Outdoor cat enclosures (catios) provide cats with access to fresh air, sunlight, and outdoor stimulation while protecting them from traffic, predators, and disease, and protecting wildlife from predation.
Catios address the fundamental welfare trade-off between outdoor stimulation and outdoor safety. Cats in catios experience sunlight, fresh air, the sights and sounds of the outdoor environment, and opportunities for climbing and perching at height — meaningful welfare benefits over purely indoor life. They are protected from traffic accidents, cat fights and associated abscesses, disease transmission from other cats, predation by foxes or dogs, and toxic plant or chemical exposure. The wildlife welfare benefit is additionally significant — free-roaming cats cause enormous bird and small mammal mortality that catios eliminate. Even cats that have been outdoor for years typically accept catios within days to weeks, particularly when provided with comfortable perches and familiar enrichment.