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Free starting design · Freestanding catio

8' x 6' freestanding catio

48 sq ft for up to 2 cats, 80" to 89" tall

Kept in, kept out: 1 x 2 in welded wire screwed every 6 in, no gap over 1 in, the door on two latches. Roof under snow: solid panel roof and purlins checked at 30 psf. Not verified by the planner: wind uplift and anchorage.

9 of 9 planner checks green
The 8x6 freestanding catio, drawn by the catio designerThe 8x6 freestanding catio with its footprint and heightsThe 2x4 frame of the 8x6 freestanding catio, without mesh or roof panelsInside the 8x6 freestanding catio: shelves, ramps and litter nook, the roof and the near walls cut away
Drawn by the designer from this plan
Customize this design, free

As drawn, at 30 psf of snow

Access
30" x 76" walk-in door
Footprint
8x6 ft, up to 2 cats
Inside
3 shelves, 1 perch
Mesh
1 x 2 in welded wire, screwed every 6 in
Roof
solid panel roof, checked at 30 psf

About $1,132 in materials, before sales tax, delivery and tools.

Building it? The $29 builder's plan dimensions every stud, every cut and every roll of mesh. See sample sheets

Planner checks

9 planner checks passed at 30 psf of snow.

Each bar is what this design gives against the line we check it on: floor space per cat, shelves, height for climbing, and the roof purlins under 30 psf of snow. The open part of a bar is room this design does not use. Floor area per cat is one line we check, not a welfare assessment: shelves, raised resting places, access back indoors and how your cats get on matter as much.

  • Floor space per cat24 sq ft each line 21.5 sq ft12% more than our line, for 2 cats
  • Shelves and perches4 built line 31 more than the line
  • Height at the low side80" line 79"1" above the line
  • Roof purlins under panels8' of 10' 6-1/4" allowed24% of the allowed span unused; bending governs

what this design asks room to spare

Green meets the source or the default we checked against, amber asks you to confirm something on your wall, your site or the product before you buy, red is outside what a source accepts or what we draw. Planner checks don't replace your local building department or a look at your own wall.

Specification

The 8x6 freestanding catio, part by part.

The catio

Footprint
8' x 6'
Floor
48 sq ft
Height
80" to 89"
Door
30" walk-in

The frame and mesh

Studs
2x4
Purlins
2x6, 4
Mesh
1 x 2 in welded wire
Ties
8 H2.5A

Cost and time

What it takes to build.

Catio materials, before tax and delivery$1,132.11

  • Hardware and fasteners$390.15
  • Lumber and plywood$296.56
  • Mesh$251.96
  • Roofing$193.44

Shelf prices read at Home Depot, Hamilton Mill store, Oct 8, 2026; Home Depot, Hamilton Mill store, Oct 13, 2026; Lowe's, Atlanta-Edgewood store, Oct 8, 2026; Tractor Supply, Augusta, Kansas store, Oct 8, 2026; Home Depot, Bronx Terminal store, Sep 30, 2026; Amazon.com, shipped, Oct 10, 2026; Amazon.com, shipped, Oct 13, 2026. Before sales tax, delivery and tools.

Per cat
$566.06
Per sq ft
$23.59
Build time
18.5 to 29.5 h
two people with basic power tools, by our estimate (shopping, ground prep and painting not included)
Labor if you hire it out
$1,850 to $5,900
Separate from the materials.

Prices differ by store and by week: type yours into the catio cost calculator to get your own total.

Free and paid, side by side

Design it free. Build it from the $29 plan.

Free

On this page and in the designer, no account

  • This design in 3D, and every change you make to it
  • Every planner check, with its rule and source
Cost estimate
About $1,132 in materials, line by line, on this page. See the estimate
Summary PDF
The design, its checks and its materials list on a few pages. A summary, not the build drawings.
Customize this design, free

$29 once

The drawings you build from, for the design you finish. About 24 to 30 Letter sheets, 27 for the 8x6 freestanding catio.

  • Every wall framed, each stud dimensioned from the end of the plate
  • The cut list, every cut assigned to a store board
  • The mesh cutting plan, every panel placed on a roll
  • The roof, the door, the shelves and the details, drawn to scale
  • The shopping list with store prices and the build, step by step
Get the $29 plan for this design

You check out in the designer, with this design loaded. If the plan has an error, we fix it or refund you within 30 days. Guarantee terms.

Real sheets from the 27-sheet sample plan for the 8x6 freestanding catio

The sample was printed on an earlier date, so its prices can differ from the estimate above. Your plan prints the same prices as the estimate.

  • Sample sheet 14 of 27: wall framing

    Wall framing

  • Sample sheet 11 of 27: cutting plan

    Cutting plan

  • Sample sheet 20 of 27: mesh plan

    Mesh plan

  • Sample sheet 24 of 27: build steps

    Build steps

Build phases

From the first wall to the last shelf in 6 stages.

About 18.5 to 29.5 hours for two people with basic power tools, by our estimate (shopping, ground prep and painting not included). Each picture is this design at the end of its phase, drawn by the designer, with that phase's parts in full color.

  1. The 8x6 freestanding catio after phase 1: walls

    01

    Walls

    Build each wall flat from the cut list, stand it up and check both diagonals.

  2. The 8x6 freestanding catio after phase 2: roof framing

    02

    Roof framing

    Set the purlins on the side walls, a tie at both ends of every purlin; the roof falls to the front.

  3. The 8x6 freestanding catio after phase 3: mesh on the walls

    03

    Mesh on the walls

    Screw the mesh to every stud, plate and rail with stainless washers every 6 in, lapped onto the frame.

  4. The 8x6 freestanding catio after phase 4: roof

    04

    Roof

    Lay the polycarbonate panels, pre-drill and screw on the ribs at every purlin.

  5. The 8x6 freestanding catio after phase 5: door

    05

    Door

    Build the door square with its brace to the hinge side, hang it on two hinges, fit two latches and the stops, then push-test it.

  6. The 8x6 freestanding catio after phase 6: shelves and comfort

    06

    Shelves and comfort

    Hang the cedar shelves on a bracket at every stud, set the litter nook.

This is the summary. The $29 builder's plan breaks these phases into a build order with the new parts highlighted, a how-to detail and a check at each step.

The guide to building a catio walks through each stage in general terms.

Questions

Anything else? Write to us or read how the planner checks a design.

Questions about the 8x6 plan

We use 21.5 sq ft per cat as our green line (Animal Welfare Victoria asks for 2 square meters per cat), so 43 sq ft for two. This 8' x 6' design gives 48 sq ft, 24 per cat, and height counts as much as floor: shelves at different heights give each cat a place of its own.

1 x 2 in welded wire, 16 gauge, galvanized, screwed to the frame with washers every 6 in. Hardware cloth (1/2 in) is the stronger choice with kittens or where small predators roam. Chicken wire is red in our checks: it can hold a cat in but does not keep predators out.

This design's materials list comes to about $1,132, shelf prices read at Home Depot, Hamilton Mill store, Oct 8, 2026; Home Depot, Hamilton Mill store, Oct 13, 2026; Lowe's, Atlanta-Edgewood store, Oct 8, 2026; Tractor Supply, Augusta, Kansas store, Oct 8, 2026; Home Depot, Bronx Terminal store, Sep 30, 2026; Amazon.com, shipped, Oct 10, 2026; Amazon.com, shipped, Oct 13, 2026, before tax and delivery. Hiring the build out adds $1,850 to $5,900 in labor by our estimate of 18.5 to 29.5 hours for two people. Every line and its price is in the materials list on this page.

Kits we found listed on Google Shopping on Oct 14, 2026 ran from $124.99 to $1,699.00 before tax and shipping, and most of the cheap ones are steel or fabric on a smaller footprint. Building this design costs about $1,132 in materials, in 2x4 framing and welded wire you can resize to your wall and your cats.

Where it snows, a solid roof: this design has polycarbonate panels over the whole catio, on purlins checked for 30 psf. A mesh roof under snow is something we do not verify, so the designer marks it amber. With no snow, half panels and half mesh gives the cats sun and shade.

It depends on your town. The 2021 IRC model code (R105.2) exempts one-story detached accessory structures up to 200 sq ft from a building permit where it is adopted; this catio is 48 sq ft. Setbacks, HOA rules and local amendments still apply, so ask your building department first.

Sizes to compare

All 9 free catio plans

Your catio, your cats

Make the 8x6 yours.

Change the size, the roof, the door, the shelves and the number of cats. The space check, the mesh, the snow check and the materials list follow every change. Free, no account.

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Builder's plan
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