of lawn full of healthy grass. I again used 4x4's to frame in an area 12 feet long and 17 feet wide. Since the 4x4's were 8 feet long, the enclosure is eight feet in height. I again used plastic chicken wire to enclose the frame on the sides and across the top. Two exit doors were built and framed in as well. This new enclosure was built right next to the house without any spaces from which the cats could escape.

To augment our cats enjoyment, I again placed shelves in a loop. I built an open "bar" in the middle and used this as part of the loop. This provided a loop for running which did not include the sections in which I placed the doors. This allowed free use of the doors to exit/enter the new enclosure. I removed the catwalk built for the first enclosure and relocated that pen to another section of the yard. It's now their "vacation pen". I left the hole in the lattice to allow the cats to go from house to porch to enclosure. Another measure of comfort was added, an outdoor litter box inside a framed-in vinyl litter box cover we purchased on the internet.

Over the years, we've added cheap plastic outdoor chairs, a lounge, an old log, an old doghouse converted into a cat house and various boxes (until they disintegrated from rain) to the area for our cats to use.

We can now sit out on the patio without our cats singing a constant chorus of meows and enjoy the fresh air. Our cats get better views of the birds and wildlife, better access to grass, more room to run and play, more room & places to lounge, etc., all while remaining safe from the dangers of the "real world".

For more information, visit the enclosures page at our main website www.wvcats.com or, clickhere