AivituvinCat House Outdoor Catio Kitty Enclosure with Super Large Enter Door,Wooden Cat Cage Condo Indoor Playpen with Platforms,Small House 71 Inch

The media could not be loaded. After thinking long and hard about how we were going to contain two rambunctious kittens on our raised deck, we settled on this catio. We read all the reviews and, at first, we were hesitant because of reading the negative reviews, but we decided to order anyway. We are glad we did. Here is what we found ...PACKAGING & LABELING: We found absolutely NO problem with the packaging or with the labelling. All parts were shipped in two boxes, packed appropriately, nothing was missing, and nothing was broken. Each wooden section was either stamped with the appropriate letter or had a clearly visible label on it. The directions were clear and concise.ASSEMBLY: Yes, it did take some time, as to be expected, and it did take two people for some steps. But, if you take the time to lay out each piece in separate piles according to sections as it is to be assembled, you shouldn't have any trouble. Much of it is a matter of common sense.STURDINESS: It does seem flimsy as you are putting it together, HOWEVER, once all sides are fastened, the screws are tightened, and the shelves and brackets are in place, the unit does become sturdier, and when the roof is in place it is definitely substantial. We live on a hill, in a development, and we get some fairly high winds at times, but because the sides are open and there is weight, to this unit it's not going anywhere.TIPS: BEFORE we did ANYTHING, we sealed each piece of wood AND the asphalt roof with Flex Seal. For the wood pieces, we brushed on two coats of the clear liquid gel, allowing them to dry completely between coats. For the roof, we brushed on a coat of the clear gel then applied a coat of the clear spray just to be safe. Flex Seal comes in clear, black, and white and is guaranteed for 30 years. We've had two rains, one was a heavy downpour, and we had no leaks. Another thing we did was add a strip of wood along the top of the front side of the frame under the three asphalt roof pieces creating a slight slant to allow rain to run off. Any rain that did remain puddled because of the Flex Seal (see photo) The wood strip also allows for extra airflow on those windy days. This helps with any concern of high winds blowing it away. Finally, I wasn't happy with the sturdiness of the side ledges where they meet in the middle, so I took a zip tie and fastened it around the brackets on each level of both sides to tighten them. Worked perfect!!SUMMARY: All in all, we are very pleased with this catio and we don't understand all the negative comments. We are especially puzzled by the photo of the collapsed roof. If the wood strips were used and applied properly, we don't see how that can happen. If you decide to purchase this catio, take your time and commit to assembling it properly. Don't rush and don't take shortcuts. Take the extra time and effort to properly seal the wood. Your kitties are worth it, and they'll love you for it. Ours have spent ours in their catio (and into the evening) watching the birds, enjoying the sounds, watching daddy do lawn work, and even taking their afternoon naps.

The media could not be loaded. A little wobbly and difficult to assemble because the individual pieces are labeled with stickers that get pulled off during unpacking. I'm reinforcing with brackets at intersection points. Also suggest wood glue to fortify the pegs. 100% suggest an electric screwdriver. Saves you so much time and a must for solo build.The weird chemical smell people keep talking about is cedar. Which is pungent and naturally pest resistant. It's also 100% safe for cats.There is no bottom to the catio. I suggest a piece of plywood or hardware cloth to keep animals from digging in or out. Plywood would also help stability.It's going to take me 2 days to build it but I'm on my own. Be careful with the boxes as they are very heavy.I'll check back in when it's fully built.Update: with the extra reinforcing it became more than a 2 day build for a solo person. Only step I have left is putting the roof on. Once reinforced and all 4 walls connected it does feel sturdier. I'm still going to put corner brackets on to reinforce the corners. If you go the bracket route do yourself a favor and pre drill holes for the brackets the screws may be small but the wood splits easily. If you don't want to predrill holes keep the wood glue on hand.Final update: with the roof on its more stable I still think the reinforcement brackets are a must. It's not level or perfect but I feel it will do the job. Definitely get help if you can, if not carve out a little time to do each step. Iv think the total build time for me was 8 hours broken up over the course of 2 weeks. The cedar smell is mostly gone unless you sniff the wood.

First off, I probably read at least 400 of the reviews before ordering this catio kit. The one thing that kept jumping out at me, were the people who took the time to use FlexSeal on all the wood parts prior to constructing. I decided to do this as the wood is maybe a little cheap, and I would like this to last a long time. It took me two weeks…working probably six hours a day to FlexSeal all of the pieces. FlexSeal is really a toxic coating, so make sure you are doing this outside to protect your lungs. It took 3.5 quarts of FlexSeal to seal this…which is about $100 worth of FlexSeal. I also bought about two dozen small crappy brushes and just threw them out after using, because cleaning up FlexSeal is pretty much impossible. I painted with rubber cleaning gloves on because you do NOT want to get this on your skin. Knowing each part intimately after the long process of sealing, was good, as the instruction manual was laughable! The illustrations are essential in building this kit out, because the written directions are either indecipherable or just not inclusive. My spouse helped me in the construction, and it took us maybe 6 hours to complete…would have been less but it was 100 degrees outside and we were moving in slow-mo. You definitely need two people to put this together, as the walls are unstable until completely secured with the final screws. Pop that roof on and it is incredibly stable! We chose to use L brackets to secure this in two places on the deck. I highly doubt wind could pick this up, but better safe than story. The other tip I picked up from reading the reviews is around drilling pilot holes in to the second piece of wood prior to installing screws. If you do NOT do this, you will likely find the back piece of wood splitting. Only took me once to verify that. 😂. We’ve ended up really liking this catio. The price was right, especially as I do not have the time to design and buy the raw materials, nor the power tools to build this out. Our cat really loves this space. He was a street cat that joined our household and this is a nice place for him to still hang out outdoors, without killing off the bird population. This catio is good looking…I am looking forward to next summer when I can landscape with plants and containers to fully integrate it in to our decks and gardens. If I were a retired street cat now living in a house, I’d be thrilled if my parents built this for me!