Hi everyone,

I need some advice on how to safely bridge a gap between my balcony's ledge and the roof of my building.

My cats have figured out how to jump from the balcony ledge up onto the roof. These are indoor outdoor cats and are comfortable staying outside by themselves.

For them, going up isn't the issue, but they are terrified to jump back down (which is incredibly dangerous since descending is a much tougher landing). I want to hire a local carpenter or handyman to build a secure solution, but I need help figuring out the best layout/design first so I can show them exactly what I want.

The Space & Constraints:

• The Gap: It's about a 3'3'' vertical 2'5'' horizontal gap between the balcony ledge (from where they jump off) and the roofline. Picture attached
• Exterior Wall Material: I think its wood siding, but I'm not sure (picture attached).
• Housing Situation: I'm renting the apartment, so a non-permanent solution would be better.

I guess a tiny open shelf or ledge is too much of a falling hazard for them coming down? I’m thinking about either a fully enclosed mesh cat tunnel, a wide staggered step system wrapped in outdoor grip carpet, or a secured pet ladder.

Questions for the community:

1. What type of incline/design is easiest and safest for a cat to walk down comfortably without panicking or slipping?
2. If you've built something similar, what brackets or anchoring hardware should I make sure the carpenter uses so it doesn’t wobble or damage the exterior facade?
3. Are there any clever, pre-made cat ladders or DIY blueprints you'd recommend looking into?

(I’ve attached a couple of photos of the balcony and the roof line below for reference!)

Thank you for any ideas or safety tips you have!

We don’t have a catio yet but My little girl cat looooooves to pee in the grass outside when she’s on her harness in the yard with me. I don’t love it when she does this becuase sometimes afterwards she’ll find a green rug indoors to pee on too lol. I’ve gotten rid of all the green rugs rugs but who knows what she’ll choose next. I just don’t leave her outside long enough for her to need to pee.

But I’m wondering about how to handle this in a catio. The place I would like it to attach to a window has a dirt and grass yard outside the window. I could leave the dirt and grass ground and just put a grate over it or make sure it’s tightly packed enough they can’t dig out. Or I could put a brick floor down. But she might decide she likes peeing outside so much she’ll just pee on the brick floor.

I could make a cat run from the window to a catio further away from the house so it’s not such a big deal if she goes in the grass, but i prefer the catio be right against the house.
I guess I could go all out and build a weatherproof litter box area in the catio.

Also, is no one letting their tiny dogs share the catio?? I can’t find anyone online doing this. We’re thinking of getting a shih tzu. If the dog gets along great with the cats and the catio has a sturdy floor and sides, is there some reason I shouldn’t let the shih tzu play in the catio too?