Cat proofing

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

At last we've nearly finished cat proofing our garden. Harry was happy at the weekend as it meant he could stay out with us when we had a BBQ and he was happy pottering round and sleeping under the hibiscus.

I came home at lunchtime today and he was quite happy chasing invisible insects around but, when DH come home, he was meowing pitifully to get out. I'm now feeling terrible. He doesn't roam and rarely leaves the garden (even less so since his accident) so he will get used to it won't he?

Is there anything I can do to make the garden more interesting? He's got a patio, artificial grass, decking and a flower bed with a bush and some plants. He doesn't climb and he's got a lot of toys indoors.

I feel guilty but we've only done it to try to keep him safe.

That's great. Was it difficult? Was it expensive?

I would get him a big pot of real grass. Cats need to eat grass and they miss it if they can't. As for more interesting - you could get him a friend?

Try planting some catnip?
You could go all out and get a water feature!
Outside scratching post?
Plant things to attract butterflies for chasing?

TCN, the brackets and the netting cost around £100 as DH made the brackets himself (he's a handyman by trade). What WA originally some basic cat proofing turned into a project and we now have a beautiful garden and, much to his delight, DH now has a new shed!

Is cat grass the same a normal grass? I've planted some but it's not sprouted yet. I've thought about a friend but I don't think Harry would be happy. When we tried to adopt William Harry just walked away. I also don't know if we can afford it to be honest. Harry's dental problems are ongoing and although we've got insurance we've got quite a high excess and 20% of the fees.

I do want to get a water feature Wolfie so this could be the perfect excuse as Harry loves watching water! I've got lavender and scabeous which are supposed to attract bees and butterflies and there's plenty of fence posts for him to use for scratching!

DH got the pitiful meows again today and he's been wandering about like a little lost soul (Harry, not DH!) but he's never been the most active cat and hasn't really gone out the front much since his accident. I'm wondering if it's a case of him not really wanting to go out but having the arse because he can't.

I think he'll get used to it. We've just cat proofed our garden and the first day we brought him in he howled like he did the first night away from his mum.
He seems to have accepted he can't live in his garden now but still likes to go out when he can.

Places to hide and watch and feel safe, especially if they are 'up' places (not hugely high, just off the ground)? I know of a cat who had a small slightly raised kennel.

He seemed happier today - DH took some of his toys out and he was playing. We're going to have a look at water features as well. I think it's just a case of getting used to the new arrangement - he only ever sat on the path the other side of the fence or under some plants in the front garden!

I meant to say that we've talked about something he can sit on but he's more of a sit under cat! We've got a plastic table for potting and he sits under it rather than on it. DH wants to get rid of the table (I can't say I blame him!) but we've agreed to keep it for a while.