How much would a cat enclosure cost?

Nothing too fancy, I'll build it myself. It needs to be big enough for about ten cats. Jon and I are going to move hopefully within a year. I need to make sure I have enough. And did anyone need a permit to build thiers? I'm sure cities and town are different. I'll check with mine. I just hope it doesn't take too long.

Will these be indoor/outdoor cats or strictly outdoor cats? The latter will need more space.

IMO, if you move somewhere that has an existing fence you can make a cat proof backyard a lot cheaper than you could an enclosure of half the size of less. I did 2/3rds of my backyard for around $250 by being very creative.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Will these be indoor/outdoor cats or strictly outdoor cats? The latter will need more space.

IMO, if you move somewhere that has an existing fence you can make a cat proof backyard a lot cheaper than you could an enclosure of half the size of less. I did 2/3rds of my backyard for around $250 by being very creative.

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Strictly outdoor. I'm taking my ferals with me. There's no way I can leave them. It will probably have an existing fence, but I don't want them to have full run of the backyard.

Space, location, & what you use will all impact it. For 2 cats I made one that is 6' x 12' attached to a 12' x 12' shed. They're old cranky cats, so for them that is barely enough space. And depending on what you use for wire, the cost can vary a lot on that.

Well, I've read that chicken wire will keep cats in, but not bigger animals out. But I'll be living in town, and will have a fenced backyard, so that won't be a problem. I hope to use that, that's not too expensive right?

Originally Posted by kscatlady

Strictly outdoor. I'm taking my ferals with me. There's no way I can leave them. It will probably have an existing fence, but I don't want them to have full run of the backyard.

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Did you read all of my post? I said I fenced 2/3rds of my backyard, not all of it. You can divide your yard. I should probably just get photos of this so I won't have to keep explaining it to people.

I used DIY this method combined with my DIY version of purr-fect fence/deer fence design.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Did you read all of my post? I said I fenced 2/3rds of my backyard, not all of it. You can divide your yard. I should probably just get photos of this so I won't have to keep explaining it to people.

I used DIY this method combined with my DIY version of purr-fect fence/deer fence design.

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I did read all of your post. Sorry. Stupid pregnant brain. Ok, thanks for the link.

I ran out to get some pics. My camera battery was dead, so these are cell pics. Sorry for the poor quality. We have our driveway in back and the garage, so we couldn't let the cats have the whole yard.

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/strange_wings/deck.jpg
Directly outside my back door is my deck. It has an overhang that join it to our metal shop building/garage. The west side (duh, setting sun there ) of deck is lattice with a door, that serves as one wall for the cats.

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/strange_wings/backfence.jpgThis is our DIY copy of a deer fence/purr-fect fence. The construction is similar. Because we have hard clay, we opted not to dig holes for posts. Instead we drove some spare metal pipe into the ground a few feet, slipped the UV resistant PVC pipe over that, and ran one bolt through each PVC pipe and the metal pipe. The two poles for the gate are metal and concreted in, though, because they needed to be study enough for the gate.

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/strange_wings/fenceclose1.jpgAt the top of the PVC pipe you should notice that we use elbows to add an inward bend, this makes it impossible for the cats to climb out. The fence is ~7ft tall.
The gate we made ourselves with some leftover pipe and a pipe bender because we needed a 6' wide gate that was 6' tall. Apparently that's something no store carries.
The polypropylene netting is zip tied to the pipe and gate.

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/strange_wings/fenceclose2.jpgThis is a close up of the polypropylene netting. It's 2"x2" black UV resistant netting. It came in a roll of 7'x100' that we bought on amazon for $80... the shipping was $70. This is a specialty item that you will have to source either locally or online.

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/strange_wings/woodfence1.jpgWelded wire bent and stapled to the stockade fence. I used a spare 2"x4" and a small sledge to get nice even bends. Each section was cut in 15' lengths for easy handling.

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/strange_wings/woodfence2.jpgFrom under the wire. See how much it sticks out? A cat would have a lot of difficulty getting out. Under the wire it's roughly 6' tall.

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/strange_wings/shop.jpgContinuing around the yard - our shop building is right next to the neighbors with a small walkway in between. I didn't want to loose any vital space, nor did I want wire right down at face level (already cut my forehead once on some that was down low. lol) Again, UV resistant PVC, elbows, PVC glue, screws, netting, and zip ties. I think that's up around 8'? I'm not sure, it's over my head which is what matters.

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q179/strange_wings/corner.jpgAny place that I didn't feel was secure enough got some of the leftover netting stapled to it. We used old railroad sleepers (ties) because our yard is higher up than our neighbor's yard. There's another ~foot of netting under the sleepers. This keeps animals from digging under.

The one flaw in this is that I need to fix a couple of areas on the wood fence to keep cats out. I've so far had one of the neighbor's dopey boy cats jump in and someone's ~8 month old kitten.

If there are any questions on how to modify this to different settings, ask. If you have chain link it will require some slightly different attachments - though bolts + PVC + netting could potentially work.
The benefit of the netting is that it's light weight and flexes so that cats can't really climb it. It's also possible to cut with a pair of utility scissors and you don't have to worry about being cut by wire - so you could help out if you wished.

Awesome, thanks!

Let me know what your backyard looks like, and what you have and want to work with. I'll try to help.
And yes, I know you want some of your backyard to yourself. No one wants to go out to cook on the grill and have to fend off ten cats! You'll also need a kitty poo free place for your family to hang out.
I recommend you try to make sure any vital meters, if there are any, are outside of the fence so no one has to go inside it and risk letting the cats out.

There is another person on here who used the purr-fect fence kit with great success. It honestly is a great solution... but it is rather expensive if you have to do this on a budget and want to get as much space as cheaply as possible.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Let me know what your backyard looks like, and what you have and want to work with.

I'll try to help.
And yes, I know you want some of your backyard to yourself. No one wants to go out to cook on the grill and have to fend off ten cats! You'll also need a kitty poo free place for your family to hang out.

I recommend you try to make sure any vital meters, if there are any, are outside of the fence so no one has to go inside it and risk letting the cats out.

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It will be a little while, I think. We have the baby coming in September, and we'd like to get rid of some debts, like his car payments and I have a few credit cards. But Jon gets a VA loan, plus we're first time home buyers. So, hopefully we can get one by this time next year! There was one house we were dreaming about today that has a GREAT backyard and a perfect place for a cat enclosure. Oh well, there will be other places.

I emailed our city and asked if I would need a permit or something. Hopefully not, because that would probably take a while to get one.

Originally Posted by kscatlady

I emailed our city and asked if I would need a permit or something. Hopefully not, because that would probably take a while to get one.

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Mine needs a permit if you're building a new permanent fence. We didn't build any permanent fences.

Certain size buildings and solid frame enclosures may require it. But you may want to be careful mentioning ferals lest you get a knee-jerk reaction out of anyone.

Do call whatever local service is in your area that handles getting the utility companies to mark their lines if you have any digging to do. We'll be doing that ourselves tomorrow.. updating the water line to our house.

I hope you can get the house you want, or at least another one with a decent backyard. Mine isn't that large, but it works.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Mine needs a permit if you're building a new permanent fence. We didn't build any permanent fences.

Certain size buildings and solid frame enclosures may require it. But you may want to be careful mentioning ferals lest you get a knee-jerk reaction out of anyone.

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What should I say instead? Just leave off the feral part and say cats?

Originally Posted by kscatlady

What should I say instead? Just leave off the feral part and say cats?

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IMO, there is no reason you have to tell them it's for feral cats. Just tell them it's for cats.

As for the pics, strange_wings, fantastic! I want to build something bigger & better for here - that gave me some great ideas. Do you have any problems with it *not* having a roof on it?

Maybe? Outside cats? Outside pets? Just make sure you don't make yourself sounds like a crazy cat lady with a dozen cats that they need to come and investigate.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Do you have any problems with it *not* having a roof on it?

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Like I said, less than bright neighbor cats have jumped in. It's to their peril, MewMew is crazy.
Other problem... well the cats are left to weed out any less intelligent birds. A few months ago some birds raided their dry cat food dishes and the cats made snacks out of a couple of the birds. Bats could potentially land in there, but I've never seen bats in this area.

1) could be solved by making the wire sections go up higher than the existing fence or by putting barriers on the outside. I didn't do this because I didn't want neighbors complaining.
2) you could always try bird netting the entire top of the yard and add some support poles.

Thanks for this thread - the information is timely for us!

We'd like to be moving to Colorado soon and taking our "outside" cats with us - wouldn't think of leaving them!!

The only difference for us is that we'd have to have something more secure as there will be wildlife trying to make dinner out of the cats. The fox and maybe mountain lions would be a real problem - doubt the bears would be after the cats - but, if there's food outside - a BIG problem. Guess I'll be putting the food inside as I'm thinking about them actually being inside someplace with a tube to the outside - but ???.

strange_wings, thanks for the reminders about meters, and buried cable, along with the other great tips and pics!

Originally Posted by GloriaJH

The only difference for us is that we'd have to have something more secure as there will be wildlife trying to make dinner out of the cats. The fox and maybe mountain lions would be a real problem - doubt the bears would be after the cats - but, if there's food outside - a BIG problem.

Guess I'll be putting the food inside as I'm thinking about them actually being inside someplace with a tube to the outside - but ???.

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In your case you'd want to use a heavier wire, like welded wire with concreted in posts. You may consider adding an electric fence barrier outside of the cat fence or on your property + motion lights set up to go off if anything big like a bear comes prowling.
Make sure they have something in their fence/enclosure that allows them to escape up or under out of the reach of larger predators if the worst happens.
Daytime feedings, no more than the cats can eat within 15 minutes. Pick up all food bowls after meal time.

Look up more tips from people that keep dogs outside in bear territory.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

In your case you'd want to use a heavier wire, like welded wire with concreted in posts. You may consider adding an electric fence barrier outside of the cat fence or on your property + motion lights set up to go off if anything big like a bear comes prowling.
Make sure they have something in their fence/enclosure that allows them to escape up or under out of the reach of larger predators if the worst happens.
Daytime feedings, no more than the cats can eat within 15 minutes. Pick up all food bowls after meal time.

Look up more tips from people that keep dogs outside in bear territory.

Click to expand...

More great ideas and good suggestions - I'm all ears (err eyes) - thanks!

There are some awesome ideas in this thread!

When I read the other thread I started thinking about a cheap and portable cat enclosure. When I think cheap and portable I think, PVC pipe.

Let me show you what I mean.
http://www.pvcplans.com/parakeet.htm

http://www.pvcplans.com/pvc-pipe.htm

The second site shows you how versatile PVC pipe is. It's actually a lot stronger then what you might think as well.
If you have a truck, you could use some heavy wire and PVC pipe to make a transport unit for your cats. That fits over the bed of the truck.
And because the fitting fit snug you won't need to use glue if it's a temporary unit. Which means you can use the same pipe repeatedly on different projects.


Here's what I suggest.
Build yourself a heavy wooden base, like the floor to a wood shed.
Make the floor in sections that will separate, so it can be taken apart and man handled if needed.
http://shedking.net/How_to_build_a_shed_floor.html
Once the floor is done make marks on the floor to show you where the PVC pipe cage will sit.
Add a threaded piece of pipe every place you made a mark for the cage.
Make sure that the thread disappears into the floor and that the pipe is secured to the floor nicely. You don't want the threaded pipe to move at all.

Once the floor is done, get yourself a bunch of these bad boys.
http://www.fastfittings.com/plastic-...sion-connector
It's a free flowing connection fitting. But just tell the hardware guy you need some threaded connection fittings.
Put these on the bottom of the cage itself (Before) you put the cage on the floor. It'll be easier that way since the PVC pipe cage will be WAY lighter then the floor.
Then just screw the cage to the floor.
Don't bother with glue.
If you find yourself with extra cash you can always add on to the size of the cage by building another floor section and adding more pipe.
Like the leaf to the family table. Just pop that bad boy in to extend it.

I like the heavy wire idea, so personally, that's what I would wrap the PVC pipe cage in.

PVC pipe comes in ten foot lengths for about $2 U.S.
The floor will be the most expensive thing, but the floor will be the best way to anchor the cage and keep it from flying away.

^Just remember if you plan to build something that's going to be staying outside you don't want to use regular PVC if you want it to last a while. UV resistant PVC won't break down as quickly. I'm not sure how much it costs, but it's not that much more.