A Catio for the sweetest kit named Max!

In late August of 2025 I built another catio for a new client!  And her sweet and beautiful cat named Maxine!

My client (and Max!) wanted a catio on her deck that could be accessed from a window.  I let my client know about a place where she could order an acrylic window insert with a cat door for the window access (https://catflapfever.com).  We have the same window insert for the catio at our home.

My client and I decided on a 3’ by 4’ by 7’ tall catio with a main level at the window height (where my client can sit in the catio with Max), and a ramp leading to an upper shelf for Max to hang out (my client plans to find a cat hammock for the area in front of the upper window).  Because the catio is built on a deck, the lower deck is the “3rd level” of the catio.  The catio also includes a corrugated metal roof, mostly to keep leaves and debris out of the catio (there are a lot of trees around the deck area), and we decided on a low nap grass carpet to cover all 3 levels of the catio as well as the ramp.

I built the catio out of 2 x 2 cedar and mostly using 3” trim screws and a large number of angle (L) brackets (60?) at the structural joints.  I like to build any structure so that it is strong, hence the large number of L brackets used.  The catio is mounted to the deck and house shingles with the same 3” trim screws (12).

As with any catio, safety is the primary concern.  Safety when it comes to catios involves 3 main concerns:  1)  The cat can’t escape the catio (obvious), 2) Other critters can get into the catio to harm the cat and 3) The cat’s human can access the catio from the outside in the event of an emergency where the cat’s human must extricate the cat from the outside (rather than extricating the cat only from/through the window access).  So for this catio, and because it was large enough for the human to go into, I designed and built a custom exterior door for outside access.  The walls and door have 2” x 3” welded wire mounted to the catio – in the case of this client she chose welded wire versus “pet safe” screening.  See the photos and video below to view the external catio door.

I have now built 5 catios, 4 for clients and 1 for our cats at our home.  This was only the 2nd stand-alone catio that I have built as the 2 catios I built for clients in the summer of 2023 mostly involved screening in front porches.  See my blog links below to see those catio projects.

For this project, I gave my client a labor estimate of $2,400 based on my hourly rate and a materials estimate of $700

The materials cost came in at $715
The labor came in at $2,300
For a total cost of $3,015 – $85 under my estimate.

Please see the final photo showing the final wood scrap pile – I make a point of not wasting my client’s money on materials by carefully planning and designing the catios that I build.

I pride myself on my ability to accurately estimate client projects.  My client said the catio was perfect – How can I help you and your cat(s) with the catio of their dreams?

https://homeproudhandyworks.com/a-catio-for-the-kits-named-norton-lux

https://homeproudhandyworks.com/a-catio-for-the-4-kits-named-gator-gumbo-jasper-bessie