What would your perfect catio look like?
After spending time outside with my indoor cats, I started imagining a safe outdoor space where they could explore, watch wildlife, and enjoy fresh air—without the constant worry of them chasing squirrels or wandering too far.
In this Diary of a Cat Mom entry, I share why I’m dreaming of building a portable catio, what my adventurous cat Hope has taught me, and why creating a better environment benefits both cats and the people who love them.
Diary of a Cat Mom is a gentle, diary-style cat podcast about everyday life with cats—created especially for cat moms 35+ in multi‑cat homes who see their cats as family.
Quick Summary
A catio is an enclosed outdoor space that allows cats to safely enjoy fresh air, sunshine, and the sights and sounds of nature without roaming freely. In this episode, I share why I’m dreaming of building a portable catio for my indoor cats, the features I’m looking for, and how creating a safe outdoor environment could improve life quality for both my cats and me.
Watch this Diary of a Cat Mom Video
If you’d like to experience this diary entry as a video, you can also watch the Can I Hold My Cat By the Scruff? What I Learned as a Cat Mom podcast episode on Vimeo.
Sometimes seeing the quiet moments adds another layer to the reflection.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Learn in this Cat Podcast Episode
- Why many indoor cats enjoy outdoor enrichment
- My experience with harness training
- The features I’m looking for in a catio
- Why environmental enrichment matters for cats
- How a catio could improve life quality for both cats and cat parents
Key Takeaways
- Indoor cats often enjoy safe outdoor enrichment.
- Harness training doesn’t work for every cat.
- Every cat has a unique personality outdoors.
- Environmental enrichment can encourage curiosity and activity.
- A thoughtfully designed catio can benefit both cats and cat parents.
Timestamps & Chapters
00:00 Manifesting a Catio
00:40 Why My Indoor Cats Love Being Outside
01:42 The Harness Experiment That Failed
02:42 Meet Hope, My Little Escape Artist
04:02 Designing My Dream Portable Catio
05:34 How a Catio Would Give Us Both More Freedom
06:29 Change Brings Curiosity Back
This Is What Helped My Cats
- Bird feeders outside the windows created daily enrichment and entertainment.
- Water bowls attracted birds, giving my indoor cats even more to watch.
- Supervised outdoor time allowed safe exploration.
- Observing each cat’s personality helped me understand what kind of enrichment they enjoy most.
- Imagining a catio became a way to create a safer balance between adventure and security.
Thank you for listening.
And thank you for caring about cats the way you do.
Resources for Cat Parents
Everything I use and trust for my cats is here: https://diaryofacatmom.com/cat-care-resources/
About the Diary of a Cat Mom Host
Dagmar Gatell is the creator and host of Diary of a Cat Mom, sharing real-life experiences, care insights, and emotional moments from life with cats.
Created especially for cat moms 35+ in multi‑cat homes, these long‑form stories are a soft place to land on the hard and beautiful days of life with cats.
Gentle Note
Diary of a Cat Mom is a personal storytelling and reflection cat podcast. Everything shared is based on my own life and experiences with my cats.
This podcast is created for connection, comfort, and companionship. This content is not veterinary advice and not meant to replace professional veterinary advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Every cat is unique. If you have concerns about your pet’s health or wellbeing, please contact your trusted veterinarian.
Most of all, please remember:
You’re not alone on this journey. We’re learning, loving, and growing together — one paw print at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do indoor cats enjoy being outside?
Many indoor cats are naturally curious and enjoy experiencing new sights, sounds, smells, and wildlife. Safe outdoor enrichment can provide valuable mental stimulation.
Why didn’t leash training work for your cats?
Every cat is different. Mine simply froze when wearing harnesses, making outdoor walks more stressful than enjoyable.
What kind of catio are you planning?
I’m hoping to build a portable, two-level catio with plenty of shade, strong fencing, and enough space for multiple cats to explore safely.
Why is a portable catio important?
Living in Florida means preparing for hurricane season. A portable design would allow the catio to be moved when necessary.
Conclusion
Sometimes the smallest dreams begin with watching our cats look longingly through a window.
For me, imagining a catio isn’t just about giving my cats another place to explore. It’s about creating an environment where they can safely satisfy their curiosity while giving me a little more peace of mind and time to enjoy those moments with them.
After all, enriching our cats’ lives often ends up enriching our own too.
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Full Podcast Transcription – Manifesting a Catio: More Freedom for My Cats and Me
Dagmar (00:03)
Manifesting a catio. Welcome to Diary of a Cat Mom. My cats, my indoor cats, they love to be outside. They love to watch the birdies and the squirrels and the rain and the sun and everything and definitely it’s not the same from the inside as from the outside. Like they sit on the window all day long and already I got them a bird feeder and I got them the water bowl for the birds so they have entertainment and it’s like live TV all day long while I’m working. But they’re so eager to explore it.
So when I go outside sometimes I take them with me. And because I don’t have a closed up area, I take them with me. And I tried it on a leash before. But the leash is not working for them. Most of the time when I put the leash on, they freeze. They don’t want to walk on a leash like a dog. Like in my illusion, I bought three harnesses and tried to walk them outside and they didn’t.
So I sit with them outside and especially the younger ones, they’re just like in awe of the world. They cannot envision that the map they have inside their brain what they create how the world is inside the house and then they come outside the house and it’s a totally different world. And I can see that in their eyes when I watch them. when I sit with them outside, like in theory, you would think I can read like a nice book or I can work a little bit or I can just close my eyes for a moment and enjoy the sunshine.
But with my little ones they will not stay with me. Like as soon as there is a birdie or a squirrel, off they go. So when I go outside with them, especially with my young one, Hope. It’s unbelievable. I don’t have another cat like him. He will lay straight and just pretend he’s sleeping. And you don’t pay any attention to him. And if you think you couldn’t go inside and get something, come outside and he’s still there. No, he isn’t. So as soon as he sees something, it’s like this real rocket just taking off and from a second to another.
And then a lot of times if there is a community cat like walking around doesn’t think of anything, there’s Hope, right? Head on head with the community cat, and he’s not scared. He’s not aggressive of either. He will just stay there. But you don’t know what the community cat does in this moment. What I’m thinking about is to build an outside catio. I researched already what Amazon and the other providers have to offer, but all the smaller ones or the cheaper ones is really not an option.
Because my cats, they will dig a hole underneath or they will just lift the whole thing up. one will help the other and then they will crawl out. So I’m thinking about to build a catio outside and the catio has to be portable because when we have the hurricanes coming we have to take it off. And the catio also have to have enough shade inside because with the sun and the heat and everything, it has to have shade for the kitties.
And the catio has to have different levels so that the little adventurous ones have enough entertainment to walk through it and don’t start a fight outside the window in the cadio. What the catio really will give me is freedom. Because right now going with the cats outside takes my time, takes my energy and they really cannot enjoy it because their goal is not being outside with mama. Their goal is chasing a squirrel or a bird while exploring this world they never knew before.
So to have both life quality for my cats and for me, the catio, the outside catio I envision has to be two level, big enough for at least that three cats can be in it and have enough space and can enjoy the outdoors, but the fence, the catio fencing has to be tough enough that not wildlife can break it and get inside it.
So I’m looking forward to having more time for myself while the kitties have a new adventure and something different because what I realized when I give them change they become curious again and the ones who are sleeping more like my seniors, they become more active. So the catio will be something what brings new life quality for them. And for me, peace of mind and my time back. And something we all can enjoy together.
So thank you so much for listening to this Diary of a Cat Mom. There’s another little episode, another lesson, another story just around the corner, soon to be shared. Check out the video coming up in the corner and come and join me for my next entry. Bye.
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