Escaping Cat Proofed Garden

[DidSomebodySaySiamese]

I’m just about to pay a deposit for cat proofing our garden. I’m nervous as DC is 14 months and is a very athletic Siamese. Has anyone done this and it worked out brilliantly or did their cat escape despite cat proofing?

We are currently walking him on a harness twice a day for an hour and he loves it but is up the trees and fences like a shot.

I think he really wants to be outside.

I am also wondering how big a cat’s territory is? Will a garden be enough?

I have Katzecure, had it around 6 years now. Had one escape which was my fault but they came and repaired/made good my error and fine ever since

Even had neighbourhood toms cats prowling the top of the fence when my kitten came in heat just before she was due to be spayed, they couldn't get in to get her either!!!

@Titofeline thanks so much for replying these are the guys we are going with. Great news!

Is your kitten satisfied with the garden? Ours is very very vocal when he can’t get to something.

I’m going to miss the neighbour cats coming through the garden.

What if one drops over the barrier? What are the chances of a fight? I like to think of them making friends.

We're moving and need to secure our garden to stop the cats getting out. They're 15 but used to strolling our current streets which isnt an option in the new place.

We're looking at fencing by protect a pet, you can get "catios" but they wouldnt suit my boys.

@SpnBaby1967 we had a catio built by a builder. It runs down the side of the house and works well if that’s an option.

We have Katzecure also and it's worked well just make sure you don't put anything around the perimeter that a cat can jump on to allowing cats in and yours out.

Good point thanks. So that is us huddled on furniture surrounded by pots on the middle of the lawn this Summer.

We had an invisible wire fitted. It works on radio waves (not electric!) and the cats wear special collars outside. They hear a some bleeps and learn very quickly to turn away.

I was hesitant at first but it’s supported by the Cats Protection League and has worked a treat.

@DidSomebodySaySiamese

Good point thanks. So that is us huddled on furniture surrounded by pots on the middle of the lawn this Summer.

Yeah unfortunately you need to make sure there's nothing they can use to get over the fence but over my patio I had a trellis 'roof' so I can sit outside and the cats (6 of them!!) can't get out.

Only one of mine was a wanderer but eventually he conceded he couldn't get out and now happily sunbathes.

Katzecure does look very good, but as you say Siamese are very athletic cats so I'll be interested to hear if it works reliably for oriental cats.

We have Burmese cats who are very athletic and I wouldn't be confident the two young athletic boys couldn't defeat it. When you watch them in a tree it's like having pet monkeys, and one of them can almost 'levitate' up to quite a height with little effort.

Please let us know how you get on.

Yes! To levitating. Mine can jump on top of the fridge freezer with zero effort and no indication that he is going to do it.

The garden will be finished by mid June I will pop back and update, hopefully not with a ‘how to find my cat’ post.

@Shellingbynight

Katzecure does look very good, but as you say Siamese are very athletic cats so I'll be interested to hear if it works reliably for oriental cats.

We have Burmese cats who are very athletic and I wouldn't be confident the two young athletic boys couldn't defeat it. When you watch them in a tree it's like having pet monkeys, and one of them can almost 'levitate' up to quite a height with little effort.

Please let us know how you get on.

They're really good if a cat tries to jump the rollers prevent them getting a good grip. Ours have worked brilliantly

Would be interested to hear how you get on. As long as you supervise them initially any escape routes should be quickly identified.

I’m planning to get him out on a harness and let him jump.

Here is the boy in his catio. He can jump from the black pot to the high walkway with no effort.

Being fully tested!

@georgina125 first day of no harness

Can he get out?.

@Fluffycloudland77 you were there at the very beginning when I was fretting about bringing a kitten home so far so good. He is testing everything and can’t be unsupervised for a couple of weeks - which is fine by us as we enjoy cat watching.

Today has been lovely watching him.

He does look like he’s very thorough. I’d hide the screw drivers from him.

I’m checking his pockets for earth in case he tries tunnelling out.

Thanks for the update, so far so good! The hedge on the other side might help too.

@Ibizafun

We had an invisible wire fitted. It works on radio waves (not electric!) and the cats wear special collars outside. They hear a some bleeps and learn very quickly to turn away.

I was hesitant at first but it’s supported by the Cats Protection League and has worked a treat.

This sounds interesting. What is the name of it?

Glad it's working out for you! We've had ours for a little over 3 years and so far so good. The only issue is we can't put trees in the garden near the fence or garden furniture. We're in the process of making a far more cat friendly area with lots of enrichment as it's not yet an established garden.