Comment on Cat door in window
Today@lemmy.world 6 days ago
Seems fine. If you don’t need to see out that part of the window you could just put the flap in a piece of plywood. Check the scrap bin at Lowe’s for one that’s close to the right size. Maybe put adhesive weatherstripping around the edge to hold it in well.
I’ve seen plenty of people who did the plywood thing, works fine. Weather stripping is recommended if you have lots of bugs (or are otherwise bothered by any intrusions).
If you want to see out that portion of the window, I recommend still using a plywood frame for where the door is, and plexiglass above it.
My apartment patio is covered, so I have some tall jacks that hold the corners, I stapled across the top, and at the bottom I used velcro ties to hold the net to the gate.
I have built a few standalone catios as well. I usually use goat wire as I’ve had some issues with chicken wire before, staple it to whatever frame I’m using, and then add an exterior aesthetic frame to the outside to help hold everything in place and to look much nicer.
Did a little browsing online and learned about cat fences and rollers. Wondering if i can just attach plexiglass to the top 2’ all the way around, so it’s too slick for then to climb. It’s a small sideyatd - about 20’ x 10’, with a brick house on one long side.
Would you mind sharing which issues you had with chicken wire? Was it not sturdy enough?
The sturdiness was an issue because my cats could bend it easily. Also the smaller gauge of the wire meant that they were chewing on it at times.
My biggest issue is that my boy got his paw stuck after reaching through to try and get a bug or something and hurt himself pretty bad after freaking out.
Goat wire is typically higher gauge, sturdier, and the holes are bigger but definitely not big enough to escape through.
JacobCoffinWrites@slrpnk.net 6 days ago
I just helped my folks turn a porch into a catio - we used a layer of chicken wire on the inside with a layer of fabric bug screen on the outside. Years ago one of our cats got startled and ran right through a screen on our screen porch (fell one story into deep snow and kept right on going. He was fine, my dad was pissed). For this one we built wooden frames and stapled the screen and chicken wire on and attached those to the porch with wood screws. You could run slats from house to fence for support.
Today@lemmy.world 6 days ago
That’s a good idea. I bet i can find pics or videos.