Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hey guys, so I posted a while back about cat proofing my garden. Unfortunately it looks like I'm just not going to be able to afford to do it as in order to accomodate cat proofing I'll need to re-fit my entire fence first. The situation has taken on a bit of an urgency as Harvey was recently diagnosed with HCM and heart failure so he's no longer allowed outside at all. He's always been an indoor/outdoor cat and I know everyone says they adapt and all but he's only got a short life ahead of him and I'd like him to enjoy what's left of it. I'm at work for 10+ hours a day and he's shut in the house with my other cat Clive .. it seems like a very dull existence.
I'm doing what I can to make their indoor environment exciting, including building shelves on the walls for them to climb, but I'd like for them to have safe access to the outside world.

I started looking at cat enclosures and runs as ideally I'd like to put something along the back of the house and have them access it through a cat flap in the back door. Does anyone have any experience of cat runs/enclosures at all? I live near Edinburgh

http://www.cat-runs.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - the lean to's on this seem pretty good and at £349 the 4m x 1m lean to is certainly within reach.. this is one of the first sites I found though so any and all advice is welcome!

sounds like an excellent plan

I had my cat enclosure built by a local handyman, but the netting came from this firm http://www.grangepetcentre.co.uk/Runs-p-1-c-43.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; who offer a range of adaptable panels

and I can vouch for the fact that 13 years on the wire is as sound as the day it was put up

Thanks Kay! That site looks great... time to do some measurements I think How have your cats taken to an enclosure? I'm not sure what mine will think but it's got to be better than being shut in permanently. I'd quite like to get a solid roof so that they can use it in all weather and presumably I could then join them in there and treat it like an open conservatory.. might as well get some use out of it myself as it's going to take up 1/3 of the garden hehe.

I think an enclosure will be fab for the cats and i agree with putting on a solid roof (or even partly so) so you can have some use of it as well. The cat's themselves won't mind if it's raining or not provided there's a bit of shelter

I'm not sure how feasible it would be to do this one side of the enclosre, but my front garden is fenced with 2" Trellis fencing (ie the gaps are smaller than the usual 5"); and I put boards up along them so the cats have something to jump up along and can see out a bit more: http://s808.photobucket.com/user/meriad ... ter%202014" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; hopefully the link will work so you can get a vague idea.

They love sitting on there and watching the world go by

Thanks meriad! That looks fantastic, your kitties are very lucky I think some of the runs I've seen do come with shelves but if not then I'll definitely take some inspiration from your Trellis shelves and get some up in the run.
I'm definitely sold on the solid roof too, it'll be nice to join them in there on warmer days - it'll be like having a cheap conservatory haha

Have a look at this link as well - not sure how they compare quality and price wise but it's always good to have various comparative options: http://www.catrun.org.uk/7-outdoor-cat-runs-enclosures" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That does look fab, Ria, what a great idea!

I don't use a run for my gang, but we were given an old 9'x6' run that I use as a pen for foster cats (we put a little house in it) and I agree that you should have a roof. A run sounds like a good solution.

Thanks again meriad! I checked out that link but unfortunately they don't serve my postcode - it's still great to see what's around and make comparisons though! I wonder if I can find a local carpenter/joiner who might be interested in the job.. I'll have to call around - the more comparisons the better!

Definitely totally sold on the roof idea hehe Although I looked at my garden last night and the size of run that I'm looking at is going to be quite a monster.. my back door is up a few steps so I'll need a run of about 9ft high and about 3ft wide.. ! Sure the neighbours will love me

the one bit of advice I would give from the experience of my enclosure is to make sure you can replace the components, because the wood will rot in time, and you can't use preservatives because of the cats

my wire has never needed replacing, but most of the wooden bits have been replaced at one time or another - wood is cheap though and I have had no trouble finding people to do the job

if you are thinking of having a mesh roof, you will need to leave a slight gap at the bottom for water to run off

I had an enclosure built for my cats 2 years ago, they love it, even the one who was a wanderer, and I can finally sleep at night. I had part of it roofed with Perspex so we can all sit outside in the rain

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv30 ... /008-3.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv30 ... /007-3.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv30 ... /002-3.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv30 ... /001-5.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow! That's impressive

Wow indeed - that's fabulous, Chez!

Wow Chez! That's absolutely amazing! Your cats are very lucky!! If I could get anything even close to that I'd be incredibly happy; what a stunning enclosure!