I live in the desert, which is wonderful, BUT is dangerous for cats. We have wildlife consisting of mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, owls, hawks, raccoons, javelinas, and more. Two coyotes decided to make my neighborhood their permanent home, and sleep right in our front yards, etc. Once that happened, I decided it was too dangerous to allow my cats out into my backyard any longer, and started building catios, as, even though we have 6 foot block walls, the predators scale that no problem. I set about putting window boxes on every window, and built 5 catios, 2 of which are extra large ones that are 10 feet high, filled with enrichment. I have one catio that I would have to carry my cats to, as there was no house access. Of course, this catio turned out to be their favorite, ha. It is 36x16x10, and I call it the jungle because I built it around the giant bushes that my cats used to hide in while hunting, when I did allow them outside until 4 pm (they stayed in my backyard). Anyway, I reached out to Habitat Haven to purchase a tunnel to connect my 2 largest catios, so my lovelies would have house access, and the ability to use the catio all night long (I closed it up when I went to bed, and brought my cats inside). After watching them use the tunnel for a few days, I saw that they loved running in it, and knew they needed a longer tunnel (original was only 22 feet long) to really be able to run and chase, so I ordered a much longer, 54 foot tunnel. Once I did that, I ordered one more tunnel to connect it to my house, giving them another access point. To sum it up, they now have 22 foot, 54 foot, and 32 foot tunnels that they run, chase, frolick, and lie in. Also, when they first began using them, they had a bit of a time getting around each other, as they are single lane tunnels, creating some friction. Now, they just jump right on over whomever is in their way, haha. No one gets upset, and it is their solution, and works great.
I love these tunnels for my cats. Were they cheap? NOPE, but they are worth every penny, seeing the absolute joy my cats derive from using them. They are in them day and night, and I have the camera footage to prove it, ha.
I will say that if money is tight (in this economy food is a luxury, I know), I would figure a way to build a small catio (make sure to go vertical, if you can. I would NOT build one less than 10 ft high), and save your money for tunnels. They make ALL the difference. And put them up high. My cats adore bird watching from high up in their tunnels. Oh, and looking down at the peasants, us humans and dogs, haha.
Time for daily bird countIng
Our cats love the tunnel, their access from the Catio to the Fenced in area below. I love that this piece comes fully assembled and was so easy to attach on each side, the two access doors are appreciated as well.
Cats love these tunnels! Habitat Haven is a great system to make custom Catios. It is clear that these products will hold up over the long term.
We have had a catio for almost 20 years. We purchased a set of pre-fabricated tunnels, steps, etc. from Habitat Haven and put them together with our catio to create a whole new experience for our new young cats. These clips are an awesome way to put these structures together.
My cats are housed in a mezzanine in a shed. I did not want to attach anything to the shed exterior so I used posts and platforms to support everything. The cats enter a cage, follow a straight run where they drop the height with two sets of 4 stairs that make a turn, then there is a short straight tunnel into another cage.
The staff at Habitat Haven are excellent. It is essential to consult them before you order to make sure that what you want to do will work . The product was shipped free to Canada on a skid already assembled. I am very happy with the outcome and so are my cats.
Phase 1: 400 SF yard attached to rear of pre-existing catio.
Phase 2: Tunnels and a My Own Den connecting the house to front of catio.
Phase 3: Cat proof 3,500 SF yard with existing chain link fence and connect to My Own Den with a bridge and tower.
We purchased a window enclosure, multiple tunnels, and some tunnel steps and other parts. We are very happy with our Habitat Haven products. Easy to set up and they look great. Our kitty loves his access to the outdoors!
Suited our purpose exactly. Loved it!
Recently installed 2 new window enclosures with an around the corner tunnel that connects the 2 windows.
We have 2 other window enclosures with tunnels that connect them together, but going around the corner of the house took a bit more planning, but happy to report that it was a great success!
Attached is a photo of a couple of our 5 cats enjoying the good life.
Sadie and I love it. She can exit the first standard Catio and walk down the 12 foot tunnel and sit next to me.
We get to hold hands/paws while we are outside together. She can also have a covered area when the weather is bad.
The tunnel is amazing!!!!
Excellent quality!
We had a weird porch offset to our window. We did an L shaped walkway to allow the cat to get to the catio. Worked great!
We had a weird porch offset to our window. We did an L shaped walkway to allow the cat to get to the catio. Worked great!
Jack loves the tunnel. He always stops to sit halfway to his "haven" just to view his surroundings . Our tunnel is raised along the top of bushes which he loves.
Tunnel seems fine- connected easily except for one cabana side as the tunnel had to be attached at a corner and the clips don't work with 3 pieces of wire. Used zip ties and managed to use 2 clips on the top of the tunnel so it is very secure now. This was probably my fault as I could have made the entrance cage deeper which would have moved the tunnel-cabana connection away from the corner. I still have to put in all the shelves, etc. which I am doing myself as I have time. HOWEVER, as you do not have any people to assemble in NC/Charlotte, we used our very good handyman to assemble the cage, attach tunnel (they had previously attached the entrance cage to our house), support rods, door installation and A-frame PERFECTLY! (This probably prevented my wife and I killing each other!!!!!!). So as you currently have no assemblers in NC, I am including my excellent handyman's contact- they said that would be appreciated if you sent them any work. They are the "House Doctors" and their web site is: "housedoctors.com/monroe" and their president is a nice guy called Chris Sauter ([****]). When finally finished, hopefully I can send you some photos of my kittens enjoying it!
Solid structure for catio expansion
Solid structure for catio expansion
Solid structure for catio expansion
The tunnel has been a hit. The staff gave good advice on installing it in the cage and attaching it to the wall.
Going through the cat door bothered the cats at first, but they had no issues with the tunnel. They really like the wood floor. Both cats spend part of the day snoozing in the tunnel, especially when the sun is out.
