Catios and enclosed garden spaces provide cats with the benefits of outdoor access including fresh air, sunlight, and sensory stimulation while eliminating risks of free roaming.
Catios represent an elegant welfare solution to the indoor versus outdoor access dilemma for cats. They provide the sensory richness of outdoor environments: variable temperatures, natural light, fresh air, sounds and smells from the natural world, and visual stimulation from birds and wildlife. These inputs engage natural cat sensory systems in ways indoor environments cannot replicate. Simultaneously they eliminate the hazards of free roaming: road traffic, predation, disease transmission, and fighting. A cat with catio access has better welfare than an equivalent indoor-only cat without enrichment while avoiding the mortality risks of free roaming. The investment in a catio, even a modest one, yields welfare benefits across the entire life of the cat.