Patio+Cat=Catio

Our kitty loves to be outside, but we don’t want to turn her loose. Up till recently, that meant harnessing her up and keeping a close watch. That was left to me, since Pedro doesn’t have the patience for it. She wanted to go outside much more than I had the time to accomodate.

Just off the kitchen was a dog door that we had never used. When we bought the house, a panel had been screwed over the top of it, blocking access. An idea formed in my mind.

Years ago, Pedro and I built a baby chicken tractor out of PVC pipe and poultry netting. It was a safe space to allow small hens to grow up until they could be safely integrated with the adult hens. We still have the tractor, and it has been useless, taking up space beside the house. But no longer!

I completed this project during the morning cool. The shade across kitty was lovely. As the sun and temperatures rose, it became too hot and exposed in there, so I grabbed one of Mom’s old wool blankets off the bed swing, and used the little tassels to tie it to the poultry netting. Then I dragged the nearby potted plants and milk cans over, for sun protection.

The dog door was built for a pretty big dog, and swings easily for a big dog. I am pretty sure Jupyter has the strength to push the swinging doors open, but she has to be convinced of what to do and that it will work. Right now, she’s intimidated by the doors, so we prop them open for her by attaching a clip to the top.