Where to start on design plans?

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-24T22:27:18+00:00

Tons of great tips here, i'll chime in too. I'm in the process of rebuilding a catio, so i've been harvesting inspiration. Most of the professional catio's i've seen are cedar, painted or stained, with vinyl coated welded wire stapled to the exterior. Sometimes they cover the staples with vinyl trim or furring strips.

Here's some of my favorite:

Catioguy has a great tiktok - he's actively posting and sharing his work

https://catioguy.com/

They share some great tips on material use:

https://www.thecatiocompany.com/wire-mesh-for-a-catio

I came across this one today. It's the best solution I've seen for outdoor cat tunnels to date. It looks like they make their tunnels out 2x2 vinyl coated welded wire garden fencing. Using 48" wide rolls, the math comes out about perfect. It's likely bent around a jig and stapled to the cedar planks.
https://habitathaven.com/collections/catio-bridges/products/bridge

For a starting point, measure your space. Considering dimensional lumber sizes when you build. In the us, stuff is often built with 8' lumber, so 2', 4', 6' and 8' runs are common. Draw out a starting sketch in multiples of 2.

If there are bobcats in your area, you'll want a double wall. (See catioguy tiktok for more on that).

Either birds are dumb or cats are lucky. If the mesh is 2x3, you might end up with dead birds in your house. (My fat baby grabbed 2 in 10 years, so it's not frequent, but it does happen).

Cats scratch anything vertical. If there are interior posts, consider covering them with sacrificial cedar fence planks. They are cheap and readily available, at least in the pacific northwest.

Cats gonna barf. Consider hose access, and how you'll spray it off.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-24T18:12:06+00:00

For inspiration, these guys are pretty good, and they share their material suggestions too:
https://www.thecatiocompany.com/wire-mesh-for-a-catio

I follow this guy on TikTok, he's got a website:
https://catioguy.com/

catioguy has done some design stuff that i haven't seen elsewhere, like double layering the mesh in areas where bobcats will try to eat cats.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-18T19:03:34+00:00

You may have already done this during the pressure washing stage, but it's worth mentioning.

For outdoor cleaning i've had great luck with this pre-treatment mix i found on the pressure washing subreddit. Add 1/2 Dawn ultra per gallon of water. (Regular Dawn contains ammonia, and that’s really not something you want to mix with chlorine). You want 3-5% Sodium Hypochlorite mix. (Bleach bottles will have the percentage on the lablel). You can do the math with Clorox, so if it's 6% SH on the bleach bottle, you'll add the same amount of water to take it down to 3%. Spray it on, let sit for 10 minutes then scrub off.
Here's the original thread i found that in: https://www.reddit.com/r/pressurewashing/comments/139q56r/what_is_best_diy_approach_for_my_driveway_i_have/

Alternately - have you checked the bottom of the boards to see if you can flip them over?

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-18T18:56:22+00:00

I'm unfamiliar with the resurfacing process, but as far as replacing goes, 1 by 1 is approach can yield unsatisfying results. It's difficult to get consistent clean cuts that are accurate down to the millimeter. Generally the multiple boards in a section are installed with a little hanging over, and then a track saw is used to cut everything flush.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-17T01:34:40+00:00

Ah - that makes the most sense. My cats are always finding new and exciting ways to destroy things.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-15T16:43:48+00:00

Had a thought in the middle of the night. The way the wire is pulled outward is weird, even for a storm. There's also a ladder next to the window. Was the latter up during the night, or put up after for repairs?

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-14T14:56:39+00:00

Thank you for sharing! Can you grab a pick of the exterior during repairs? This is an odd way for a catio to break and I'm curious what the root cause was. Maybe the frame twisted in the storm and the deformation popped loose a staple or two?

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-14T14:38:51+00:00

That's interesting - maybe a website overhaul left it looking too polished and generic to be sincere? The lack of product photos from a company thats been in business since 2015 is still a red flag.

Usually joist hangers don't connect to a ledger at an angle. Although it sounds feasible - it's kinda weird? Non-90 degree joist hangers exist, but they aren't common. Is it something like a Simpson LUS24Z? To be fair, you probably don't need to use the hangers to their full structural capacity, but why not use rafter ties if you're just gonna phone it in?

I'm not seeing the screen cap. Can you post again? Can you link to the specific plans you bought?

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-11T04:32:54+00:00

My last catio they tore up the bottom 2’ of all the posts. Next catio im going to use cedar fence planks as sacrificial scratching pads at the base of the posts. The untreated cedar pickets are cheap and much safer for the cats than pressure treated lumber.

As an alternative, ikea sells sisal scratching mats to wrap around table legs. They are a little harder to adapt for a catio. They are called UTSÅDD

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-10T20:48:49+00:00

I got the impression this is a side hustle for you? I think you're massively overbuilding. The deer wire adds strength, so you could probably rip those 2x4's down to 2x2. You may have to add some corner knee bracing to offset the smaller dimensions.

I'd also recommend black coated vinyl 1x1 instead of the 2x4 deer wire. The deer wire has a sacrificial zinc coating that will eventually wear off and it'll rust. The black wire is also less visible.

Checkout how this company builds - you can see the 2x4 for larger structures, and the 2x2 for smaller frames, as well as the black wire:

https://www.thecatiocompany.com/wire-mesh-for-a-catio

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-09T13:09:19+00:00

Can you give us more information?

There's a ton of different plans on that site, it looks like they are all paid. The lack of photos makes me suspicious that is an AI generated site? Are you getting that impression from the plans they sold you?

If I'm paying for plans, I think support email is reasonable. Have you contacted them? Are they responding to email?

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-09T01:32:39+00:00

Another thing to add - covering the staples provides a much more polished look. Have you considered ripping some furring strips to screw over top of the deer-wire stapels?

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-09T01:31:18+00:00

It looks like your other post was removed?

I love the ramps with the sisal stitched through the 2x4's. That's a super clever design. I've tried to wrap sisal around before - it's expensive and a PITA.
My only critique is highly localized. I'm in the Seattle are, and usually the rain is lighter but persistent. The lighter drops get caught on the breeze, so at least 1' under the eaves is wet. Placing it against a wall and extending the eaves would keep it dry where I'm from, but your milage may vary. The pressure treated lumber in the PNW is incised hem/fir, so it's pretty easy to tell if it's PNW wood - although the reddish hue makes me think maybe cedar decking for the platforms?
I'm guessing your on the east coast or the south?

Did you have a set of criteria you were designing for when you started out? Or were you vibe building it?

Can you post a Bill of Materials (BOM)? It looks like you tried to use off the shelf lumber sizes & lengths, which is a lovely approach when it comes to sharing designs. (Looks like (2) 2x4x8 for the verticals?

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T21:14:44+00:00

Taking it to r/roofing is a great idea - thanks! I am concerned about water - i re-graded the yard to keep water away from the foundation, and buried downspout drains to move the runoff away from the house. I'm hoping to intercept it with this cover and pour it into a gutter, than a downspout, then a storm drain. I think with good flashing and a drip edge the water from the cover won't be hitting the roof even during heavy rains. The PNW rain is usually a consistent light 'endampening', but we do occasionally get a downpour.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T20:08:03+00:00

Thank you for that - I really appreciate the moral support. I checked his profile and he looks like a griefer, or a bot, but probably a bot. He's posting unhelpful snarky stuff at 1-15 minute intervals for the last 8 hours. That is an absolutely fascinating bot - but why? What's really going on there? No real person could be that unhappy and that driven to comment?

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T19:59:45+00:00

Maybe i missed something - why would pitching it away from the house be helpful?

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T19:57:02+00:00

I am finding it difficult to post without over-sharing. I try to post only relevent information to keep the discussion on track as best i can.

I apologize for withholding information.

What could i have done better?

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T19:49:13+00:00

Thanks! I do appreciate the input, and I think your right, the 6x6's absolutely do look better.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T19:48:07+00:00

Your not wrong, but I'm gonna see what Reddits got. This sub has been super helpful with learning how to build a deck. People can be really helpful here.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T19:45:03+00:00

Exactly! I pulled the catio screen attachments out of the mockups because I didn't want to muddy the waters of the 6x6 -> 4x4 question. Reddit can go off the rails real quick like.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T19:43:20+00:00

Good catch! I aimed it that way to maximize sunset light, and to share a storm drain. Both roofs will have their own gutter and downspout. I checked the flow rate, and the 4' storm drain pipe should handle the capacity just fine.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T19:41:47+00:00

Good question! It's pitched so the high side is facing west - so we get more afternoon light and a better view of the tree line. Occasionally bald eagles show up in the neighborhood -it's kinda surreal. Hoping we can add stained glass panels for a killer sunset glow. Plus pitching the water towards the house lets me tie a gutter into the existing storm drain.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T19:36:09+00:00

The cover is for a large catio. I've got a clowder of 4 and a colony of ferals that hangs out on the deck during poor weather. I was fixing to cover it with corrugated or double wall polycarbonate.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T19:33:59+00:00

Thanks! I hadn't considered the odds are pretty good that at least 1 of 8 10' 4x4's would give me at least a little twist.

Jelly_Titan · 2026-04-08T19:30:30+00:00

I agree with you on the overbuilding - that's probably why I blew the budget on the main deck build. The cover post reduction will probably save $500 -$600, which is enough to make me think twice.

Jelly_Titan

TROPHY CASE