The Tale of the Ever Changing Cat-Patio

My answer to the In Living Color Change Challenge

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When I spotted the In Living Color Challenge to write a post about change, many things came to mind. My husband’s and my view of how we wanted to retire altered and we made a massive change in a new direction. I’m currently working on that post.

We could all use something light to take our minds off the world’s insanity. That made me decide to share a post about my cat and change. Our ornery orange tabby, Paddy, is one of the most spoiled cats on the planet. He pretty much rules the RV that we call home. My husband and I have gone to crazy lengths to make him happy.

After losing my cat, Peaches, from our Hollister home, I vowed to NEVER have an indoor/outdoor cat again. She was like a dog in her loyalty to me, following me everywhere. I’ve had quite a few cats in my day. We grew up with lots of cats. My mother loved them and passed that love on to us. However, I never had a cat that loved me like Peaches did. When she disappeared, it tore me into a thousand pieces. Sorry, this is a positive story. Excuse the sideline.

My loving and sweet girl was replaced by our current Tasmanian orange boy. He wakes me up at 3:30 a.m. without fail. I’m not complaining about daylight savings time because he hasn’t figured it out yet and is currently waking me at 4:30. He gets his breakfast and treats, and I turn on his toy. I wrote about his crazy rituals in this post:

Are you wondering how this post will lead to the “change” challenge? No, I didn’t turn in my cantankerous boy for a more pleasant feline. I’m addressing the many changes in catios this spoiled boy has enjoyed. His current outdoor-indoor setup is the sixth edition. My husband built his first cat patio for our Hollister, California home. It was attached to one of our family room windows, and he had a ton of space to enjoy the outdoors without going out. There was no chance of me losing Mr. Ornery Pants.

When we took to the road in our fifth wheel our poor boy was stuck inside. I’d tried putting him on a leash when he was a kitten, and it didn’t go well. I thought he was going to strangle himself, and he got loose and made me chase him all over our ¾ of an acre property. The only solution was a catio; I knew just the guy who would make him one. His dad likes to say I’m the only one spoiling him, but I disagree.

Tommy built him a small playhouse that attached to one of our living room windows, and Paddy loved it. Once, when we were camping at the beach, my husband had to stand precariously close to the edge of a cliff to attach the house. Who spoils that boy?

When we upgraded to a motorhome, Paddy’s dad had to make him a new playhouse for yet another window. This time, Tommy’s driver side made for the best add-on. It was elaborate and a bit of a pain in the butt to assemble. After Tommy complained a LOT about going to such lengths to make our boy happy, I decided to purchase a popup cat enclosure for Paddy to enjoy when I was outside with him.

Once we were outside with all that space, I decided my boy should have more room to roam. I purchased another folding contraption that didn’t attach to the first one but made it work. That is, until it didn’t. Paddy managed to unzip one side just enough to get out. Thankfully, he stayed at the campsite until I spotted him when returning from my walk. Then, the chase began. The obstinate little twerp had us chasing him all over while hiding under our neighbors’ trailers and motorhomes.

I found another outdoor cat enclosure on Amazon that was bigger but would fold up even smaller. It had three levels, and you know how cats like to be up high, so I thought he’d love it. Wouldn’t you know, he never got on the second level, much less the third. He didn’t seem to like it as much as his other one either.

We all know how Google and Facebook target us with ads. One morning, there was an ad for a cool catio that folded down to nothing. It was perfect for stashing under a motorhome. How could I not purchase it? It was easy to put up and tear down. It took very little space to store it. It had three small enclosures with tunnels, but I never bothered to attach the third one. It was just fine until we didn’t go to Florida for the winter.

We had to spend our time on the West Coast in 2023 so my husband could get dental work done in Mexico. We spent a lot of time in Arizona, but it was surprisingly windy and cold. I don’t believe the cooler temperatures changed my boy’s mind about his enclosure. Even on a nice day, after screaming at the door and acting like he couldn’t wait to get in his catio, he’d be caterwauling within five minutes to get back in the motorhome. He suddenly acted like he was afraid to be in it.

This brings us to his current situation. This was an elaborate build by my husband. He made an enclosure that sits on a platform outside of our bedroom emergency exit window. It’s amazing. The stand is on legs that he secures to the ground, so the wind won’t blow it around. He built a cover for the window with a cat door so Paddy can come and go as he pleases. He loves the newest catio.

FYI, none of the enclosures have gone to waste. I gave Paddy’s original one to a nice man at one of the Thousand Trails campgrounds we stayed in. I’m trying to remember how it came about, but he gave me two eggs when I discovered I was short while preparing our breakfast. I’m sure I wrote about it, but I’ll have to look back.

He had the cutest dog that had disappeared from his family for a while the day before. I asked him if he wouldn’t like to have our enclosure for his dog so they could keep him confined when he was outdoors alone. He was grateful for the offer, and the pooch was in it when I walked by the next day.

The three-teer contraption that Paddy didn’t particularly care for went to a lovely couple who stayed at our winter headquarters in Wildwood, Florida. Their cat’s name was Askem. He loved to ride around in the basket of his dad’s scooter. People would ask what the cat’s name was, and Ed would tell them. They would lean down close to the furry friend and ask him what his name was. It gave Ed a good laugh, hence the name Askem.

We’ve finally chosen a home base in Smithville, Texas, and I can only imagine what the next iteration will look like. I will have a she-shed for writing, and I’m already concocting a tunnel in my head so Paddy can go from the RV to my shed. That one is going to be something else.😎👌🔥

Thanks for coming along. Here’s a post just in case you are wondering about the crazy cat lady.