Catio Bridge - Straight

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.

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.

Time for daily bird countIng