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Thinking about doing a "catio" enclosure for our cats on the front porch.
Locust Fork
Member Posts: 32,056 ✭✭✭✭
We've officially gone totally nuts when it comes to the cats. We have carpet covered towers in just about every room….more than one in some. There is a filtrated drinking fountain in the kitchen….random toys everywhere. Scratching posts, cardboard box pad things with catnip sprinkled on them….making a random shredded mess here and there.
Because of Facebook I've been made aware of something people are doing called catios…which is pretty much just screening in your porch and making it where your cats can be "outside". Larry is pretty talented when it comes to building things, so we actually think we are going to attempt to do this TOGETHER one weekend. (That is the scary part)
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Comments
Good idea.
We had indoor kitties when we lived close to a paved road.
When we re-located to rural woods, no close roads or close neighbors they got converted to outdoor kitties. Some of the Garfields became good hunters eventually, but we did have to get a good mouser at first.
What is strange to me is we keep our kitties vaccinated, flea prevention, etc.
I have game camera pictures of a feral cat that will come at night and eat outdoor cat food, whip upon our kitties and make them like it, and that feral cat just keeps on living for going on 3 years and appears healthy. Probably a male feral cat. Some of our cats are the Manx type that looks like Bobcats but the feral cat whips upon them if they pick a fight. I have them on camera taking turns one at a time trying to whip the Feral cat. They don't gang up on him like dogs would do.
Our kitties would not live 6 mo's w/o care. One of ours recently died from Bob Cat fever.
No more indoor kitties for us.
I would never have an outdoor cat. I know it is a farm tradition, but there has never been a small feline predator in North America, and they are devastating to wildlife of all kinds. Additionally the transmit dreadful diseases from feral to domestic cats Distemper, FeLuc, and others.
Ours have a screened porch with a cat door open only when we are home and during the day.
I'm slowly working on getting the last "feral" cat tamed that has been living here for some time. Poor meatloaf wants to be his friend SO BADLY…..I crack the back door and let them smell of each other's face….Meat puts his giant paws gingerly out and Smokey (the wild one) starts trying to kill him through the crack. Its coming together, but soooo slow. Smokey is cross eyed, white with grey features…he is lean with a big wide head. Murder is pretty much tame and comes in 90% of the time….she darts out the door every chance she gets, but comes back when she realizes how stupid that was. Larry has said Smokey can't come in….but if I can keep him from hurting Meatloaf I think its going to happen someday.
I never liked cats but have over years opened up to them even have use to be" feral cat" sitting next to me
Wife found him on the road early one morning going to work, 3 years ago , so we call him roadie/ roadster he was about 6 or 7 weeks old and bonded to me Oh joy
A blind cat named Stevie Ray we have had for 14 / 15 years was blind when we gained her a a very young kitten maybe 5 or 6 weeks old
A cat named hobo my oldest son brought home
he found on the RR tracks while taking photos of trains ,again just a young kitten who is now 14 maybe 15 years old. He still goes outside to do his business
And a bunch of ex feral wonder in dropped off cats
We had places in the out buildings for them But this past spring bought a metal garden shead from menards and set it up just for the cats lots of spaces baskets and so on full of blankets just for the cats even have a sign on it "catieo "
Will add a heater soon for them
Needless tosay pet food and vet bills are crazy we have had them all fixed but another feral cat we have to catch gave us four more OH BOY we have to trap and make "pets " and of course
Off to the vet again
I have become the crazy old cat lady I mean stupid old cat man
Roadster
Once done, I'm sure you also will enjoy having a screened porch.
Martha Approves….
I love the catio idea! Screening in a porch isn't all that hard. I've done it before and it just takes some time and patience.
"That's right, but they never attack the same place twice. They were testing the fences for weaknesses, systematically. They remember." - Jurassic ParkThe quote applies to cats, too. Better build that catio strong. 😁
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
Martha givin' you the stink eye.
She is a fine kitty.
That is her "How about some snacks" look !!!