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