Just typed out a long post and promptly lost it so will try to keep this one shorter!
I have two cats who have started going outside in the last month. We have a fairly large back garden which backs on to extensive woodland. There is a 30mph road outside the front of our house. It's generally quiet except at 9am and 5pm ish (there is an office block close to where we live). We have a front garden so the house is set back from the road.
I thought a lot about the risks posed by the road before getting the cats. Ultimately I concluded that the road, whilst a risk, was an acceptable one as it is generally quiet and the cats have plenty of garden and woodland to explore so would hopefully not find the road very interesting anyway. Additionally, it's not easy for them to get out onto the road (no access from our back garden and they have to go through a number of neighbours' gardens to get down to it).
However, a neighbour has just called round to tell me that she saw one of the cats at the front of the houses and that she wanted to let me know "to prevent a tragedy". She explained that she had a cat (not here but when she was living somewhere else) and it was run over. It was well meant and she was being kind in letting me know but I am now seriously questioning my initial risk assessment. I didn't think the cats would never find their way to the front of the houses but had concluded that there is always some risk with roads wherever you live and this was a fairly low-risk environment. However, I'm now worried I have been too blasé about my cats' safety.
I don't think it would be fair to keep the cats in all the time. I already keep them in between dusk and dawn. The only solution I can think of is cat-proofing our garden to stop them getting out. I am not sure how effective this would be though - it's a mature garden on several levels with a number of trees. Some is fenced but the border with the woodland and one neighbour's garden is a hedge. Does anyone know if a garden of this nature can be successfully cat proofed and am I being OTT to consider it?
Thanks in advance.
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8 replies
Lanhydrock · 27/04/2016 12:12
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