Outdoor cat house ideas please

[ocnjgirl]

Originally Posted by Snackmaster

Some of the cat houses have two entrances/exits so the cat won't get trapped.

Oh that’s good to know.

[NYC refugee]

This site should give you some ideas, even if you only use them for inspiration:
https://catiospaces.com/

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Originally Posted by Snackmaster

Some of the cat houses have two entrances/exits so the cat won't get trapped.

Yes, I would make sure you have two or more doors and a second floor.

I'm toying with the idea of a kitty kondo for our troop of four outside cats. Critical items are a second floor and robust construction. In 2020 a pair of large hunting dogs came charging through our yard and caught one of our outsiders and killed him. I got outside a few minutes too late, otherwise someone would have gotten hurt or killed and I didn't plan on that being me.

As it was, the killer pair lit out for Parts Unknown when I came out with my trusty baseball bat.

TJ was breathing but he was essentially gone, likely given the death shake a few times. So...with our Outsiders hanging out on the patio a lot, and it being a good 50' plus sprint to Kitty Kondo (a 14x22 tool shed with cat doors and sleeping quarters), I've been wondering about a safe haven they could get to.

I'll need security cameras (want them anyway) so if something like that happens again I can get out there quickly and deal with the threat. But a safe, solid retreat with a second level where the cats can feel a little bit safer from a deathly threat like an aggressive dog is IMO a good idea. So what am I waiting for??

[LeisureSLarry]

I have a dog that keeps the coyotes away just from his pee around my place - they used to come a lot closer but now they stay a couple acres away. We have 3 kittens that are skittish but when mom calls they will come out. She is reluctant to bring them out during the day because they would make a nice snack for a hawk or eagle. I have a cat door and I take food out in the morning and bring it in evening because at night other cats come around. Found a chipmunk tail, the leg of a mouse and a full mouse in just the past few days - they are working out nicely. They all go pee/poop outside except for the slow one and I saw the mom taking it outside today by itself which is great. They traverse my property going back and forth to the outbuilding and like being free and fed IMO. I intend to let them live that way - I have a cat box and the kittens will play in it sometimes, but they do not like it - just a packing blanket on the floor in a dark, safe and quiet area is what they seem to like. I need to focus more though on flea/tick care and getting them fixed because 4 is enough.