Aviary for a cat: how to make a cage yourself, step-by-step instructions

How to make an Aviary for cats: for a dacha/apartment and at home, we make it with our own hands. Today, our beloved pets have become full members of the family, caring for which sometimes overwhelms us and forces us to devote more strength, attention and resources to them than to ourselves.
For this reason, more and more pet owners have begun to make adaptations that make their pets comfortable.

In this article we will pay attention to such interesting designs as enclosures for cats.

DIY balcony for a cat in the window

We continue the “Do it yourself” section and today we will tell you how to make an enclosure outside the window with your own hands, using the example of the work of Yuri from the Moscow region (Ramenskoye)
Yuri, the owner of large Maine Coon cats who love to spend time in the fresh air at any time season. He independently made an enclosure for them outside the window and kindly shared information with us.

To make an aviary you will need:

- stainless steel welded mesh with a cell of 25*25 mm or 25*50 mm - metal screws 25 mm - any perforated tape. (Tape for fastening air ducts is most convenient)

You will also need any unnecessary pieces of plywood or plastic for the bottom of the enclosure and, of course, a set of tools and men’s hands.

We select the window for which we want to make an aviary. In Yuri's example, there is a blind window on the balcony.

We take the mesh and make a pattern according to the size of the window opening along with the frame. Taking into account that the bend will be inward. We need a bend in order to attach the structure to the frame. We fold the pattern into a box and fasten it, bending the tail ends left for this.

The stainless steel mesh must be bent once. If you bend it in the wrong place, and then straighten it and bend it again, it will definitely break! Therefore, you need to be extremely careful!

We prepare the window opening. In our case, first we remove the plastic beads, then the window sheet.

We fix the manufactured structure to the window frame (25 mm self-tapping screws and a screwdriver will help us) through perforated metal strips.

Why do we use 25mm self-tapping screws? Because a metal-plastic window is called metal-plastic, because... There is a metal channel running inside the plastic frame. In order to drill not just a plastic frame, but also a channel, thereby firmly securing the structure to the window, we need 25mm long self-tapping screws.

This is a very important point for the reliability of the design, especially when it comes to large cats.

This is what the structure begins to look like from the street side.

Since the window is large, and the structure cannot be made from a single piece, it can be made from two parts and joined in the same way as we fastened the corners.

We put a piece of plywood at the bottom to suit the size (you can take plastic or just leave a lattice bottom and lay a thick rug) and walk out the window, ready!

For owners of more than one pet, you can make another shelf to accommodate all the tails

. To do this we need another piece of plywood, cut to fit the size of the opening. In our future shelf we need to make a round hole for passage up and down. It turns out like this.

As a result, you get a well-ventilated enclosure outside the window, a favorite place for your pets to walk and safe for their life!

Aviary tasks

As previously mentioned, the idea of building enclosures for cats came to us from America. There they received the name "catio" from the merger of the words "cat" and "yard" in English. Most often, such designs are used for large breed pets.

In our country, it will not be possible to keep cats in such an enclosure all year round, as in the winter months the temperature drops very low, which can even lead to the death of the pet. An aviary is perfect as a seasonal or temporary shelter. The construction of an enclosure is especially relevant for those owners who keep purebred and breeding animals that need to be protected from contact with yard cats and male cats. Such a barrier between animals will avoid pregnancy, fights or infection with many diseases and even the loss of a pet. In this case, the pet will not be inside the apartment or house, but will experience nature.

In the southern regions, enclosures are used all year round to keep cats. So, lovers of our little brothers do not need to worry about the fact that the house will have an unpleasant smell or dirt from a large number of individuals.

There are some breeds that simply need to stay in an enclosure. These include Canadian Sphynxes, Maine Coons, Bengal cats and all pets with exotic roots. These cats simply need space to hunt and develop. Since in an apartment or house, as a rule, there is not enough free space for all the maneuvers of such cats, they experience considerable discomfort from an inferior life in cramped conditions. It is also advisable to arrange, if possible, enclosures for Persian, Scottish, British and Siamese cat breeds, which also need an active life.

Removable cat balcony

Will protect the cat from falling from an open window and from escaping. Safety is the main thing!
The cat will get a great overview view - he will be able to watch what is happening on the street on the left, right, above, below, in front! Open up a new world for your pet, full of smells, sounds, birds, trees - this is the best gift for an apartment cat!
Ventilate your apartment with peace of mind for the health and life of your pet. Fresh air is necessary for both people and animals at any time of the year!

Suitable only for PVC windows (plastic tilt-and-turn windows with warm glazing);
Only one sash of window wide;
No installation is needed, you don’t need to drill anything, you can fix the balcony on the window yourself - it is secured with special steel clamps (see video);
Calling a measurer is not necessary; the measurement can be easily done independently;
If necessary, the balcony can be removed and reinstalled outside the window.

In order to calculate the cost of a removable cat balcony, you need:

Measure the height and width of the window. You can read the measuring instructions below;
Enter the dimensions in millimeters into the calculator;
After this the cost will appear.

Width in millimeters:
Height in millimeters:
Calculate Product Area:	m 2
Calculate the cost of the product:	rub.

The price is calculated based on the area of the light opening. Standard depth is 35 cm.

Up to 0.5 sq.m – 5100 rub.
From 0.51 to 0.8 sq.m – 8300 rub.
From 0.81 to 1.2 sq.m – 8600 rub.
Over 1.21 sq.m – on request.

If necessary, you can order a shelf (removable or welded) for the balcony, a side door with wing nuts (for washing the adjacent blind sash of the window), a mosquito net on rods with Anti-Cat cloth (“Pet Screen” for plastic windows)

Shelf up to 80 cm - 1000 rub. per piece
Side door – 1000 rub. per piece
Mosquito net on Pet Screen rods – RUB 3,500. per piece

You can do the measurement yourself or call our specialist. To measure it yourself, we recommend that you first look at:

Open the flap where you plan to install the cat balcony.
Measure the width and height of the light opening in millimeters with a construction tape (not sewing tape).

A removable balcony is not suitable for wooden or aluminum windows.

You must have outside (from the street side) a free distance from the light opening to the slopes of the house along the entire perimeter of the light opening - at least 25 mm.

No drilling of the window frame is required (especially important for those who have windows under warranty or rented housing);
There is no need to pay for a specialist to come for measurements and professional installation - and this is a significant saving of your money and time;
To make a removable cat balcony, you only need the dimensions of the window light opening.
Installing a removable balcony will take you no more than 10 minutes! It does not require professional skills or any tools.
Delivery to your home throughout Russia to any locality!

The height of the balcony is only the full height of the light opening for the safety of the cats. Width - the width of the light opening of 1 window sash. Depth (removal) - 35 cm (can be reduced or increased if desired).
The window-mounted cat cage is a reliable steel structure;
Reliable fastening to the window frame with special steel clamps.
The large mesh size - 2.5*5 cm (or 5*5 cm) - allows the cat to get a good view, does not obscure the light, and does not interfere with the full flow of fresh air.
A transparent sloping roof made of cellular polycarbonate protects your pet from drizzling rain.
Durable polymer coating. Powder painting is the most effective and modern way to combat corrosion.
Color - white/light gray/brown/green/black and other colors.
An aviary on the window with an additional shelf if you have several cats - so that there is enough space for everyone!

Maximum load tests were carried out with a load mass of 60 kg. At the moment, no tests have been carried out with larger weights. The balcony is intended for use by his pets. It is assumed that pets with a total weight of up to 20-25 kg will be on the cat’s balcony at the same time. The size of the window opening is also taken into account.

If you need a mosquito net for your cat's balcony, we will offer a Petscreen frame mesh (petscreen, anti-cat) on metal rods. It is made of especially durable fabric that cannot be torn by claws. And for your pet we will make a special “door” in the mesh. More details - catsafety.ru/catalog/zashchita/moskitnaya-setka-dlya-koshachego-balkonchika/

The cute domestic kitty is, first of all, a predator whose need for observation is embedded in its hunting instincts. Cats love to view their surroundings from above. That’s why windows and balconies are so tempting for them - an overview of the area, fresh air, new smells, street sounds, birds!

The working conditions and prices for services can be found in the corresponding paragraph of the “How to order” section:

Cat house built into furniture

You can save your family budget and create a cozy corner for your friend by using old examples of home furniture.

Design options:

A bedside table or a small hallway cabinet will become an excellent sitting area if you cut a hole in the door and put a soft rug or ottoman on the bottom.
When restoring an old sofa, instead of a backrest, make and install tunnels made of cardboard or thick fabric.
Attach shelves at different levels or a convenient slanting ladder to the side back so that the animal can hide from the annoying attention of others.
Secure a soft fabric hammock under a table or chair. On it, the animal will take the position of an observer and will be able to sleep.
Remake a coffee table by making an additional shelf under the tabletop.
Find space on open shelves and place a few cute small boxes or baskets with a couple of cute toys in there.
To prevent your pet from encroaching on indoor plants, they can be raised on stands, creating a cozy corner below.

Anti-cat nets. How to do it yourself if you are a handyman (like me)

Spring has arrived (well, almost). It gets warm, the windows open, curious cats climb outside. As it turns out, my eight-month-old Abyssinian not only loves to scream at night (I wrote about this before), but also loves to walk along the window ledge from room to room. We live on the 11th floor and every walk could be our last. You need to put bars on the windows. Companies that manufacture and install “anti-cat” grilles call a rather prohibitive price tag, and the windows are old, the frames are wooden and someday they will still be replaced with plastic ones, so I decided to do everything myself, fortunately there are a lot of educational articles. Now I will try to more or less clearly explain step by step how to make such gratings. A long photo post that doesn’t pretend to be perfect, because I did this for the first time, I’m a girl and I have paws. Let's go.

To begin with, a small list of what you need to purchase at a hardware store:

Reiki.

I took 20x45x3000 mm, the quantity is calculated according to the size of your windows. The knocked together frame should be larger than the window opening so that the frame does not fall into the room.

Take this into account!

There may be concrete protrusions above some windows (like mine, for example) and you need to find a middle ground - so that the frame still fits, but does not fall in.

I bought almost everything in a store that starts on Leroy and ends on Merlin, and they cut everything to the right sizes for me, there is no need to carry three-meter slats home.

Vertical sticks should be equal to the size of the window opening +2 cm (approximately). Horizontal also = according to the size of the window opening - the width of the vertical sticks is +2-4 cm (approximately).

Mesh + metal scissors.

I took this one.

The cells are large enough for fingers to fit through (easy to install), but not yet for a cat to fit through.

Self-tapping screws.

I have these. A box is enough for one window, I have three windows, so there are two boxes.

Corners.

These are better, with several holes.

Initially, I didn’t take any corners, but simply took large long self-tapping screws (about the first experience, see above :)) to fit one rail to another and it turned out like this:

In connection with this, I had to urgently run to the nearest hardware store and buy corners (6 per window), but they each had one hole per plane, so the frame was not “tightly” assembled, but “moved” a little.

Window frame fasteners.

At least 4 per window, more is possible. I didn’t take special fasteners from the mosquito net department, but a handle for the balcony door. Like this:

The main thing is that the rail fits inside, + don’t forget about the mesh and self-tapping screws, there should be a small margin.

Well, wood paint for exterior use and a brush

Let's put it all together. We fasten the corners with self-tapping screws first to the short slats, then to the long ones. The frame should look something like this:

The places where the corners are attached are marked in red. The middle transverse rail is needed for greater rigidity and to make it more convenient to remove and hang the frame.

Next we paint the frame (it’s a shame if after so much work it rots in a month)

Then we cut the mesh to fit the frame (it’s better not to do this alone, because my mesh kept trying to roll back into a roll). Keep in mind that the edges of the mesh are quite sharp, it is better to wear at least cotton gloves.

We screw the mesh to the frame with self-tapping screws. It turns out like this:

And now the most difficult thing, in my opinion, is hanging the fasteners on the window. I had two narrow windows, they only needed two fasteners at the top and two at the bottom, and one wider window, where I attached three fasteners at the bottom and two at the top. First, we also install the upper fasteners on the self-tapping screws and try on the frame. We look at how low or high the lower fasteners need to be placed, and add them too. Since I am a noob in all these matters, I did everything exclusively by eye, but accurate calculations are welcome :)

We place the frame in the resulting grooves. If the frame moves from side to side, you can secure it with self-tapping screws (driving them as close as possible to the window frame).

My mother was worried that it would become darker with these frames, but due to the fact that the mesh is small and thin, this did not happen. It sits tightly, and if you want to, you won’t immediately throw it out.

Initially, I wanted to hang the frames with the mesh facing outwards, but something went wrong and I didn’t calculate that the fasteners on the street side would not allow the screws to pass through.

I hope this instruction will help someone! :) I do not claim any discovery or perfect execution, advice in the comments on improvements is only welcome!

Stationary cat balcony

Will protect the cat from falling from an open window and from escaping. Safety is the main thing!
The cat will get a great overview - he will be able to watch what is happening on the street on the left, right, above, below, in front! Discover your pet's world, full of smells, sounds, birds, trees - this is the best gift for an apartment cat!
Ventilate your apartment with peace of mind for the health and life of your pet. Fresh air is necessary for both people and animals at any time of the year!

Suitable not only for plastic windows, but also for wooden ones;
Any width - for one sash or a large balcony across the entire window;
Installation: reinforced installation - fastening with self-tapping screws to the window frame and with dowels to the slopes of the house;
Calling a surveyor is recommended;
The balcony can be dismantled if necessary.

In order to calculate the cost of a stationary cat balcony, you need:

Measure the height and width of the window. You can read the measuring instructions below;
Enter the dimensions in millimeters into the calculator;
After this the cost will appear.

Width in millimeters:
Height in millimeters:
Product area:	m 2
Product cost:	rub.

The price is calculated based on the area of the light opening. Standard depth is 35 cm.

Up to 0.5 sq.m – 4800 rub.
From 0.51 to 0.8 sq.m – 6500 rub.
From 0.81 to 1.7 sq.m – 8300 rub.
From 1.71 to 2 sq.m – 9800 rub.
Over 2 sq.m. – on request.
If necessary, you can order a shelf (removable or welded) for the balcony, a side door with wing nuts (for washing the adjacent blind sash of the window), a mosquito net on rods with Anti-Cat cloth (“Pet Screen” for plastic windows)
Shelf up to 80 cm - 1000 rub. per piece
Shelf up to 110 cm – 1500 rub. per piece
Shelf up to 140 cm – 2000 rub. per piece
Side door – 1000 rub. per piece
Mosquito net on Pet Screen rods – RUB 3,500. per piece

The height of the balcony is only the full height of the light opening of the window sash for the safety of cats. width - for one sash or a large balcony covering the entire window. Depth (removal) - 35 cm (can be reduced or increased if desired).
The large mesh size - 2.5*5 cm (or 5*5 cm) - allows the cat to get a good view, does not obscure the light, and does not interfere with the full flow of fresh air.
Reliable welded steel structure!
Reliable fastening from the outside with self-tapping screws to the window frame (metal-plastic or wooden), as well as with dowels to the slopes.
The transparent sloping roof protects the pet from drizzling rain.
Durable polymer coating . Powder painting is the most effective and modern way to combat corrosion.
Color - white/light gray/brown/green.
Professional installation! Our products are installed by professional window installers who have extensive experience in installing window structures.
A balcony with an additional shelf/shelves if you have several cats - so that there is enough space for everyone!

If you need a mosquito net , we will offer a Petscreen frame mesh (petscreen, anti-cat) on metal rods. It is made of especially durable fabric that cannot be torn by claws. And for your pet we will make a special “door” in the mesh. More details

The working conditions and prices for services can be found in the corresponding paragraph of the SERVICES section:

If you want a spacious enclosure behind a full-width window, but one window sash does not open, this is not a problem! In this case, during installation we will simply remove the double-glazed window from the frame of the blind sash window.

If you want a cat balcony for one window sash, but the other sash does not open, then you may have a question: “How to clean the outside of the window?” We will make a convenient door on the side, by opening which you can easily wash the outside of the blind window sash and hang a transparent bird feeder on suction cups !

And yes, cats love a cat balcony even in winter! ♥♥♥

When ordering a cat balcony, we give a 15% discount on a window bird feeder

Design Features

A cat enclosure is essentially an area of a certain size, fenced with rods or mesh. It is preferable to make it spacious so that the animal has personal space. If the enclosure is equipped with everything necessary - food and water, a play area, a bed and a toilet - the pet will not feel like a “prisoner”.

Domestic cat in an enclosure built by the hands of the owner

It is important for an animal owner to learn to distinguish between enclosures with playpens and cages. All designs have a similar structure, but there are also fundamental differences. The last two designs do not have conditions for a pet to spend time comfortably.

Window walk for cats

Window walking for cats is a comfortable and safe balcony for pets to walk without the supervision of their owners. The structure consists of a window sill and a metal sheet with a polymer coating, which protects the material from external influences. High-strength threads form large cells, which ensures complete ventilation of the room and a good view for curious animals.

on the market since 2009

we work without prepayment

metal components

production 2 days