Cat safety - fencing

[Jen44]

Hello, our cat was shot in Oxfordshire in January. He fortunately survived, leaving a hefty vet bill after emergency surgery. We never found out who did it but know the culprit wasn't far away as our cat was only out 5-10mins so wouldn't have ventured far...

He has been a house cat since he fully recovered in April. But we can tell he isn't happy about the new situation. We would like to secure the Garden so can still go out but stay safe. We've seen a few options online but they are very expensive if fitted professionally. Does anyone have any ideas of how to do this so we can start having a happy cat again? Thank you very much x

[Lilith]

Hi and welcome and very sorry to hear about your cat.

I did my own cat-proofing - along the fence I fixed metre-wide weldmesh (though wire-netting would have been ok, weldmesh is less visible and more streamlined) at a depth of 30m, so that the rest stood proud - and then just bent it over to make a lip - cat goes up fence, butts its head against mesh, oh shucks, Grounded.

With hindsight I think I'd have fixed brackets, say 15m at intervals, so that bending the mesh could have been more neat, but that's the gist. A wall would need battening fixed to it. Joins in the wire can be connected with small cable ties.

I'm lucky to have no gates - these might take a bit more thinking out. And any fixtures such as creepers or trees may be used by a crafty cat - one of mine was a Houdini at first and I had to sacrifice a honeysuckle.

All the very best - you certainly won't want to let him out of your sight after what happened.

[bobbys girl]

Good grief, there are some horrible people out there! I am pleased to hear though, that despite his ordeal, your cat has recovered.

I think Lilith has a good idea, if you have the sort of garden that can be fenced. Another idea might be to build a run attached to the house with access via a window. A friend had a sort of lean-to for her cats, that over the years, became a sunroom for the whole family.

[Janey]

Hi, so sorry for what happened to your cat, how cruel. Regarding enclosing your garden, I think that’s a good idea, as he must be upset at having to be confined now. There’s a few threads on here, and people who have successfully catproofed their gardens. Here is one thread I’ve found that may be helpful:

http://www.catchat.org/felineforum/view ... d4f#p41333

Best of luck, and fusses to your cat.

[MarySkater]

I have part of my garden secured for my cats - pics in the thread Janey linked to. It cost a bit, because I had the extra fence posts installed professionally, and they are very strong. I might have done it myself with lighter-weight materials and saved money. My overhead netting was secured on one side to the top of the existing fence, and I found out by experience that you can't have any slack there. If you can push a fist between the netting and the wood, a cat can head-butt its way out. But after a couple of escapes in the early days, I've got it sorted now. Mine can't get out, and neighbourhood cats can't get in. My cats enjoy their outside space, and I get huge peace of mind from knowing that they are safe.

[Kay]

I had my back garden enclosed 17 years ago, and used aviary wire, which is still as good as the day it was put up - I didn't have any kind of fencing or wall so had to pay a fair bit for a wire and wood structure to be installed - but it does let in all the light and sun and gives me a nice sitting out area - the wood rots of course, but it doesn't cost much to replace bit by bit as necessary