Animals

Couple make incredible secure ‘catio’ so their four kitties can play in the sun


The catio allows the cats to sunbathe safely (Pictures: Georgia Hook)

With the weather heating up, it’s becoming more and more vital that we get outside in gardens or parks.

For some pets, doing so unsupervised isn’t an option, which requires secure solutions to allow them to be outside while making sure they’re safe.

22-year-old Georgia Hook and her partner Alan, 29, found an ingenious way to get their cats out in the sunshine without worrying about them running away or coming across predators.

The Dumfries couple built an incredible ‘catio’ for their four cats that cost just £70, and has loads of room for their fur babies to play.

Alan, who works as a Valet Supervisor for Arnold Clark is currently furloughed, giving him some extra time to work on DIY projects. The catio was also a wonderful surprise for Georgia, who is a Sport and Exercise Science graduate who has been working hard as a Shift Leader at a Tesco Express store.

It extends from the kitchen window (Picture: Georgia Hook)

Their little family consists of the couple and their four cats.

Georgia told Metro.co.uk: ‘Alan had the older three cats (Lenny, 6, Tilly, 6, and Belle, 5) when we met.

‘Lenny is a solid ragdoll and he was the first cat Alan bought, Tilly is a tabby and she was adopted and Belle is a rescued farm cat.

‘In October last year we adopted Penny together, she is estimated to be 3 and is also a solid Ragdoll.’

As the cats are Ragdolls, they can’t roam as freely as many other (Picture: Georgia Hook)

Although many cats are able to roam around at will, owners of Ragdoll cats are often recommended to keep the animals indoors.

‘Ragdoll cats are long-haired therefore it is advised to keep them indoors as they would easily get caught up in brush etc,’ says Georgia.

‘All of the cats have always been house cats and have never shown any interest in going out, they enjoy sunbathing in the fresh air however don’t try to get out of the catio etc.

‘They have always been taken outside with us to have a wander around the garden but they don’t choose to go far therefore they have no road sense or familiarity with our neighbourhood.’

Alan already had three of the cats, but they adopted one more after he met Georgia (Picture: Georgia Hook)

With that in mind, the couple decided to build the catio so that the fab four could be safe outside and they could keep the windows open with no worries.

The space extends from the kitchen windows, and the cats simply head out whenever they fancy for a spot of sun, with the added benefit of Georgia and Alan being able to keep the kitchen aired out when cooking.

She says: ‘We ordered the materials from Wickes and it cost around £70.

‘We ordered 18 CLS Timber 38mm×63mm×2400mm to build the frame, 10m of 55mm galvanized wire and an assortment of screws.

An old towel was used as a cute kitty hammock (Picture: Georgia Hook)

‘We built the frame to the size of our windows and attached the mesh to each of the panels using a staple gun.

‘The panels were then secured together and a beam attached below the window to secure it to the wall.’

They then customised the inside with some wood from an old fence to build shelves, and used an old scratching tower to create a basket and box for them to laze around in.

‘We used parts of an old chicken run that my Dad had built to create a ceiling so that the area is kept dry,’ says Georgia, and ‘an old bathroom towel is nailed to the ceiling to create a hammock.’

A happy sunskissed fur baby (Picture: Georgia Hook)

The whole thing only took around four hours to build, and now Lenny, Tilly, Belle, and Penny have a gorgeous new play area.

Georgia says that even this small amount of time could have been cut down massively if they had more than a hand saw to cut each length of wood to size.

She says, ‘We would definitely advise anyone attempting to replicate the structure to use an electric jigsaw or circular saw to cut the lengths as it was endless sawing all of the lengths by hand.’

Most cat adoption agencies will require a secure garden for potential owners, so if you’re planning on adopting but are worried about safety issues, a structure like this could be the perfect middle ground.

Enjoy the sun, kitties!

Do you have a great DIY project you’d like to share with us?

Get in touch at MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk.

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