Ten years ago I moved into a cozy condo in central Phoenix because it had good “catio potential”. I’m lucky to live in a climate where an outdoor space can be used year round, so my cats have quite the play space, plus all the litter boxes are on the catio, which I love. You may have seen my catio featured in Catification, but I wanted to include it here in our new catio section, too.

My 1100 sq ft condo in Central Phoenix came with a nice back patio that was already walled in, however, the wall was easily scalable so it was off limits for my cats until I could enclose it. My friend Mike was the real force behind the catio. He helped me design and build the structure by extending the roof and creating metal mesh panels to connect the concrete block walls to the roof line. Here are some before and after photos:

You can see the old rotting patio cover and the bougainvillea plants that had to go.

We used sturdy metal roofing material over a solid wood frame. The metal mesh for the side panels came from a local metal supply store. We had it powder coated for durability. Mike made sure there are absolutely no escape holes.

I added climbing shelves and an enclosed litter box area at one end with a sisal wrapped scratching post that extends all the way to the ceiling. This is a popular feature. The more agile cats can climb all the way up the pole to the top shelf.

Having a catio is a dream come true for both me and the cats. They love to be able to get fresh air and watch the birds, and I love that they are safe from harm. We plan to enjoy this catio for many years.

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