The last weekend to work on the new house before we move has passed. As you know, one of my main priorities was getting the catio fence up.

While I never complain about rain in summer (it helps to keep the humidity down), the fact that it was always falling on the weekend was really putting us in a bit of a crunch. But… by Saturday afternoon, things started to dry up, and Sunday was clear and sunny.

We had a later start than usual, but once we got there, the plan was that Dad would give me some guidance (mostly on how to drive self-tapping screws) and I’d be off and running, while he turned his attention to finishing the walls in the studio.

But… after a couple of screws… it was apparent that I was not going to have the muscle to get them through the metal – self-driving or not. Even Dad was having issues – and his poor hands got some pretty good wounds by the time we were done.

It took all afternoon… but this…

Has been transformed to this

Dave said the neighbours are going to think we have an orangutan… and Dad says it looks like a kitty prison. But I am very happy with it!

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There’s a heavy-duty “chew” guard at the bottom (plastic coated wire mesh) that’s staked into the ground every few inches so they can’t get under it. And the curved overhang means they can’t climb over it. The fence with over-hang is 7.5 feet high, so both Dave and I can move freely under it.

All tolled, it gives them about 350 square feet of outdoor space to enjoy safely, and they also have full use of the sun porch (which is at least another 100 square feet)

If you look closely, you can see my up-cycled garden cart in there. It will be the base of operations for my gardening endeavours, and eventually the “prison yard” will be nicely landscaped inside for both humans and felines.

This is the current view from the inside (from the steps that come off the porch.

As you can see, I’ve got my “garden” in pots right now. The cats won’t mind it all there, and by fall everything will be in the ground.

This is the type of thing I always wanted at the townhouse but could never have! It’s so nice to have it finally become a reality! I just hope the cats like it as much as I do!