# Hello from AZ!



## Farciot Eduart (Jan 29, 2009)

We're finally retired and still have several cats, all of them strays that we captured or cats that no one else wanted. Almost all were picked up at FAIR or like orgs. Among our brood are three feral cats (captured) that live in our 800 sq ft outdoor enclosure that is attached to our house.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Welcome Farciot! would love to see pictures of your kitties 'Condo"!


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Welcome! Another cat lover in Arizona. Great. We've been posting cateos and cat runs and cat enclosures. Would love to see yours!


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## Farciot Eduart (Jan 29, 2009)

10cats2dogs said:


> Welcome Farciot! would love to see pictures of your kitties 'Condo"!


Thanks for the welcome. I'll post pics later. 

It's a chain link fence enclosure, 800 sq ft, made of small chain link mesh (1.25 in). It is 80 ft long, 10 ft wide, 8 ft tall, with a chain-link fence roof -- completely enclosed with posts and fence 2 ft into the ground. It has a mostly natural dirt floor with concrete paver paths throughout. Four large litter pans that I refill with sand once a week. I have built many things for them to play on and to sleep in and on. Half the enclosure is covered with tarps to give them some shade and protection from the rain. The enclosure is attached to our 20 ft x 8 ft enclosed outdoor porch using a standard size door. There is a cat door into the house from the enclosed porch so kitties can roam from the house to the porch to the enclosure whenever they want -- and so can humans. Our three feral cats mostly stay out in the enclosure but occasionally come inside. There is a heated sleeping "building" if they want to stay outside in colder weather. It doesn't get very cold here.


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## Farciot Eduart (Jan 29, 2009)

Mitts & Tess said:


> Welcome! Another cat lover in Arizona. Great. We've been posting cateos and cat runs and cat enclosures. Would love to see yours!


Thanks. We've been here for 17 years now -- still love it. Always feel like I'm on vacation.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

If your in Tucson, lots of good changes ramping up for ferals and rescue. 

Glad you're on CF to share your experiences. Your set up sounds wonderful!


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

Welcome to the forum! Oh you have some lucky kitties. What a great place for them. Please post pictures!


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## Farciot Eduart (Jan 29, 2009)

Mitts & Tess said:


> If your in Tucson, lots of good changes ramping up for ferals and rescue.
> 
> Glad you're on CF to share your experiences. Your set up sounds wonderful!


Thank you. I promise to post some pics later on.

We've had about 7-8 feral cats over the years. It usually takes a week or so to capture them. They show up because of our cats, my wife starts feeding them, we give them some catnip, I lure them inside with catnip and close the door behind them. I catch them with a fish-net, take them to the vet for neutering (every one of the feral cats so far has been male), shots, and dentals, then bring them home and turn them loose in the enclosure. Sometimes they will get tame enough to be petted and picked up -- sometimes not.


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## Farciot Eduart (Jan 29, 2009)

Jetlaya67 said:


> Welcome to the forum! Oh you have some lucky kitties. What a great place for them. Please post pictures!


Thanks for the welcome. One of my favorite states: New Mexico.


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## Farciot Eduart (Jan 29, 2009)

Here are some pics of our outdoor enclosure:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7328/12887890934_81b3d2ed7e_z.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3784/12887474925_1328f633e7_c.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7292/12887950344_eb2ef0c397_c.jpg


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

That's Great!


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## Farciot Eduart (Jan 29, 2009)

Some more pics:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7365/12887959704_7952614f6e_c.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7303/12887559665_e5eda74895_c.jpg


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Wow, that is an impressive set-up! Did you build that huge condo and the other kitty furniture? Having that large piece of tree in there is a great idea too.


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## Farciot Eduart (Jan 29, 2009)

Thanks for asking.

I had the chain-link-fence enclosure built to a plan I made. It's 80 ft long, 10 ft wide, and 8 ft high. It wasn't too expensive. I closed in the porch and mated the enclosure to the porch. I built (or moved in) everything you see. When the enclosure was complete it had only a bare dirt floor. I still add something occasionally. We had it built because when we moved here 17 years ago we knew our kitties wouldn't be able to go outside -- the Sonoran Desert is a savage place and deadly for stray dogs and cats. But it's turned into a great place for our three remaining feral cats.

I know, my wife and I are nuts.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

That enormous condo you built is amazing. I wish I had any kind of skills that would allow me to make cat furniture - or anything else, for that matter. Cat furniture is so expensive, and I know the materials don't cost that much, but I really have no sense of how things need to be put together. Any cat condo I made would fall apart instantly. 

I see two of the kitties hanging out in one of the pics - is the third hiding somewhere there too?


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## Farciot Eduart (Jan 29, 2009)

Thank you.



spirite said:


> I wish I had any kind of skills that would allow me to make cat furniture - or anything else, for that matter.


Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Your strengths undoubtedly lie in other areas.



> I see two of the kitties hanging out in one of the pics - is the third hiding somewhere there too?


Of those three, only one is a feral. The ferals all get along pretty good with the rest. And there is plenty of room to get away from each other, if they want.


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

That is pretty awesome! So many places for them to play and lounge in.


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## Farciot Eduart (Jan 29, 2009)

Jetlaya67 said:


> That is pretty awesome! So many places for them to play and lounge in.


Thanks. I've tried to make it three dimensional because, as we all know, most kitties like to get as high as the surrounding environment will allow.


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