08/06/2024
I walk up the driveway, noticing that the gardens are all a wonderland of perennials with various metal, ceramic, painted wood and sculptures meticulously placed through out, most are of….yes, cats…and am immediately impressed. I ring the doorbell, an eruption of barking ensued from the other side of the door…and I am here for a custom catio…I’m doomed, they're probably going to ask me about a dog kennel…hmmmm…
When she answered the door with a herd of small white dogs barking in-toe, I was welcomed in. I see a cat cage, with a beautiful cat in it overlooking the back garden by the bay window, the cage is partially covered. This is one of my fosters she says. She notions to the barkers...who are still barking…those are all my dogs, not fosters, they were saved from a puppy mill, abused as breeders, poor baby’s she says. The rest of the cats I foster, have my basement as their home, and my cats and my foster dogs have the main floor, but if everyone happens to get along, all the inside doors get opened, if not, a few get closed.
I knew I had just met a very special person. She is a foster for Cat Chance. This is a WONDERFUL local cat rescue of which I know well as my darling Zeus was trapped out of a colony that lived in a local cemetery prior to us giving Zeus his forever home.
She takes me outside and shows me where she wants her catio (whew!). She says she wants catio to have her entrance to it from a back door off her back sunroom. It is to be approx. 20 ft long, stretching all the way across to her driveway, with three totally separate cat passages from the house, with the unit divided in to two, with a man door to the second half from the first half.
OMG – maybe a dog kennel isn’t such a bad idea. This was my first residential appointment for Catio Canada after launching at the Sarnia Homeshow 2024.
The first half to be fitted with a cat flap door for the fosters that rule her basement, to be able to come out of the basement window, with perches at her kitchen window so she can see them chillaxing in their new outdoor space. The other side is for her own cats, she just wants to take off the screens in her dining room and make it a true extension of their living space. One of her fosters had three legs, so we know that any accessory that requires jumping, is out, not a problem! It is likely that a kitty missing a limb or two will find a home here in the future, bridging her or him to their forever home too!
So CONGRATULATIONS to Katie, Ziggy, Susie, Jitters, William and Bailey and to her fosters Brandi, Ebony, Frankie, Ginger, Halle and her two kittens Tawny & Penny for BEING THE HAPPIEST CATS ON THE BLOCK!!!
This is what we came up with for this crew!
This enclosure encompasses a 4ft x 20ft deck with White for the 4in x 4in REVEAL POSTS, and SUPPORT PANELS with Grey ANTI-TEAR PET SCREENING, dually lined with 1” x 1” 16 GAUGE WELDED WIRE MESH for added protection from any passerby coyotes. The interior accessories were done in Cordovan Brown, water based, pet and environmentally friendly stain.
The enclosure is divided into two parts, one for the fosters and one for her own, or if everybody happens to get along, then one big outdoor playground for all!
Each unit was fitted with a lots of accessories to give the gang over 15 ft of high level PERCH PLANKS with a plethora of ways to get in and out, and up and down for all!
The basement window was fitted with an 8ft ANGLED WALKING PLANK w/CLEATS with gradual slope so any kitties that are not four legged will never have a problem getting in or out.
This is not the last time I will be visiting this AWESOME human!!! I have to see her stunning perennial gardens in the various stages of their ever changing magnificent tapestry of Mother Nature’s flower power!
This human is a ‘TOP FOSTER’ in our books! She and her organization are amazing and spend countless hours trying to battle the very sad and terrible situation we have with the out-of-control feral population in our area!