Where to put a catio: access, shade and space

Start at the house and work outwards

Identify where your cat could enter and return indoors before marking out the enclosure. A suitable cat flap, window or doorway may offer a direct route. A more distant catio needs a properly planned enclosed connection.

Cats Protection advises letting cats explore a catio voluntarily and keeping their way back into the house available. It discourages pens that require cats to be carried in and confined. Its catio guidance is a useful starting point when deciding whether the arrangement suits your cat.

Check how the opening works in practice. Does an outward-opening window hit the frame? Can a back door swing fully? Will the connection leave an unsecured gap? Ask the supplier to confirm how its system joins your particular building; pushing an enclosure near a wall does not establish a secure connection.

For cats with limited mobility, plan the level changes as carefully as the footprint. A shelf route that looks entertaining may not be a suitable route home. Seek individual advice if a health condition affects how your cat can use the space.

Watch the sun before choosing the spot

Look at the proposed position in the morning, around midday and later in the afternoon. Record where shade falls and whether it lasts. A photograph taken at ten in the morning cannot tell you what the same paving is like at four.

Cats Protection recommends access to shade, water and areas with different temperatures in its warm-weather advice. For a catio, that means planning where a cat can get out of direct sun, as well as keeping the route indoors available. A sunny perch should be a choice.

A mesh ceiling provides containment overhead; it does not stop rain. A clear cover can let light through without providing useful shade. Check the manufacturer’s compatible shelter options, ventilation needs and any extra anchoring required when a cover is fitted.

Look for runoff from roofs and gutters, exposed corners and places where leaves collect. Avoid designing around permanent calm weather. This is Britain; it will take that personally.

Check the ground and the full footprint

Mark out the external dimensions, including any skirt, projecting fixings or access porch. Then stand inside the outline with the proposed furnishings marked too. Leave space to move around rather than treating every square centimetre as available for another shelf.

Ask the supplier which bases and fixings are suitable. A paved surface, lawn, gravel area and timber deck raise different installation questions. Check uneven edges, drainage and gaps beneath the structure. There is no universal rule that all catios need a concrete base, or that grass is suitable for every model.

Keep drains, inspection covers, vents and maintenance access usable. If you cannot reach something without dismantling the catio, include that in your location decision before ordering. Consult the relevant installer about building services rather than guessing clearances.

For example, the recommended compact full-height Omlet 2 × 2 × 2 has a manufacturer-stated 1.8 × 1.8m interior but needs 2.2 × 2.2m including its skirt; its height is 2.05m. Mark out the latter footprint, then allow for the door and inspection access. Our catio buying guide explains the configuration choice; the matching budget keeps site work separate from the kit price.

Leave a sensible route for humans too

Plan how you will enter, clean the floor and reach each corner. Check the door width and height against what you need to carry in. A walk-in description does not promise comfortable access for everyone.

Think through the household routine: taking bins out, moving garden furniture, deliveries and other people opening doors. Decide whether a compatible porch or two-door arrangement is appropriate, and how the cat will remain contained during those activities.

Leave enough access to inspect mesh, joins, fixings and the house connection. Plants can grow into gaps and garden furniture can be moved. An inspection route that works on installation day should still work when the garden has had a summer.

An Amazon option for a suitable wall-side location

The Wingham three-sided catio is one option where a suitable solid surface forms the fourth side. The Amazon variant rechecked on 6 October 2026 is labelled 6ft long × 3ft wide × 7.2ft high, sold and dispatched by Home and Roost. It showed dispatch in six to seven days; confirm the delivered timing and selected size before ordering.

The manufacturer confirms the three-sided design relies on a suitable wall or other solid upright surface. Check the exact dimensions and attachment details against your building before buying. A garden corner with no suitable fourth side needs a different configuration. See the manufacturer’s layout guidance.

For that system, the Wingham five-pack of catio shelves offers a matching furnishing option. Home and Roost identifies the shelves as designed for its Wingham range, including the three-sided version. Follow the fixing instructions and confirm load limits; do not assume they attach to an Omlet or ProtectaPet enclosure.

Sketch the shelves into the layout before ordering. Leave room for the cat to pass, rest and return inside, and check the support points using the manufacturer’s shelf information.

A quick site-planning worksheet

Download the catio planning pack (PDF, four A4 pages)

Sketch the site, collect every project cost, then compare two suppliers against the same requirements. The pack includes a configuration reference sheet; its dated product figures are a starting point for a current quote, not an installed-price promise. A kit price is allowed to be the beginning of the budget. It cannot quietly appoint itself the whole budget.

Use page 1 to sketch your chosen location, including the house opening, full external footprint, human door swing, shade, drainage and inspection route. Record the ground and supplier-approved fixing plan. Put questions requiring a site assessment beside the sketch rather than guessing a clearance.

Compare two possible locations using the same questions. Record unresolved points rather than awarding a location a reassuring score.

A freestanding label does not settle planning or tenancy questions. Check what applies to your property and proposed work before making alterations. We are not applying one jurisdiction’s rules to every UK home.

Once a location looks workable, use the UK catio cost guide to price the connection and site work. If enclosing the wider garden seems more practical, compare catios with cat-proof fencing.

The same pack carries your chosen site into a complete-project budget and matched supplier-quote checklist. Compare both quotes for that site, then choose using our catio buying guide; it links to the verified retailer routes.

Original site grid and worksheets by The Cat Standard, 6 October 2026. Please credit us and link to this guide if you share the pack. The blank grid is not to scale and does not establish safe clearances or attachment details.