Design my Cat House!

[Catherine G.]

I'm so excited! My husband and I just went under contract on a new (to us) home. It is located outside of town on some acreage. One of my non-negotiables is that I had to be able to have an enclosure for my Savannahs. This home had an outbuilding that is perfect for this purpose. The shed is 10x20. It currently has a dog door that leads out to an open area that is fenced in. The fence is only 4 ft. high though and not contained on the top. The shed is unfinished on the inside. I only have 2 cats but would like to in the future expand to maybe 4 or 5.

I need advice or maybe some design pointers on how to finish the inside and outside areas. I live in Colorado so it does get cold (hence the snow) and in the summer it gets over 100*.

 

[Patti]

If you want your cats to use this year round then I would recommend insulating and finishing the inside, and installing a climate control unit (heating and cooling). The fenced area looks taller than four feet, you might want to look into covering it so they have an outdoor area as well. How far away from the house is this shed? If it is a reasonable distance you might be able to build a catwalk/cat tunnel back and forth with a cat door on each end so they have free access to go back and forth as they desire.

Once you have assured that the building is secured and safe you can focus on the fixins. You might want to consider a tile or laminate floor that is easy to clean. If you use sheetrock for the walls painting with a high gloss paint usually makes it easier to clean. Cat treaes, shelves that form stairways up and down the walls, thick ropes hanging from the ceiling, a cat wheel, tunnels, etc. are all possibilities for the inside, a running water fountain/pond would undoubtedly be appreciated outside

 

[Catherine G.]

great ideas!