Hello from Houston area

I want to build a cat house for a friend that has several cats. The other day I found a site on the internet that explained the proportions of a cat and how it should be related to the size of the cat house. Well, I spent all day yesterday looking for it again and couldn't find it. I would hate to spend a loy of money and time and make the cat house the wrong size. Can anyone herer help me?
Thanks in advance.

Tony B

Welcome to TheCatSite Tony,
We have several members who have built really nice enclosures for their cats.
Do you plan to build an indoor or outdoor house for your friend's cats?

I did a search in our Care and Grooming forum and found a few threads about outdoor enclosures...
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sea...archid=2940286

You might want to start your own thread in Care and Grooming asking about the info you are look for....
an indoor house for kitties or outdoor enclosure.

Do you have any cats yourself?

This is a really nice thing to do for your friend.
Please make yourself at home.

If you do a google search for "how to build a cat house," you'll find a number of articles that even have plans included.

Show us what you build, please, so we can admire it, too! And maybe make it for our own fuzzies...

Thanks Xo, I will repost in the Care and Grooming" section.
This will be used indoors and will match her modern furniture. I don't have any cats myself and when I did, they were mostly outdoor cats.


MrB Thanks for the info. I already know what I want to build and how to build it. I have looked at literally over a thousand websites between google, yahoo and several others. All of the models and plans I saw were very generic. I feel that a cat house should be custom tailored for the owner, no different than how we buy clothing to fit us comfortably and safely. Cats just like that sense of security in a well protected place that they can defend if they had to and an opening that they can easily get in and out of, yet small enough to prevent larger intruders from entering. I want the exterior to be asthetically pleasing to humans and the interior to suite the cat. This is not a hard goal to achieve. I know the info I need is out there, I just cant find it again.

As a non-cat owner, I see cats from a different perspective.

After I build it, I will post pics. It may take a while to I get to it though.

Originally Posted by Sailor Tony B

Cats just like that sense of security in a well protected place that they can defend if they had to and an opening that they can easily get in and out of, yet small enough to prevent larger intruders from entering. I want the exterior to be asthetically pleasing to humans and the interior to suite the cat.
After I build it, I will post pics. It may take a while to I get to it though.

Click to expand...

You are right about what cats need and like...
their own safe, secure area.

I look forward to seeing your finished house.

Originally Posted by Sailor Tony B

All of the models and plans I saw were very generic. I feel that a cat house should be custom tailored for the owner, no different than how we buy clothing to fit us comfortably and safely. Cats just like that sense of security in a well protected place that they can defend if they had to and an opening that they can easily get in and out of, yet small enough to prevent larger intruders from entering.

Click to expand...

If you're talking about bird houses, yes, the opening has to be very specific dimensions for the species.

But with cats, that vary in size from 6lb Singapuras to 20lb Maine Coons, its not really that critical and not a strong instinct to follow like in birds. My cats sometimes chill under the couch, which they can barely squeeze their bodies into, and other times prefer a completely open perch, and other spots are different size openings from their enclosed beds, to the chair cushion under the table, to their condos.

I have never read anything about any "perfect" size for an opening, but some cats prefer two exits (front and side) from an enclosure so that they can't be cornered and can bolt.

Originally Posted by Ducman69

I have never read anything about any "perfect" size for an opening, but some cats prefer two exits (front and side) from an enclosure so that they can't be cornered and can bolt.

Click to expand...

That is a good point...
cats do not like to be cornered.