After losing a cat last month in the middle of the day, I have become more paranoid about letting my cats out. One has figured out I am only allowing outside time when I am outside with her and has started to no longer comes when called, so I'm think of building a catio. I have pretty much no money to do so, but I can salvage some wood from the old wooden fences and broken down lean-tos on the property. What I am really wondering about is fencing material, is old fashion style chicken wire ok to use? If so would it be better to go with 1"? or would 2" mesh be ok? (2" is cheaper) I see a lot these catios with the welded steel mesh type fencing, but that is very expensive, I can get a roll of chicken wire for a fraction of the price. I'm going to have to start out small, something like a 3" wide x 6" long x 6" high enclosure for now, but I'll add on later when I have money.
I have lots of land, but not much room for something directly connecting to the house. I want something connected to a window that the cats and come and go as they please, not an enclosure I have to carry them to and from. Out the most accessible window I can only go about 3 feet out from the house otherwise I'm cutting off too much of the primary access to the back of the property, but can make it 20+ ft long if I had the money.
I have lots of land, but not much room for something directly connecting to the house. I want something connected to a window that the cats and come and go as they please, not an enclosure I have to carry them to and from. Out the most accessible window I can only go about 3 feet out from the house otherwise I'm cutting off too much of the primary access to the back of the property, but can make it 20+ ft long if I had the money.