Somerzby Heidi

Not fit for purpose – The chicken coop DNA is well embedded in this so called 'cat house'. It is not strong enough to accommodate a cat, let alone 1 to 4 cats as stated in their ad. This is just one part of the misleading advertising. The second is that it is shown to stand out doors and this is where we'd expect our cats to be: in an enclosure outdoors, and protected… Read more

from weather. The implication is that it is a structure built to withstand the weather. It is not.

Without further work, this structure is not fit fur purpose, unless you plan to erect it under cover and standing on a platform to ensure it is not exposed to any water.

I will detail the deficiencies of this structure. Included are photos to demonstrate.

1. No part of the structure is suitable for the outdoors. a. Most of the joints between the panelling of the house have large gaps - rain will penetrate without trouble. Refer to attached photos. Your cats will get wet and even if you use it as a chicken coop, your hens will get wet after the first shower. No need for the cute windows, because the whole house structure is full of gaps and not wind proof, so air flow is assured at all times. Since I plan to have this house and enclosure stand outside, I used four tubes of Sika flexible gap filler to limit water ingress. I filled all the joints between the panelling and the windows. The rear opening door has 5 mm or wider gaps which is totally ridiculous. It will allow easy entry of water. I will have to modify this with a rubber seal to stop water and air from coming in.

b. The wood is bare and will need to be painted with exterior paint to protect it and ensure that it lasts longer than a few months exposed to the weather. Priming and two coats of suitable exterior paint must be applied to all exposed wood.

c. The whole structure will need to be secured and sit on top of a raised platform to keep the wood off the ground or rot will set in very quickly.

2. The interior three levels are extremely flimsy. The wood planks are about 10 mm thick and bend under very light loads. This is where the chicken coop DNA is evident. The shelves are strong enough to support many hens, maybe one cat but two cats on the same level will surely result breaking of the shelf. I had to reinforce each shelf with extra supports under the planks and vertical supports to each shelf to stop them from flexing down. See photos.

In conclusion, this is not a finished product. Fine if you plan to use it as a chicken coop under cover and out of the wind and rain. But totally unsuitable for the outdoors for any purpose, hens or cats, without extra work to make it wind and water proof and withstand the rigours of an out doors structure. You will need to seal the gaps, apply two to three coats of exterior paint, reinforce the shelves and secure it to a platform to keep it off the ground. It's a product that needs to be made fit for purpose whatever pet you plan to keep within it. If you are not handy with tools, painting, woodworking, then this is not for you. Beware because these facts are not disclosed in the advertisement. It should be stated that this is a raw product that will need to have all gaps sealed, all wood painted and shelves reinforced.

SKYE is in heaven – The construction was easy enough some cracks and chips but liquid nails sorted those, we changed the design to suit the space and am planning on adding a section as Teddy is being finnicky - but hey 3 out 4 is good :)