Man Goes Viral After Building A "Cat Prison" So His Cats Can Safely Explore The Outdoors (Videos)
A cat owner on Reddit has gone viral after building a custom outdoor enclosure that lets his pets enjoy fresh air without roaming free. The setup, nicknamed "AlCatRaz," has people talking because it looks part backyard project, part feline fortress.
He shared a detailed look at how he built the space, from the frame and netting to the hooks, ropes, and zip ties that keep everything in place. For cat lovers, it is the kind of DIY idea that feels equal parts clever and slightly unhinged, especially if your own pets act like they were born to patrol the neighborhood.
Now the internet is watching closely to see just how secure this cat prison really is.
Not only did this pawrent construct this creative piece for his cat, but he also provided a well-detailed explanation of how he achieved this feat.
"My little space has a wall on the boundary"

The aluminum profiles above are 2m in length to "raise the area above the fence height so that I can comfortably stand there." They are attached to the fence with strong zip ties.
The aluminum profiles are 2m in length

The picture above shows the top, where he drilled 6mm holes and fixed a hook in. He also mentioned that the back side has a nut holding it.
A hook is fixed right here

Above, he placed this guide rope inside the hooks as "this is woven through the net at the appropriate height. It goes around completely once."
Inside the hooks, this guide rope is installed

At the other end, there is a small space where there is no fence or wall. I fixed another shorter profile here, on the right side with a zip tie and on the left with a screw through the board.
There is a small space on the other side where there is no fence or wall

Here's a good view

"That is the screw. It's fixed to the board with multiple nuts."

"The board itself is fixed with these small metal strips. The screw is secured to the board with nuts and to the metal strips as well."

Here's a good view of it

The side boards are a no-drill zone, and he used these "clamps (designed for putting lamps somewhere)." They are aluminum casts. The net is wiggled around this, and the guide rope mentioned before is affixed to the top ones as well.
The side boards are a no-drill zone again

Here, the guide rope is coming in from the left, and "this part might be improved in the future if the cats start trying to test this."
Detailed view of the space near the wall.

From the guide rope, the net goes upward to the upper balcony. Here it was a little tricky, as some fixing of the net to the pole thingies was necessary in combination with another woven-in guide rope.
The net goes upward to the upper balcony

A good view of the tip guide rope

Finally, the image below shows the bottom, which is fixed with small zip ties so that the cats won’t be able to wiggle in there. "The fence is actually tight enough so they don't fit through, so theoretically, I could have used less net here."
"The fence is actually tight enough so they don't fit through"

Here is another short documentary of this cat prison
Clearly, this pawrent has put in so much effort to make this "cat prison" a success, and we love to see creations like this. Were you impressed with this creation?
Drop your thoughts and comments about it in the comments section below. And don’t forget to share it with your cat-loving family and friends.
After this cat-prison build, see how a pet sitter let a cat outside without a leash, upsetting the owner.