If your bird feeder shares your yard with outdoor cats, you know that cats can be a risk to all types of birds. Estimates are that cats kill about 2.4 billion birds in the US alone every year. And time spent outdoors is a great danger to cats as well, from everything from cars to coyotes.
The solution for bird and cat lovers? The catio. This patio for cats protects birds as well as cats. From small window boxes to elaborate screened porches with perches, tunnels and more, catios provide cats a window on the world with all the sights and sounds of the outdoors without the hazards to cats or to birds.
March 15, 2023 marks the first annual National Catio Day, an awareness day to celebrate catios as a way to protect both birds and cats.
National Catio Day celebrates the catios that protect birds and cats. On this annual pet holiday, cat lovers are encouraged to think of ways to help their cats enjoy the outside world from the safety of their homes, whether that’s from a window perch, an open window protected with a secured window screen, a screened porch or a catio.
We’re so excited here at BirdTipper to launch this new holiday alongside our sister site, CatTipper.
We love our cats; we have three–but they are strictly indoors-only cats both for the birds’ safety and for the safety of our cats. Living in the country, coyotes are a common sight and we want to keep our cats safe.
A few years ago we constructed a catio on our house. We live in a bird sanctuary, land protected for the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler, so we are always looking for ways to minimize our impact on the land and the wildlife. At the same time, we want to provide enrichment for our cats and let them interact with the outdoors safely.
To accomplish both goals, John built a catio on our home, one that overlooks a bird feeding station and bird baths. Our cats love to sit out in their catio and observe the birds.
Not only does the catio safeguard the birds but it also protects our cats from the many coyotes that prey on small animals in our area.
The annual awareness day takes place in mid-March to coincide with bird nesting season and kitten season.
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