I have an outdoor declawed cat that wanted to be outside all the time. As I was recently critcized for allowing my cat outside. In my defence, I will share with all you other cat lovers the "cat house" design I built so a declawed cat can be outside safely. I used an A-frame design because it required fewer cuts, but accually it turned out to have other benefits. The base is 4' X 2'6". Now attach two 4' X 8" boards to the sides to make a U shape. When inverted, your cathouse will sit 8" off the ground to protect it from the weather. Next, I made 2 roof pieces, 3'6" X 2' and connected them at a 90` angle. Place this on top of your base and line it up with the back of the base, allowing a 6" "porch". But don't attach the roof yet. Now, measure and cut the pieces to make the back wall and front enterence. The key here is to make the enterence just big enough to allow your cat to fit inside. A small enterence makes your cathouse a fortress! (continued) Next, flip the roof over and attach the back wall, then attach the front entrance but set it 6" from the edge of the roof (2'6" from the back wall). This will create an overhang so when it rains, your cats doorway will remain dry and she/he can peek out her/his house and watch the rain. Lastly, attach the top to the base, line with her/his favorite blanket (wash frequently) and decorate as you see fit. I made mine water tight and even though it sits in a place where it won't get rained on, I added shingles so if water does get on it, it won't get inside. As far as safety is concerned, I've seen a stray try to get in my cats house while she was in it and, even declawed, she was easily able to fight him off. The opening isn't big enough to fight in and the stay couldn't reach in far enough to attack my cat. When it tried to crawl in, it jumped back and ran off. At which point my cat came out and chased it victoriously, lol. The inside area is 2'6" X 2'6" at the base. A veritable mansion for a cat. The A-frame design allows for nice corners for my kitty to curl up in. It stays cool in the summer, dry when it rains and except on days when the temperature drops below freezing, my cat never wants to come back in the house. She loves being outside and is much more active and "frisky" now that she has her freedom. We sit outside all the time and she comes and sits with us. Last note, only feed your cat enough to eat at one meal. It means you have to refill their food bowl more often, but there's never any leftovers to attract strays. I welcome you comments. Direct any questions to Geronimo5555@yahoo.com, thank you. @insane - my cat has the entire outdoors to explore, she's not locked up in her house and we don't have a yard fence. However, she's never wandered far from the house and our neighbors say they've never seen her around their property. She's been an outdoor cat going on 2 years now. I think she's got the hang of it. Personally I think its cruel to keep and animal locked up in your house no matter how big it is. Dog owners walk their dogs and take them to the park, but, save for a few, most cat owners leave their cats confined to a house that takes a cat all of 2 days to entirely explore. Oh and sorry, not a question really, just offering this up for the communities scrutiny. :)