Is an outdoor enclosure a good idea for a territorial indoor cat?

[vervada]

I live in a rural area in a neighborhood that has the houses tucked into the folds of a small mountainside. My kittycat, who is strictly indoor, seems to realy want outside. He has a distinct meow for "open this door." and he does it frequently at the garage door, the front and the sliding glass door. He has accedentaly slipped out a few times so he knows what it's like to be outside. He's neutered so it's not beacause of hormones. I try to play with him but he just is not interested in his toys when he does this. I read a post on another site that instructs how to build outdoor cat tunnels and catios and I think that is an exellent idea. I have a tunnel planned to lead out the window of the living room, via kittydoor, and run 5 ft off the ground along the wood fence that borders half my backyard. Birds, squirrels and such frequently visit my yard. The tunnel will be more or less a padded wood box with one side being chicken wire. I also am thinking about converting half my deck (the whole of witch is giant and about the same size as my house) into a catio. I think he'd love it; it's outside but still protected. BUT there's also a few skunks and a lot of cats in my neighborhood. Vinnie is quite territorial. He gets all fluffed up even if the cat is walking up the hill behind my yard (wich is aprox the same distince as a 1 lane road) The cats rarely actualy enter my tiny yard but walk around the bushes bordering the hill/cliff my yard slopes up into or behind the juniper trees that separate my house from the street. They have been spotted on my deck only twice in the 3 years me n' Vinnie lived here. And niether of us has ever seen a skunk, but I sure smelled one walking past my bedroom window one night. I see thier poor corpses on the road occasionaly though.

Vinnie, I can tell, is almost desperate to get outside but the whole reason for denying him this is to keep him safe from fights, accidents and other injuries. Would some pet resistiant screen around the bottom 4 feet of the catio, if I go that route, help deflect any claws or spray? And I'm also concerned if this will just tease him rather than relieve his seeming cabin fever. I just want what's best for Vinnie. Any ideas on how to make the safest tunnel/catio possible would be greatly appreciated along with your opinion on the "exellence" of the idea.

 

[iluvcats3]

What I do is take my cats outside and supervise them, and have never gotten around to building their outdoor enclosure. But in any case, I have heard many times that in my area, chicken wire is not good enough for raccoons or coyotes, and to use something heavier. I think these stories could be true, because chicken wire is pretty darn wimpy compared to anything else. But I live up north where raccoons and coyotes are big and strong. (hmm, just googled it - chicken wire definitely not good enough for raccoons). But of course, your kitty would have access to the house thru a pet door, but then, a past friend of mine had 5 raccoons come into her house thru the pet door. . . Think about mosquitos, also, if it's an issue in your area.  Kitty won't like them none, and I dunno if the concern about feline heartworm blew over or not. And you may need to treat for ticks and fleas, but anyone with an outdoor cat has that concern.  My plan is to convert a dog kennel. I just have to get around to it. Good luck with this project! oh,and some concerns evaporate if you don't let him have access all of the time - just when you are home and paying some attention. If some animal is trying to fight thru the wire, you are likely to hear that. Dunno about the risk of transmitting diseases when animals can't bite each other. I think the risk is minimal and again, you'd hear a cat fight.

 

[vervada]

Thanks for the advice! I have discarded the tunnel idea and am instead going to convert half my deck into an enclosed outdoor room/catio with mosquito netting and good strong -hopefully not too ugly- cagetype walls. Also mabe with a solid barrier about 4 ft high to deflect skunk spray. With the netting all around including a linolium floor on the boards I don't have to worry about heartworm mosquitoes right? And I'll still have a kittydoor in the window but inside the enclosure and locked at night so raccoons won't be able to get in... Yea I'll do that. I'd like to do the freeroam under supervision but the hawks here look big enough to carry off a small child! Thanks again for the advice and good luck on your project!