Meowvelous! Seattle’s Catio Spaces Nabs PETA Award for Keeping Cats Safe and Healthy in the New Year

For Immediate Release:
January 2, 2025

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

In time for New Year’s resolutions—and because cats wish their human guardians would resolve to give them more exercise, fresh air, and enjoyment of nature while keeping them safe—PETA is honoring Seattle-based Catio Spaces with a Friend to Felines Award for designing and building custom catios (patios for cats). PETA notes that catios provide a stimulating space for cats to connect with the outdoors without endangering themselves, birds, or other wildlife.

Founded by Cynthia Chomos—a Feng Shui consultant and designer and member of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties—Catio Spaces’ unique catios range from cozy window boxes to sprawling outdoor sanctuaries. The company also offers a variety of DIY catio plans for cat guardians who want to build one themselves.

“Keeping cats active and safe is a New Year’s resolution everyone can embrace, and catios are the purrfect solution to give cats exercise and time in nature without the risks that come with roaming freely outside,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA thanks Catio Spaces for its ingenuity and compassion and encourages all guardians to give cats a happy indoor life in 2025, safe from predators, speeding cars, and other dangers.”

In addition to maiming and killing an estimated 1.3 billion to 4 billion birds every year in the U.S., cats who are allowed to roam outdoors are at risk of ingesting poison, contracting fatal diseases, facing abuse by cruel people, being hit by cars, or falling victim to many other potential dangers. That’s why PETA urges everyone to always keep cats indoors and stimulated with toys, climbing structures and scratching posts, cat TV, and other enrichment. PETA also offers a “cat guardian’s bible”—a perfect guide for becoming a better cat guardian in the New Year—written by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk and available for purchase here.

PETA is sending Catio Spaces a framed certificate and a box of delicious vegan chocolates.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.