Cat Mom Builds Most Amazing Mini-House for Maine Coons on Back Patio

When I first got my cats, I was overwhelmed with options for their comfort and entertainment. Beds, bungalows, trees, scratching posts, window boxes, teasers, water fountains and more—all were recommended to me by well-meaning friends who had far more experience with the feline form than I did. However, they always followed it up with a warning, that in all likelihood, if I spent money on any of these things, the cat would most certainly prefer the box it came in.

Cut to my poor kitties spending the first two months of their time with us sleeping in towel-lined shipping boxes. They seemed to like it, though, and when I finally upgraded, they ignored the expensive cat bed entirely and found random bits of laundry to sleep on. In fact, the only piece of furniture I ever got the cats that they immediately fell in love with was the cat tree. I’d barely finished assembling it before they leapt to the highest platform and settled in for a nap.

In this video, though, this woman puts my skills with an Allen wrench to shame, as she has actually built her Maine Coon kitties an entire shed on her back patio. The enclosure features walls, windows, and eve a roof, with a planned exit onto the attached screened in “catio” and an air-conditioning unit to make sure the cats don’t get too hot in their new digs.

Related: Pet Parents' Epic 'Catio' Has Us Totally in Awe

Though the walls are still bare, she has plans to fill them in and add more amenities, like a shelving system for climbing on and a perch by the window so the cats can look out.

Benefits of a Catio

Catios—a portmanteau of cat and patio—are all the rage now for cat owners who want their cats to be able to enjoy the great outdoors from a space that’s safe for them and the local wildlife. Though many cats traditionally wandered the streets freely, experts now say it’s dangerous for the cats due to traffic and disease, as well as for local birds. Domestic cat predation has been responsible for the extinction of over sixty three bird species, and wandering cats kill billions of birds every year.

With a catio—an enclosed or screened in space in a yard where your cat can climb and roam—your cat can enjoy the fresh air and bird-watching without actually contributing to this destructive cycle.

Maine Coon Toms

It appears that this woman specifically built this shed in her backyard because she is a breeder, and needs extra space to help keep her male cats separate from the rest of them during certain periods.

Maine Coon cats are known for their enormous size, and this breed characteristic is especially notable in the males. While a female Maine Coon might be only twelve or fifteen pounds, male Maine Coons can reach a whopping twenty-five pounds. Maine Coons develop slowly, with many not reaching their full, adult size until they are three or even four years old. It’s clear that cats of this magnitude need a little extra space to call their own, which is why a house like this one will really come in handy for these big boys.

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