Outdoor enclosed cat run. Any ideas?

puppy cat

Hi all,

I've had a quick look through some threads about outdoor cat enclosures and all I can say is I hope this thread doesn't descend into verbal abuse before I get an answer!

I have 2 cats, one likes being inside during the day, fast asleep, then goes out for an hour or two in the evening, he just sits at the back door watching the world go by, the other one likes being out during the day (on a rampage!) and then comes in early evening. So far so good.

Except that the guy who is out during the day has turned into something of a serial killer, no amount of bells on his collar are having any effect. He has now started bringing presents home for me, either in the door or any open window, and they're not always deceased! He has started treating my neighbours to little presents too and they're not too impressed! The strange thing is he actually doesn't roam away from the back garden, so all his victims are from inside the garden. What i'm trying to say is that he doesn't roam for miles and miles away from the house, he literally stalks his prey outside the back door! Also he's more than happy to just sit beside me if I'm outside and not go off looking for more victims, but obviously I can't sit at the back door all day!

So here's the thing, we're moving house soon, and we'll be out in the countryside, but one of the neighbours has chickens, ducks etc, and there's poison down in around us too. I'm terrified that either someone will poison him, shoot him, he'll simply go missing or something horrible like that. Or he'll murder all the chickens and deposit them in my house!:eek: And I'm vegetarian!!!:D

I've seen some great outdoor enclosed cat runs online but haven't really got a clue where to start. Has anyone on here ever built anything like that for cats? Something like these, but way bigger, these one's seem a bit poky to me http://www.woodenart.org.uk/products.php?product=Bespoke-Cat-Runs%2C-Cat-Pens-and-Enclosures

We'll have loads of space so it can be as big as it needs to be. I'm planning on attaching it in some way to one of the utility room windows so that they can get in and out but I don't want them to be able to get in or out of the run. We'll put in lots of shelter and shelves to climb up and down on and lots of toys and things to keep them occupied and play with. They're not going to be dumped into the run all day every day, they'll have the run of the house but will be able to access the outdoor area whenever they want so I want it to be really attractive for them.

Any and all help and suggestions will be most appreciated.

mymo

I'm looking into this too for when I move, couple of friends in the UK have them set up and said they are cheap enough to build if you are anyway handy.
The best one I saw was timber frame with avery wire and corrugated plastic roof, much like the ones on that site, about 10m long and 3m wide(took up most of the garden).
It was attached to the house over a window like you said, but it had some paving slabs near the house and on the grass at the far end, with the shortest side hinged to open so the people could get in to maintain it.
Few pots of plants to hide behind and provide shade, few toys and places to sit and it would be great. My garden is just not secure enough and one cat occasionally gets out.
I will definitely be doing this as my great hunter managed to get out the front window on saturday and came back with what the vet thinks is a fractured hip or bruising and nerve damage. Poor cat is on cage rest and pain pills for the next few weeks.
Let us know how you get on and pic's please when you do it.

This run I saw used decking timber as its pre treated and they used a router to cut the grooves for the wire to sit in, then tied it in with that garden wire. Meant no sharp edges for cats to injure themselves, just twisted and hammered flat the tied wire on outside.

puppy cat

Thanks for the reply mymo, sounds good.

I'm going to sit down and draw up a plan, make sure it's big enough, gets both the sun and some shade, they love sunbathing!

I just really want them both to be happy and safe because I love them so much and would be devestated if anything happened to either of them, also i really don't want a pile of dead or half dead neighbour chickens at the back door!

When i come up with some sort of plan I'll post it here with a list of materials (and costings) and anyone that has any opinions or suggestions can weigh in.

puppy cat

Sorry mymo, just realised I never said I'm sorry to hear about you poor cat getting injured, hope things turn out ok, I was just so happy that someone took the time to reply I kinda lost the run of myself.

An enclosure is a great idea to really to cut the chances of something awful like that happening. I know a lot of people maintain that indoor cats will still be happy and won't be exposed to the possibility of injury, disease etc, will live longer than outdoor cats, and then others say the cat won't be happy being cooped up indoors and its not "natural", so I really hope this outdoor area will give them the best of both worlds. (and protect all the little furry and feathery creatures in the area from my serial killer!)

Any and all suggestions, ideas, plans, pictures etc that anyone has or could point me in the right direction of will be really appreciated.

I'd be especially interested to hear from anyone that has used purrfect fence http://www.purrfectfence.co.uk/default.asp

TIA

mymo

Thanks puppy cat, he's in pain but pretty lively and still up for cuddles.
Really isn't worth the danger of them roaming. I thought my garden was pretty secure and apart from coming walkies with me and the dogs, I had him contained most of the time, just wasn't enough. He is a serious hunter and was probably kept outside before he came to us(he's a rescue).

I haven't used the fence on that site, but I have 2ft of wire at a 45degree angle (overhanging) on top of the fence. Keeps them in most of the time, but have to watch for stuff they can climb to get over the top.

ISDW

If you go onto petsireland, and ask the same question, you will get some great answers. There are a few people on there that have built amazing outdoor runs for the cats and filled with them lots of things to keep the cats happy and entertained.

puppy cat

ISDW wrote: »

If you go onto petsireland, and ask the same question, you will get some great answers. There are a few people on there that have built amazing outdoor runs for the cats and filled with them lots of things to keep the cats happy and entertained.

No way! Are you trying to tell me that Boardsies don't always have the answers??? ;);)

Seriously though, that's a great help, I'll get on there now and pick their brains and report back.

ISDW

puppy cat wrote: »

No way! Are you trying to tell me that Boardsies don't always have the answers??? ;);)

Seriously though, that's a great help, I'll get on there now and pick their brains and report back.

:DTheres a lot of people involved in rescue over there, and they don't rehome cats to outdoor homes, so come up with some ingenious ideas:p

hadook

We converted our dog run into a cat run that stretches the length of the back of the house. It's 22' long and 12' wide with a small garden shed on the end furthest from the house that the cats can access through a flap. They come in and out of house through another flap in the sitting room window.

It's mostly grass with a paved path along one side & has branches for climbing and a section at the far end filled with compost/bark for those cats who prefer to use outside facilities

I don't have any recent pictures with me but here's Cheesecake enjoying the snow last year:


We're planning an extension that will give them another 40' of space this autumn and we'll be building that section ourselves with a wooden frame and chainlink.

Lykke

puppy cat wrote: »

Sorry mymo, just realised I never said I'm sorry to hear about you poor cat getting injured, hope things turn out ok, I was just so happy that someone took the time to reply I kinda lost the run of myself.

An enclosure is a great idea to really to cut the chances of something awful like that happening. I know a lot of people maintain that indoor cats will still be happy and won't be exposed to the possibility of injury, disease etc, will live longer than outdoor cats, and then others say the cat won't be happy being cooped up indoors and its not "natural", so I really hope this outdoor area will give them the best of both worlds. (and protect all the little furry and feathery creatures in the area from my serial killer!)

Any and all suggestions, ideas, plans, pictures etc that anyone has or could point me in the right direction of will be really appreciated.

I'd be especially interested to hear from anyone that has used purrfect fence http://www.purrfectfence.co.uk/default.asp

TIA

Hi Puppy Cat ,

We used the purrfectcat fence for our gang , have had it for over two years with no escapes

The main fence is made of flexible plastic with an over hang at the top
The cats will climb it , but cant jump because they like a solid surface to launch from

The bottom 3ft solid wire overlaps with the top section and is pegged to the ground

Another nice feature is from a distance its very hard to see

Hope this helps

Rgds

Lykke

puppy cat

Hadook, that looks a lot like the kind of thing I'm thinking of. Thanks for posting the pic.

This enclosure is going to have to function a bit like a prison to contain our serial killer , don't really want it to look like a prison though and your one looks like we could make it blend in quite well.

If you have time maybe you could post back and let me know where you got the original dog run from?? And a bit of detail about exactly how you went about the conversion?

Do you know what? I reckon it would have been cheaper to put a few kids through private school at this rate! Still though, they need to be happy and safe (just like kids) so I'm willing to do whatever it takes.

Keep the suggestions coming everyone!

puppy cat

Lykke thanks for posting. I like the fact that the purrfect fence isn't really in your face noticeable, as i mentioned I don't really want it looking like Alcatraz even though it'll have to function as a little kitty cat prison.

I'm waiting to hear back from them about delivery times and costs because we really need to get moving on this enclosure and get it done asap.

I'm considering a mish mash of all the ideas put forward so far actually, but it'll come down to what we can get done quickly (but properly), and I suppose what the end result will look like.

My 2 better appreciate all the trouble I'm going to!

Sigma Force

Hayses modular or cilldara.ie or similar crowds make the hassle free enclures/runs. You can put them up in minutes, have had ours for years and they don't rust.
But if getting something like a cill dara just make sure you get a roof top or net the top of it and the hole where you put your hand in to open the door may need to be partially blocked if you have small cats or kittens in there.

An aviary type enclosure can work too, we have an aviary but it ended up costing a fortune and we have to wood stain it every year it's become a bit of a pain although you can design a timber one any way you like and have little nooks and crannys in it.

Or you could do a bit of both, if you need them to be secure ensure you install a double door system to there's no risk of escape.

I'll try and post some pics if my slow computer lets me.

hadook

We got our last lot of panels from Cill Dara though there are plenty of other suppliers too.

The two side panels closest to the house are bolted onto the walls and the rest basically just stands there and supports itself (one of the main benefits of going for the metal panels is they're far sturdier). The roof is chicken wire and again one side is secured to the house while the rest is cable tied onto the top of the panels.

puppy cat

Thanks, I'll check out cill dara now and see what's what.

We've only the 2 cats, both adult males, one lazy and hilarious, one mental and hilarious, so unfortunately no chance of kittens......yet

Maybe this cat enclosure won't prove as awkward to sort out as I expected, thanks to all the help from Boards

Pudding11

hi there. I have two cats at home and also built an enclosure for them. I have a yard beside the house with high walls and a high gate. We just put up a sort of chicken wire roof at the top of the wall and blocking above the gate so they have loads of room out there but cat get out. Didnt cost too much either.

puppy cat

morning all,

I'm heading ou to that cilldara place today and just have a couple of questions.
do they hold all the panels in stock or do you need to order them?
and also do they deliver?
and finally, are they nice to deal with? I'm sick and tired of having to deal with people with bad attitudes!!!

Once we have the outdoor area done i'll post a pic and maybe it'll be of some help to others thinking of doing the same thing.

Thanks for all the help so far.

chsdeddijj

ISDW wrote: »

:DTheres a lot of people involved in rescue over there, and they don't rehome cats to outdoor homes, so come up with some ingenious ideas:p

Hello.
How can I contact petsireland please?
I've googled it but nothing came up.
Thank you in advance.
Cindy

muddypaws

chsdeddijj wrote: »

Hello.
How can I contact petsireland please?
I've googled it but nothing came up.
Thank you in advance.
Cindy

Probably because this thread is 8 years old, pets Ireland is long gone.

chsdeddijj

muddypaws wrote: »

Probably because this thread is 8 years old, pets Ireland is long gone.

Right. Didn't look at the date.