MSI Press Blog

  our cats' private litter area Last week, when my neighbor dropped off her cats for a short stay, she took one look at our catio and said, “This is cat heaven.” And you know what? She’s right. Our catio is a dream come true—not just for my eight cats, but for me, too. Creating a catio—a safe, enriching outdoor space for your cats—can dramatically improve their quality of life. It’s fresh air, stimulation, sunshine, and safety all in one. There’s no one way to build a great catio. The magic is in tailoring it to your space, your lifestyle, and most importantly, your cats' personalities. Let me give you a little tour of ours. The Layout: A Sunroom-Style Sanctuary Our catio is a 108-square-foot sunroom-style extension off our master bedroom. The cats access it right from the sliding glass door. It runs the full length of one side of our house—21 feet of space to run, lounge, birdwatch, or sunbathe. We have floor-to-ceiling windows with cat-proof screens on three sides. They can a...

I came across this very interesting post recently:   The most common annoying cat behaviors, explained (msn.com) . Seemed like a good topic for a Caturday. For sure, these are the kinds of things we all wish cats would not do -- scratching furniture, peeing outside the litter box, and escaping to the outdoors, among others. Good explanation and advice in the article. A couple pieces of advice missing, though, that I have found helpful for those escape artists: (1) build a catio (it is an alternative outdoors and, for most of our cats, it suffices, and (2) leash the cat and go for a walk (our Murjan was simply impelled to the outside and so loved to go for a walk that he would sit in front of the drawer with his leash and demand "mwout" over and over until he got his leash and the door opened -- and then he was off exploring. He wanted "mwout" the day before he died -- and spent his leash time looking for dark places where he could lay down for his final rest. (No, w...