Catfence/Freedom Fence

[JamieFraserskneewarmer]

Just had the hideous experience of having our young cat killed on the road. We don't live on a busy road but there is one five gardens away which, very sadly, she made her way to. We can't bear to be without a cat in the house for long but neither do we want to go through the heartbreak again. We have a good sized garden and having housecats is not an option since we like open doors as much of the year as possible, as well as tennagers coming and going all the time which would give ample opportunity for a cat on his wits to make good his escape. Fencing the garden to Fort Knox standards is also impractical and would cause havoc with the local wildlife what uses it as a through route in any event so that is not an option either.

Has anyone got any experience, good or bad, with these hidden containment systems? They seem to get good reviews and a recent research paper by Lincoln University seems to confirm that they are safe to use but I would love to hear from anyone who actually has one.

Get a Persian, they can't climb even low fences!

It gives an electric static shock. Hell no.

Thanks for the responses.

Toddlerteaplease we have been a rescue cat household to date - a friend has a Persian and it seems to have half the back garden attached to it everytime it comes in from outside!

Wolfie this is my reluctance but I am coming round to thinking it is a far better option than being killed on the road. Have you used one of the systems? If so, how severe did the static shock seem to be?

The shock wont be that powerful. I have my horses contained behind 6000 volts, obviously far more than what would be required for a cat. We also have yard cats, they have been shocked before and now tend to stay clear of the fence and they are still alive and well. Some people say its cruel, I say sometimes its required to keep your animals safe.

Our girl is indoor. Plenty of toys; plenty of play with us, plenty of cat trees, hidey places etc. Busy road and , sadly, people who catch and torture cats (confirmed by vet not local rumour mill). She has a lovely fulfilling life.

No I haven't used one of those systems and I wouldn't.
Could you have an outside run or fence part of the garden off? I sympathise. We have lost a boy on the road. It's horrid.

I would never use one. I agree with Wolfie, can't you fence off part of the garden?

If you cat proofed your garden fence the local wildlife would just have to take an alternative route ,that's the best option , just expensive .

Btw sorry about your cat x

We're doing that at the moment Floral. Admittedly we have a tiny garden but I hadn't even thought of the local wildlife. I'm sure they can sort themselves out, the cat is more important!

Thanks all - lots to think about. Interesting that no one seems to have actually used a system themselves in the garden setting.

I actually like to encourage the local wildlife (we are semi-rural) and would miss my badgers

secretariat you are absolutely right - I had horses for years and never through twice about using electric fencing to manage their grazing - it was just a sensible option!

We have this system www.secur-a-cat.com/ basically the top of the fence is angled inwards so the cats can't climb it.

We had the same situation as you, our beloved cat was killed on the road so we got this. We adopted our next cat last summer and have used the system ever since. It's fabulous, cat thoroughly tested it, couldn't get out, is now happy with the status quo and doesn't even climb up any more. I'd highly recommend it.

Op, my Persians are rescues as well. I've only had to de garden them once.

Hi JamieFraserskneewarmer i've got two 12 week old kittens and my front drive leads straight on to a main road. My back garden is a good size and especially in the summer I like to have the back French doors open. I want to be able to sit in the garden with the cats when they are old enough versus shutting them in. I wanted to know if you bought one of the cat containment systems and if so do you Recommend or have any tips?

Hi everyone appreciate this is an old thread but if anyone has any tips on these systems please let me know. I understand that not everyone may agree but it's taken me a long time to make the decision and I'm now comfortable and most happy with this option.

Have you considered cat proofing the garden? We've just done ours and although it means we've got netting on top of the fences, I'd rather that than one of those horrible systems. If you can't do that could you fence off an area for your cat?

TBH I'd rather keep my cat indoors than use one of the containment systems.