'We spent nearly £5,000 building a fairytale castle in our garden for our cats'

A cat-loving couple has spent nearly £5,000 giving their pets a furry-tail fantasy with their own medieval catio CASTLE.

The gargantuan gothic fantasy fortress measures seven ft tall and around 16 feet across, with a base made from railway sleepers and a structure built from treated timbers.

It took around two weeks to complete and now stands in pride of place outside the home of Kathryn and Peter Brereton in rural Staffordshire.

The kitty keep comes complete with paw-cullis, two towers, a bespoke entrance from the house, and a variety of steps and walkways from which the cats can survey their kingdom.

As these photographs show, Siberian forest cats LunaBella, a silver-white female aged four, and two-year-old red male SoleilTigre love being pussy princess and prince of their new medieval home.

Owner Ms Brereton designed the free-standing grand cat chateau working with business partners Keith Haddon and Ally Della from Creative Custom Enclosures.

Ms Brereton said she came up with a drawing of what she wanted three years ago and was amazed to see her dream reach a happy ending.

She told Express.co.uk: “I’ve seen all sorts of catios, but they can really just look like big pens, the giant ones. I give credit to Keith and Ally, this is like a dream that has manifested because we put so much energy and time into it.”

Ms Brereton, who was born in California, said she had taken inspiration from castles she had seen in Wales and across Britain.

She continued: “I have a love of the history, and all that inspiration, I’d looked around trying to find a castle design that didn’t look like a kid’s playground in the backyard.

“I really wanted to have something authentic, so this is what came out of my brain, and Ally and Keith they walked me through everything step-by-step. They are amazing, absolutely amazing.”

Ally Della and Keith Haddon from Creative Custom Enclosures began their business after Ms Della’s own experience with house cats.

She said: “I had a cat, who was an indoor cat, but you could tell he wanted to go out so we let him use the outdoors and he absolutely loved it, but then one day he just didn’t come back.

“No matter what we did, every channel we went through, checking local vets etc, we never found him.

“My daughter was devastated, and I was devastated and then we got our new little one and I thought I don’t want him to be an outside cat, but I don’t want him trapped inside. So that’s when I started looking at catios.”

Ally, whose background was in finance before this business venture, has learnt her new skills on the job, alongside Mr Haddon who “can build anything out of wood”.

She said: “Making other cat lovers happy and seeing their response when it is all completed is such a great feeling. Kathryn’s catio castle was definitely our most ambitious and most creative so far.

“Everyone is individual, and all out designs are bespoke to match that, we build to the customer requirements.

“Kathryn knew exactly how she wanted it to look, she just needed someone who could actually build it for her.

“We are over the moon with the result, it does look brilliant inside and out. We worked so closely with them every step of the way, that’s how we work building a really close relationship with our clients.”

Ms Della added that prices can vary depending on the size and complexity of the design, with smaller catios starting at around £700.

She explained: “It’s very well protected and it is the first time we’ve done the black bitumen roofing, but I think it added to the Gothic feel of the castle.

“Most importantly the cats love it and that’s the ultimate reason, to give the cats freedom and outdoor space but at the same time keep them safe.”