Invisible fence for cats?

[Tangotoes]

Has anyone used one of these successfully for a cat? Our cat recently disappeared and it was so stressful for everyone . I've been pondering a freedom fence. Any experience?

Why would you want to buy something that would give your cat an electric shock?

Because I'm a sadistic mother fucker. Or maybe because I don't want my cat to die in the road and still have some freedom?

As you can see they're controversial, and rightly so, though I think reasoned discussion is more helpful.

I think it's important to be clear that electric containment fence/collar combinations do not have the same welfare issues as electric collars that are Human-controlled because to a large extent the pet can choose to avoid the shock by limiting its wandering behaviour. However they do of course still work through positive punishment and that is aversive. Research shows that for punishment to be effective as a learning tool, it needs to trigger a strong aversive/emotional reaction. Animals can and do 'acclimatise' when trainers try and use punishment methods incrementally or inappropriately. Think of the choke collars-prong collars-electric collars escalation on dogs that pull on the lead. So to be blunt you have to ensure the shock in the learning phase is strong enough to discourage any repeat crossing attempts. That's is not pleasant and can create welfare problems - it's a case of balancing these potential issues against any long term benefit.

Having said that animals can 'break through' especially if excited - chasing a bird/squirrel/another cat. And especially when they already know that the outside world is big and fun. Other cats can also get in, and if conflict occurs your own cat may have limited escape options.
You're also relying on the cat keeping quite a bulky collar on

So really it's about weighing up the pros and cons against alternatives.
Is your area particularly dangerous in terms of roads etc? Is your cat really at significant risk outside?
Do you have enough space to fence off to really make it worthwhile for the cat?

What about a tracking collar instead?

But you can protect your cat without shocking it so I'm not sure why you'd immediately jump to that option.

You can buy cat-proof fencing that contains the cat in the garden without potentially hurting it or scaring it.

Personally, I think anything that's deliberately designed to shock an animal should be banned. It's cruel and totally unnecessary.

@violetbunny

What about a tracking collar instead?

Yep if you're worried about knowing where he is, this would be a more practical solution

Personally, I think anything that's deliberately designed to shock an animal should be banned. It's cruel and totally unnecessary.

Without an electric fence or barbed wire, larger livestock will push an ordinary fence over. The consequences of them escaping can be very serious.

We have a tracking collar on him but it continually gets lost as the quick release snaps off when he goes through brambles. It really hasn't worked as a solution. We cannot cat proof the garden as it's over an acre and we are renting. I could take an invisible fence system with me and only requires burying a wire. I thought the big A road was far enough from our house that the cats wouldn't wander toward it and I was wrong. We lost one cat in the road and were devastated. I'm now trying to protect the other cat. We tried keeping her indoors but she is properly miserable and spends her time trying to get out and meowing continuously. I really don't mind the cat getting a few shocks that are likened to static off a carpet if it works. But I'm dubious that you can train a cat hence me asking if anyone had any success. I'm certainly open to other ideas.

@Changi

Personally, I think anything that's deliberately designed to shock an animal should be banned. It's cruel and totally unnecessary.

Without an electric fence or barbed wire, larger livestock will push an ordinary fence over. The consequences of them escaping can be very serious.

Ditto zoo animals - many are contained by electric fencing

@Tangotoes

We have a tracking collar on him but it continually gets lost as the quick release snaps off when he goes through brambles. It really hasn't worked as a solution. We cannot cat proof the garden as it's over an acre and we are renting. I could take an invisible fence system with me and only requires burying a wire. I thought the big A road was far enough from our house that the cats wouldn't wander toward it and I was wrong. We lost one cat in the road and were devastated. I'm now trying to protect the other cat. We tried keeping her indoors but she is properly miserable and spends her time trying to get out and meowing continuously. I really don't mind the cat getting a few shocks that are likened to static off a carpet if it works. But I'm dubious that you can train a cat hence me asking if anyone had any success. I'm certainly open to other ideas.

You can train any animal. Learning theory is universally applicable, but it's about using the right reward or punisher to get a response.

I doubt very much that a static level electric shock would be enough to contain a cat longterm.

As I said, for positive punishment to work it needs to be aversive enough to create a memorable negative emotional (fear) response that inhibits further attempts.

Also if your cat does break out of it (chasing something etc) then the fence could prevent the cat coming back.
I wouldn’t. Cat proof a small part?

How big is your garden and how busy is the road? One of my cats would do his nut stuck in the garden

Sorry cross posted

They can go in any other direction and it's open fields and woods for miles. From the tracking data our other cat died on his first attempt to cross. Now this cat is going right down to the road but has yet to cross.

Our garden is maybe .5 acre of wooded area, a little pond and another acre of lawn/borders etc. There are big enough trees to climb and explore. She wouldn't be stuck in a poky little garden without much to do.

Catio?.

I’m really uncomfortable with shocking a cat and I lost mine on the road & it’s devastated me so I’ll cat proof the garden before another one arrives.

@Changi

Personally, I think anything that's deliberately designed to shock an animal should be banned. It's cruel and totally unnecessary.

Without an electric fence or barbed wire, larger livestock will push an ordinary fence over. The consequences of them escaping can be very serious.

As a clarification, I meant domestic pets - not livestock! Very different scenario, I agree.

But there's no need whatsoever to use a shock collar on a cat or dog.

@sunflowersandbuttercups Why solution would you suggest then? We can't cat proof over an acre in a house we rent.

[quote Tangotoes]@sunflowersandbuttercups Why solution would you suggest then? We can't cat proof over an acre in a house we rent. [/quote]
I would either section off an area for the cat, and cat-proof it, or install a catio for him. Otherwise, if you choose to let your cat free roam, there's always going to be a risk of them escaping, getting hurt or getting run over.

As @Veterinari said, for a shock collar/fence to work, the shock needs to be strong enough to scare the cat and hurt it. To me that's just not an acceptable way to treat a pet. And besides, there's no guarantee it'll work. If your cat has a strong prey drive, it could well ignore the shock and run off after a squirrel/mouse/rabbit/bird anyway. Then what do you do - just keep increasing the level of shock until it does work?

There's a good reason that aversive tools like this are becoming less acceptable. Many places have banned them and I hope we soon see shock fences for domestic animals in the same way.

I just really, really don't understand why someone would get a pet and use a shock collar on it.

It is really hard to understand @sunflowersandbuttercups .