Aivituvin Catio Outdoor Cat Enclosure Large Cat Run with Bridges, Walks, Small Houses, Roof Cover 28.27 ft²

The media could not be loaded. After weeks of obsessing and planning, the Aivituvin cathouse had arrived (large one).I had told my manager at work about my problem (housebound stray) and she recommended a “catio.” I had never heard of them before. I have one cat, which had been a stray and spent her first year or two solely outdoors. My other cat also had been accustomed to outdoors but because of a heart condition has been an indoor cat. A catio would allow both cats the freedom of the outdoors they had once enjoyed and longed for.I particularly wanted this catio because it was nice and big, so my cats could have plenty of room to roam around as if they were roaming around in the backyard. Most catios are much smaller. I wanted this one because it allowed the cats to roll around in the dirt and chew on the grass, since it could be positioned right on the yard as an open structure with no flooring. Also, I didn’t have to hire anyone to build it, create a design, or purchase a design, and I’m most certainly not a DIY project type. This was something that I could get up quickly and most affordably of all options.Long story short, this product lived up to every hope and expectation. I heard some customers complain that one of their boxes was missing when it arrived (it comes in four boxes). This was not an issue for me. All four parts arrived together in three days on my front porch. I heard some customers complain that a part of the product was damaged. This was not an issue for me whatsoever. All of the parts arrived, none missing and none damaged. I heard one customer say that the latch to the human door was missing. Mine was not missing.I heard several customers saying that the directions were confusing, unclear and misleading. This was not at all the case for my husband and I when we put it together, although I will say that my husband is very intelligent and he figured it out no problem. I heard some customer saying that the parts were poorly labeled. That was not true at all. Every piece was clearly labeled with an alphabetical sticker.The booklet of the directions was large and clear to follow for the most part. It was only when we got to the L parts to stabilize the connection between the cat run, and the bridge that we ran into a little hiccup (husband figured it out). It’s confusing because there are two parts of the wooden wall of the house that the L piece can attach to, (two holes on each side of the house wall right next to each other). We had to unscrew the L piece and move it to the two holes right next to it. My husband did say that this part of the directions changed from one page to the other.Anyways, the labeling of boxes made assembly easy. He made a pile for each box, and we were able to go in order of assembly based on the labeling of each box. Just to get an accurate idea of timeframe, if you have a smart person leading the operation, who is great following written instructions, and a second person helping (as we did) this structure will take you three and a half hours to assemble. We had no setbacks, worked quickly, and everything ran very smoothly (and we used an electric screwdriver as seen in another review and is a must for this) and it took us three and a half hours.So yes, I give this product five stars and no issues with the paint (I heard one customer concern that it killed their ferret). I love the grey color of this house, which amazingly matches my grey house perfectly.I saw the advertisement with the lady sitting inside of the cat house with her cats and daughter. I didn’t think I would spend that much time just chilling in the cat house with the cats, but I actually have a patio chair and sit inside the house for long periods with them. I would say that is a cool feature of this product which I hadn’t anticipated.I saw many photo reviews where customers built the cat house house primarily on dirt, which I did as well with my backyard being dirt. I live in an area of high winds, so time will tell how well this product holds up against the elements of wind and rain and being on a dirt foundation. I’ve only had this catio for about seven weeks, so we’ll see.The only thing which sucks, which has nothing to do with the quality of this product, is the fact that I injured myself while prepping the dirt for the foundation because I have an orthopedic issue.Anyways, the one last piece of advice I have for a catio cat owner is that your cats are not going to immediately love the cat house the moment they enter it. I expected that and my cats were scared, meowing and peed. It takes a little while to get used to it, so introduce them just a little bit at a time and they will begin to enjoy it pretty quickly, within a couple days.So my first dream was fulfilled. My dream catio arrived and was built, as if a very early Christmas present had been fulfilled. Maybe someday my second dream will be fulfilled. I want to have a doggy door built on my patio wall and a “cat walk” or “cat tunnel” attached from doggy door to catio door, so the cats can come and go from the patio to catio freely when I am present and have the doggy door open (we live in an area with a large coyote presence so cat time in the catio is only under my supervision).

Really like this product and my cat loves it! He actually trots out there on his leash to go into the catio. He and his bro will like it even more as the weather improves. It took quite a bit longer than two hours to put together, but I found the directions were really helpful. The way it is put together is also very well thought out to make your life easier. Also, I was very methodical which takes more time. Overall five star immediate impression!UPDATE: I asked to purchase an extra shelf and received two in just a week with no shipping costs! Customer service was fast and so helpful. This company has been so easy and pleasant to work with. I would definitely purchase from them again. Two months later and my cat is addicted to his catio time. I love it!Materials and unpacking: It took more than an hour to unpack, confirm contents including bolts and screws, organize by wall/roof/accessories, and discard packaging. Everything was there with a few extra bolts/screws. Wood is lightweight and could definitely be thicker, but at least it is stained cedar which is resistant to rot. The door should always be closed because if it slams in the wind it might break. However, lightweight wood makes construction so much easier. Metal mesh is carefully cut to fit and points were all cut back as far as possible. I noticed a review with concerns about this. My cats don't tend to paw at such things so I'm not concerned enough to cover it with anything. I really appreciated the bolts and screws were a heavy duty yellow zinc alloy. I did not have any problems with stripping screw or bolt heads. Note, a one cm wrench is very helpful for one person to hold nuts in place while the other quickly screws in bolts. Tarp is thin but very durable and does a great job of keeping rain out. We had several hours of 25 mph winds and heavy rains today with gusts over 40mph and everything held up very well!Extras that will help: A very small latch for the inside. An eye-hook will work best because you don't have much space for regular latch. Two small/narrow handles for inside and outside of the door. If you can, a camera is a really fun add.Construction: Follow the directions in order and you should be fine. The walls and accessory edges lined up surprisingly well. The roof is the hardest part and takes some modest adjusting of the frame as you go. We didn't get all the roof braces to line up as cleanly as the wall braces did, but we made things work and I feel good about it. As you can see in the photo, overall it went together very well and looks great!Minor Issues: One of the holes in the frame wasn't drilled all the way through and just took some extra pressure and care to get the screw through straight. One of the accessory house roofs did not have the holes drilled through the stoney side. If this happens to you, carefully screw through the stoney side to finish the hole before assembly--don't push through from the underside because it will cause the stoney side to delaminate. One side of the holes on the middle roof brace lined up with the metal roof hinge so we just put in extra holes further down the roof brace.Sturdiness: The sturdiness of the whole structure really improves after putting on the roof. Make sure all of the wall footings/corners have contact with the ground for sturdiness as well. There is some wiggle when my large cat jumps onto the ledges, but it doesn't bother him at all. Be aware this is not a structure that will stand up to medium/large dogs, bears, or coyotes. Stands up to wind very well because of all the mesh that lets the wind through.Durability: Time will tell. Hopefully I'll remember to update this in a year.

This product was easy to put together. It does take 2 people though. If you have a cat that wants to spend some time outside but it’s not totally safe, this little Catio is perfect for time outside and safety!

I love how large this catio is. I priced out the materials to build one from scratch and it was over $800. When I was putting it together it seemed flimsy, but once the roof was on and the extra roof supports in place, it is now much more sturdy. The instructions aren’t great and don’t include adding the roof supports, it just looks like there are extra parts. I sprayed it with urethane for extra water proofing and added a latch to the inside of the door so I could come in and close it behind me. I built all of it except the roof myself. Putting the roof on is definitely a 2-person job. Overall, I am very happy with the catio. It is by far the largest one out there and I was so happy to get it, as it sold out the day after I purchased it.

This is a 10/10. Easy assembly, parts are marked so you know what goes with what. Cats LOVE it! We added corrugated plastic sheets to ensure it’s rain proof! Living in the PNW makes that a necessity! The one thing to check is that inside lock comes with all parts ours was missing a piece so we ended up buying an eye hook for the inside.