Does anyone know of any company or individual who will build bespoke outdoor runs, enclosures and run systems for cats, in the UK? I have found various websites in the US and Australia, which offer modular systems including aerial walkways etc. and can design systems to go from your house, all round your garden, allowing your "indoor" bengal cats to have a taste of the outdoors without them being able to get into any trouble.
Having recently very, very sadly had to rehome my big bengal boy because he was bullying my girls really badly, and although I kept them in different parts of the house, with separate cat flaps, and a carefully policed routine of letting them put at different times, he managed to break through every security system I had in place eventually, and get at my girls. He was not happy to be an indoor only cat, and needed to get out at times, although was a menace when he was out! It has since occurred to me that if I had been able to install such a system, as is common in the US and Australia, with walkways and various runs going around the garden, that my boy may have been able to stay, and I could have kept him out of trouble and from harassing my girls. Although too late for Sebastian, I thought it is worth looking into for the future in case of any future cat problems. Being a bengal enthusiast, I'm always going to have bengals, and it is worth considering options in case they don't get on, or terrorise the neighbourhood! My girls at the moment come and go as they please, but I will be getting a new bengal boy kitten this weekend, and just in case I have a repeat of the situation with Sebastian (which hopefully I won't!), I would like to be prepared.

If you've Googled "cat enclosures" then you've seen many that have been created and built by women. An enclosure can be simple or very elaborate, depending on the size and where you want it in relation to your home. I am not a handy person, but I helped my husband build a huge cat enclosure on our deck. Had he not been around, I probably would have designed one and hired a handyman to build it for me. I really didn't want something so large, but it was out of my hands. The kitty enjoys the enclosure but doesn't stay out there for very long.

I'm with you Karin on this.

I'm quite a handy person, I can fix most things, but I find the idea of a cat enclosure daunting to build myself - plus the parts and the base just seem so pricey when you have to buy them individually.
The US and Australia seem to be so much better equipped but I guess the majority of cat owners here in the UK dont mind letting their cats out.
Its heartbreaking when I'm out in the garden and the cats are inside meowing constantly to come out - I feel their leads are so restrictive and i'm so scared they are going to eat a plant that they shouldnt.

We built ours using pre made aviary panels - 6ft x 3ft each - then they literally screw together to form the enclosure. We dug a small trench in the garden (so no base) to put the panels into and then laid a membrane over the grass and covered with 'cotswold stone' (small enough not to hurt their feet but bigger then gravel so not used as a litter tray)

I felt quite daunted by the idea of an enclosure but aviary panels make it very easy - ours measures 19ft x 6ft

There are a variety of materials that can be used. Initially, I wanted to get the catproof fencing which would have kept a problem neighbothood cat and raccoons, skunks and possums out of our yard, but the hubby thought it would look bad since it wasn't going around the perimeter of the entire yard. We had an area on our deck and my husband simply built up framing on the deck rails and we stapled wire fencing between the framing, used transparent roof panels. It took about 10 days to build. We had rain for a couple of days. Hubby put a cat door in an acrylic panel that fits into the channel of the dining room window, which is left open (but can be closed at any time). The enclosure has a full-size screen door for human access, which is locked at all times. The enclosure doesn't have to be elaborate. If you spend some time googling, you'll find ideas out there. Some are even made with prefabricated panels that you just tie together. At one time, I thought about a large dog run that incorporates some type of roofing to keep the cat from climbing out. I don't think it's as daunting a task once you know what you want.

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Katrina

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Katrina

Owned by:

Its been up since spring 2011 - and seen many bouts of Snow, wind, rain etc and still in fab condition - I do like the look of those metal ones though too

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Katrina

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Is rigid mesh so not flexible like chicken wire for example - platforms I would probably hang from the wooden frames though rather then mesh itself. I've got corner shelves on mine that hold the cats no problems