How can I keep my cat inside when the doors are open?

[Needabitmore]

Hi all, hope you can help me find a solution to this.
We are thinking about getting a ragdoll kitten soon. We've had cats before but they were outdoor cats so don't have any experience with indoor cats. I have been thinking/ researching about what differences there are and what we need to do before we can get our kitten.

One thing I can't find a solution is to how to keep the cat indoors when we open the back doors. We spend most of our time at home in the kitchen/ dinner which has 6m wide sliding doors opening to the back garden. I thought about netting but it's such a big area and my husband is not keen. I thought maybe chicken wiring over the fence. Anyone tried that?

DH would like another outdoor cat but he travels a lot and I can't deal with their thoughtful presents anymore, our last one brought one in almost weekly. I love ragdolls but I cannot get one if I can't keep it safe. Any suggestion?

Do you own your own home? If you do, you can look into cat proofing the garden instead so the cat can at least go into the garden. It isn’t cheap but it’s a cost that would work out.

Othwrwise, the only thing I could think of, would be getting a screen door so the back door can be open but cat can’t go through

Not all cats bring in presents. Mine brought in maybe 3 a year.

I had an indoor cat when I was in a flat and it's a pain as when it's hot you cannot fling open windows.

Now we have patio doors wide open most of the time so it's not an option when we get a new one.

Can you build a catio by the patio door so cat can sit outside safely with fresh air and toys. You can ask the window installer if you can put a catflap in one door and have a catio one side.

You can't really so catproofing the garden is your best option (and in my opinion the best for all concerned as cat gets to enjoy being out but is safe, doesn't bother neighbours and local birds are safe too).

We used Sanctuary SOS for ours, very reasonable price considering the benefits.

@Soubriquet yes, we own our home so can catproof the garden

@Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky I know they don't all do it but I really don't want to take a chance. DH feels the same way as you do though

Cat proof the garden with rollers

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@TraitorsGate thank you for the suggestion but we normally open more than one door, if the weather is nice all doors would be open so it's 6m wide hence I don't think catio would work in our case.

Not sure what went wrong the link there! But you get the idea 😁

A catio was the best option for us. You can do other methods of cat proofing the garden if you want. We didn’t as we don’t own all our fences, plus there is a side access gate which could potentially be left open by third parties thus negating any form of cat proofing other than a catio.
There are several Facebook pages on catios, they come as professionally done or can be diy and both look equally as brilliant. Lots of ideas. If in the uk, there are several makers of catios which can be self installed or professionally installed. The things about catios is they are as unique and bespoke as you need them to be.

Thank you for the suggestions @viccat and @MandyMotherOfBrian I'll check them out

@Needabitmore Ha only 6m catio? Our current one is 9m and we are looking to install a minimum of 18m x 9m at our next property.

We have Flatcats over the windows we open. Work brilliantly, easy to install and can go over doors.

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 I like the idea of the catio but the area we would need it to cover is too big I think. I'll have another look just in case.

@AnnaMagnani they look great, thanks. I might get them for bedroom windows. (I just realised I didn't even think about the windows before)

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 I didn't realise they could be that big but I have to admit I only did a quick goggle search, didn't look at specialists.

We have indoor cats (health conditions) and we just don’t have doors open! We have flatcats on the windows so we can fling them wide open with no escapees but we don’t use our back patio doors- we’re either our or in.

One of my boys would be fine- we could fling the doors open and he would take a sniff and head back to bed, the other would be off a week long adventure and probably come back with presents!

We have a ragdoll and he doesn’t want to go out!! He sits at an open door or window looking out and doesn’t set a foot outside!! Obviously yours might not be like this, but he is far too scared of the big wide world. Ragdolls are fantastic cats!

@Needabitmore I didn’t either when we first went looking! There are some amazing creations out there, they really can be built to any specifications. Ours is incredibly sturdy and we have a a plastic clear roof so we can use ours as an outdoor space even in the rain - and I admit that I dry laundry in there too much to the cats disgust. They also come in so many different colours if in wood, metal ones have fewer colour options. I just open the rear doors and windows and my cats pop in and out all day. (There is someone home all day everyday, so I don’t have a cat flap).

@Runninghappy I'm so looking forward to have one to join our family. Friend of mine has one very similar to yours but there is no way of knowing what our one would be like so I want to be prepared.

@user1471548941 be honest I think I could live like that but my DH won't be happy with not being able to open the doors when he wants to.

Flat cat screens!!! They are brilliant. I had to get some as an emergency when I discovered my new Persian could climb! I have a voucher code for 20% off. I can share with you.

My Persians are allowed into my enclosed garden.

My parents have an omlette catio they are looking to get rid of, if you are near the Lake District.

I have a Ragdoll, it goes out. Had about 5 mice in 10 years. Getting a new cat flap this week to prevent the night waking. They are very vocal.

The Brother to mine is very high maintenance, the owner has a large closed garden, so they got cat protection, to keep the cat inside the garden, works great, cat uses garden, climbs the tree but can’t escape garden. Perfect solution