Start with the step-by-step guide to building a catio, then go deeper: what it costs against a kit, which mesh keeps a cat in and a predator out, and how to fasten a catio to the house. The numbers come from the catio designer, so the guides and your plan agree: the 8x6 default is $1,132.11 in materials.
Start here · 12 min read
A DIY catio is a 2x4 frame wrapped in welded wire, with a roof, a door you can walk through and shelves at different heights. Here is the whole build in the order we draw it in our plans, with the numbers behind each step.
Read the guideFor the 8x6 freestanding catio, as the designer draws it. Our default: the number the catio designer builds to. Code rule: the 2021 International Residential Code model text. Depends: your town, your wall or your cats change it. Your building department has the last word on permits.
Three shelves after the build guide: the cost, the mesh and the house. Every drawing is a catio from the designer.
Guide 1
What a catio costs in materials, against the store kits, size for size.
Guide 2
Which wire keeps a cat in and a predator out, and how to fix it to the frame.
Guide 3
A ledger into the wall framing, the window the cats use and the one to leave alone.
Catio Attached to the House: How to Fasten ItHow to build a catio attached to the house: a treated 2x8 ledger lag-screwed into the framing, flashing, siding and brick, cat access and permits.9 min
Balcony Catio: Options for Apartments and RentersBalcony catio options for apartments and renters: net the balcony, stand a small catio on it, or hang a window box. Plus permission, plants and safety.8 minEach links straight to its answer, with the sources beside it. The guides answer 22 in all.
Calculators
Catio cost calculator$1,132.11materials for the 8x6 freestanding catio, 29 lines at dated store pricesPick the type, the size and the options, get the designer's full shopping list, with labor shown apart if you hire it out.Price your catio
How many cats? Size finderThe smallest of our sizes that passes the space and shelf checks for the cats you have.21.5 sq ftper cat, our green line
Catio ideasWindow boxes, lean-tos, walk-ins, tunnels and airlocks: each one opens in the designer.20designs in four groups
Catio designerEvery number above, for the catio you draw: the cat checks, the mesh rolls and the materials list. Free, no account.9 of 9checks green on the 8x6Humane societies, shelter veterinarians and feline guidelines set the cat rules, cited with their year. We give no veterinary advice.
Board counts, mesh rolls, hours and costs come from the catio designer's plan for a real size, the same engine that draws the free plans.
Every price names its store and the day we read it, and a line with no price stays empty. How the checks work
Design it, then build it
Set the size to your wall or your yard and the number of cats. The cat checks, the mesh rolls and the materials list follow every change. Free, no account.
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