My Husband Made My Life Brighter With Outdoor Cat Tents :)
My husband, @justderek, got me the most amazing birthday gift, and I just have to talk about it with all of you on Steemit! :) We live near a very busy street, so we can't let our cats go outside unattended. (And after one of our cats disappeared for two weeks a few years back, I just don't take those chances anymore.) This gift is an amazing way to let them experience the outdoors safely.
Mufasa LOVES this. He loves the smells and sounds of the outdoors, and he has taken to this toy like a fish in water. He and I even created a little game where we race each other back and forth. I run on the side of the tents and tunnels, and he runs through the tunnel. We've done this multiple times and he just gets so excited. 😍
I work from home, so I tend to get stuck in front of a computer ALL day for endless hours. My husband knew that I needed a little push to go outside more, so he bought this for me. It's so much fun to go outdoors now, with my cats, and spend some time in the sunshine. If you're like me and tend to get cooped up all day indoors, I highly suggest that you take at least 30 minutes a day to step into the sunshine, walk on the green grass, and breathe in the outdoors. It will do wonders for you.
As you can see from this next picture, Mufasa loves the cat tents a lot more than Bilbo. Bilbo's pretty much never been outside, so he spent the whole time crawling like he was in a military battle, with his stomach on the ground. I'm hoping that over time, he gets a little more used to this.
If you want to buy this for yourself, you can get it on Amazon here. Note that I have an affiliate link there, but if you want to use a non-affiliate link, here ya go.
I just had to write this to thank my husband. :) He's such a wonderful guy and was so creative about this idea, which will be lifting my spirits every day and giving me a great excuse to go outdoors. :) Have you found a good excuse to go outdoors every day too? :) Life is tough sometimes, so you should do something special for yourself or establish a little tradition that brings joy to your life every day.
What a great idea. I've looked at home-built outdoor cat runs before, but wasn't aware that this type of 'cat tent' was available. And I love that there's a bonus feature of getting YOU out in the grass and sunshine, @kittenlaw. Good job, @justderek!
It looks like you have 2 of the tent & tube units. How did you attach them? And how do you get the cats outside into the tents, without them running away in the yard?
Chai and her chai tea
Hi! Your cat Chai is absolutely beautiful! 😍 And great questions! I should have gone into more detail about that in the story. Yes, Derek got two of the tent & tube units. The two tunnels zip to each other, and then one of the tunnels zips to a tent. However, the second tunnel and tent didn't zip together because the male/female sides didn't match up right. So we took some zip ties and attached that side. It took about six zip ties but it works perfectly. :)
As for getting the cats outside into the tents... That part is a little trickier! Usually we make it a two-person job and one person unzips the tunnels where they connect and the other drops the cat in the tunnel. Mufasa is very gentle and doesn't try to run away, so it's easy with him. The toughest part for Bilbo was getting him back out, but he actually was ready to go. We're lucky in that both of our cats like to be held and carried, so this part isn't too difficult.
But I thought about what I would do if I had more difficult cats. In that situation, I'd suggest buying a harness for the cat and putting the cat in the harness, then (if she doesn't like wearing the harness, which a lot of cats don't), unhooking the harness once you get the cat into the tent (and hooking it back up when you're ready to bring her back inside.)
I've also seen some people who don't get the second tent, but attach one end of the two tunnels to a doggy door (and some have even put cardboard in a window and cut a hole out of the cardboard to attach the tunnel.) If you have a more slippery cat, that might be an option worth exploring. Hope this helps! :)
First off, Chai says thank you for the compliment. =^..^=
Ah, yes... you attached the two tunnels with zip ties. I can see that if a cat liked being in the tent, like Bilbo, it could be difficult getting him out!
A long while ago I read a mystery book series called, "The Cat Who..." about 2 Siamese cats who helped a former newspaper writer solve mysteries. He had a screened-in gazebo where he would take the cats for "outdoor time," carrying them in a lidded picnic basket. haha, wonder how they liked that.
That mystery book sounds adorable!!! The lidded picnic basket is a creative idea, haha. I wonder how that would work out. :D
Kitty cuddles!!!!!!
Awwww so so so so cute. Yes cats tend to wander off. Weve lost some too :(
Oh no! :( Were you able to find them again?
Happy Birthday!!! Cat Life 🐱
Thank you!!!! :D
You should really buy "Petsafe". It sounds cruel at first but after a while the cats know that they are not allwed to cross the line. We did that because our cats where always killed on the road within the first 2 years. Now our cats grew old and they dont need the collar anymore.
Is that the wireless fence that gives a little "shock" when a pet crosses it? I always wondered if that worked! I'm sorry about your cats that were killed. :( It sounds like you found a great solution.
If only I had a backyard! My boyfriend and I were talking about getting a miniature version of this so I can bring Mushu with me when I go to his place, because my cat is way too destructive to be let loose around all of his stuff.
I think that's a great idea! That would definitely be a great compromise so you can still bring him to your boyfriend's. :) And Mushu is an adorable name for a kitty! :D
O my goodness this is awesome - I am an addict to cats and love mine with all my heart - your husband deserves a big hug and kiss for this. And Bilbo will get use to all the sounds and will be joining in the fun very soon
Awww, thank you! :) I hope you're right: I want Bilbo to have just as much fun as Mufasa is having. :)
Happy belated Birthday! I love this!!! I have a cat, Zoe. She is also indoors now due to very bust streets and also a ton of feral cats lol! It’s cheap too wow!!! Thanks for showing me this! 👍👍
Oh, I hope this can bring lots of fun times for you and Zoe! :) I was very surprised by the price too. It's super high quality!
Awww, that's so cool. And so sweet that you're praising your hubby! ❤️
I would love to do this, but the only thing I worry about is fleas.
Thank you! :) Fleas are definitely a concern. We used to live in a city years back that had a big flea problem. Not sure I could have used this unless back then: even keeping our cats indoors the fleas still managed to get into our home! But if the flea problem where you live is just minor, maybe some flea medicine can keep it in check. Or just take your cat out on very special occasions and give it a bath after... (Mufasa actually loves baths, as weird as that sounds!)
YES! I was hoping you would post this on Steemit! There's no way you could ever have a bad day with one of those - this is the cutest thing ever!
Right?! It's so much fun to watch Mufasa playing in it (and to chase him back and forth in the tunnel.) One day Bilbo will decide it's fun too, haha.
Hahaha oh, Bilbo! He just doesn't know what he's missing! 😜
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