Our Version of the Catio

Ever since our little Hemingway died (in March), our Becker cat has been ruling the house. He whines and moans all the time because he wants to go outside, but it's not safe for him to do so. So, we made a little Catio (aka Cat Patio). I picked up some stray wood from my parents, Eric had a leftover roll of cage wire, used a shelf that came from the old condo, posts from Home Depot and a roof made of siding ($5) and a wood/glass cabinet door ($10) from the Habitat Restore. All in all, the whole project cost about $40. I've since cut the roof to fit better and screwed it on as well as braiding several yards of baler twine and wrapped it around one of the wooden posts. This way he can claw at it to his little heart's content! Overall, he's been pretty happy with it, but he has a lot of settling in to do. Just the other day we put him in there while we were doing yard work. He was eating the grass and genuinly enjoying his time outdoors when Eric retracted his measuring tape which made a loud noise. Poor baby Becker got so scared that he looked like he was going to climb the walls! So I opened his Catio door and out he jumped and ran onto the deck and back into the house. Poor baby Becker! Anyway, here is the almost finished version, with Kitty inside. What a cutie, huh?!