The Catio

Built For Courage

We built the catio specifically for Courage, the first and only cat who was determined to live with us, and not just us, with all the dogs too.

Courage was true to his name and was the bravest cat I have ever met, he was cool, calm and collected and was friends with everyone.

Over time, the catio became the favourite house of choice for all the cats that we are able to handle and numerous litters have been born and raised there.

It's also used as a hospital and is a place for nursing mother's too. Courage loved the kittens, here he is lying down happy and content with Dotty snuggled up to him and momma bear Brownie on the left.

The Journey Leading Upto The Catio

One day, Courage came into the front to innocently say hello, blissfully unaware of the dangers of coming into a yard full of dogs, and sadly, one of the dogs got hold of him.

We rescued him from his jaws, he was weak, battered and bruised and it was clear that Courage was in a very critical condition.

Not knowing what to do for the best, we called the vet and agreed that we would see if he survived the night, and we willed him through.

We monitored him closely for the next couple of days and by way of a miracle, Courage remarkably,  slowly but surely, recovered.

A Unique Design

From that day forward, we resolved to find a way for Courage to live with us and racked our brains as to how we could integrate him with the 7 dogs we had at the time.

And then I remembered the catio - a safe and protected space that is connected to a window opening in order to allow access from the inside to the outside, in a contained way.

Traditionally, a catio provides access to a secure fenced space outside, like an enclosed patio, hence the name catio, but Courage was free outside and needed safety and security inside. 

This photo gives you a better idea of the size of the outside section and how it joins the inside through the window. The outside section is about 1m x 1m, whilst the inside section is about 0.6m deep.

The Reverse Catio!

And so the reverse catio was born! 

The reverse catio ensures safe access to the house in a secure enclosed space, whilst ensuring full access to the outside to that Courage was free to come and go as he pleased, which he did, and from the moment we introduced him, he loved it!!!!

And so does everyone else, sometimes every space is taken up with warm bodies in a snuggle pile!!!

All of the cats spend so much time in it, it's their favourite place, and it's wonderful for both them and us to be a part of the house.

The catio also has functionality outside whereby we can lock it if we don't want the cats to come in whilst we are not around, whilst the dogs are getting used to them.

The Development of The Catio

Over time, we expanded the catio to include a self-contained and private hospital space with maximum inside and outside space for Dotty when he needed 12 weeks cage rest.

We added a ramp for kittens and Mum's and also for disabled / easier access to Mum's who had recently given birth or who were about to give birth.

Next to the catio we added an additional window box as showcased by Butterfly and we still need to think of a creative way to join the two structures together in a neat and tidy, functional way.

There is now a shade cloth for the hot summer months and we cover with blankets at night in the cool winter months and give them hot water bottles in the morning and evening.

Inside are rugs and sometimes pillows and blankets too, fresh water and we sometimes feed tasty snacks in there, whatever is necessary depending on what it's being used for and when.

What can I say, we love our animals!!!!!

Everyone's Favourite House!!!

We have had more cats in there at one time than we can count, they absolutely adore it and 3 of the cats have had kittens in there and we watched them give birth.

Feisty & Trinity chose to share the catio with their 4 respective babies each and Brownie their Mum also joined with her 2 kittens, so 13 in total!

It's a lovely safe space that's warm in winter and cool and air-conditioned in summer and we love having the cats join our home in a way that is safe for everyone.

The catio, like the dog enclosure, has been a game changer and is definitely one of our many winning and innovative structures!!