Keeping our kitten in our garden

SunnySusie, I did look at the spikes on Amazon but some reviewers said their cat just sat on them! I think initially we may try some near the end of the fence that leads to the garage roof.

I caught him yesterday contemplating going on the roof and that could lead to the front of the house and the road. I called to him and he must have been a bit nervous about it because he fell into the neighbours garden.

Luckily the people either side of us have had cats in the past so wouldn't mind visits from him but the man at the back of us has a huge garden where he keeps chickens.

Hello Liz, we have an eight month old kitten and live on a busy road, although the house is set well back. Our rear garden is very well fenced with 7ft high wooden fences and when the kitten started walking along the shelf at the top of the fence panels we put spikes (bought on Amazon) just at the bit nearest the house and road. Its worked so far. She turns round at that point and goes the other way. She cant yet work the cat flap and so I prop it open in the day and dont let her out at night. She goes 'to bed' at 10pm and is let out at 7am. I am hoping by the time she learns the cat flap she will be relatively sensible. I had two cats run over several decades back, but my last two both lived for over 15 years with free acccess day and night.

It's why there is no legislation re. cats ! Law unto themselves.
Love 'em or hate 'em you have to admire their total disdain towards homo sapiens.
Your young cat will learn that people are not always a threat , just give him a little time - they learn very quickly in my experience !

Our cat Harvey came to us age 18 years old. He belonged to the lady next door who believed he visited various homes in the neighbourhood, because he was gone all day. When I told her he spent all day in our house, she was most surprised. He had chosen us except for food, which he went home for morning and evening. We adopted Harvey when our neighbour died. We lost him recently age 21 years. We miss him still. Yes cats will go where they want to. They have complete free will.

I am not a cat owner but we had cats as a child. I like cats but don't want them in my garden and neither does my dog. All the solutions which work do cost money and there are plenty of options and links on youtube. Its all very well for cat owners to say that they let their cats wander and its a calculated risk but its often not the cat's owner who has to deal with the dead or injured cat. A few years ago I had a horrible time when I found a newly dead cat in my front garden which is less than 50 yards from a main busy A road. It was on a friday night at the beginning of a bank holiday and the cat had no collar. I had to store the corpse until my dustbin day and then the owners papered the area and I had the joyful job of phoning them and telling them what had happened. Their garden backs onto my garden and as the human travels, its about 15 minutes by car to the main road so they thought it would be too far for the cat to travel....cats, however have their own routes which are much shorter

The saying that you don't own a cat they just choose to live with you seems a truism to me. Our current cat is 5 years old and wanders at will, I can't imagine keeping her in. We do live on a main road but she only goes round back gardens and seems quite scared of the noise of traffic, thankfully. My DS has 2 cats and one of them clearly graces another home with her presence too, my DIL was furious when she came home clearly having had a flea treatment - which they had done about 3 weeks before. She's tried social media, putting a note round her collar, talking to neighbours but no one is owning up - the cat is getting very fat!

mbody. I’m with you. Fed up with other people’s cats using my garden as a toilet.

surely it's not legal to use a ball bearing gun or poison where it could harm wildlife, not to mention pets. Your neighbour sounds a derranged t**t.

My neighbour is building a cat run at the side of his house, it will be accessed through a conservatory and have climbing and hiding places. I know quite a few people who have done similar to keep their pets safe from roads etc, whilst letting them enjoy fresh air and exercise.

I would suggest, if at all possible, that you get a "catio" built. We have 4 cats and two years ago we had a lean-to built against our house so the cats can come and go through the kitchen window. They love to sit out there in the sun and watch the world but we know they are safe.

I have two 'home and garden' cats. We have wire mesh on the top of the fences that is angled inwards at about 60 degrees. The angled brackets came from Wickes and the mesh from The Range. Look on Pinterest for pictures. My neighbour has a ball bearing gun and bowls of rat poison around his garden to ward off straying animals so I have to keep the cats in. I also walk them on a lead. They havent escaped in nearly six years and have the garden to play in. Cats are an emotive subject! Good luck with yours.

www.purrfectfence.com/#:~:text=Purr...fect%20Cat%20Fence,your%20cats%20won't%20escape.&text=Give%20your%20cats%20the%20freedom,Houdini%22%20cats%20from%20getting%20out.

We used the purrfect fence - if you have an existing fence you can purchase just the top bit. It is expensive, but we feel it was well worth it.

I think Granof5 is on the right track with suggesting Protectapet. Having said that the breeder we get our cats from managed to have an escapee once.

Through my life I have had 15 cats and each one was (and is) different. I have had a few that never left the garden and a few that would disappear for days on end who either turned up days later or never returned at all. Once you open the door you have to be prepared for them to do their own thing. The last 6 cats I have had in my life have been housecats (and 2 still are). I would add that if you let the kitty out please oh please keep him in at night. Having lost one to the road on a dark evening the vet told me that is when they are more at risk . Your cat is young so it will want to explore but he may well be like my DS two cats that now they are adults only venture to the end of the garden then back in for the sofa.

Granof5

Have you looked at protect a pet

Thank you. I was thinking along those lines but suspect that is rather expensive. I'll have a look.

I'm not worried about him making a mess in neighbours' gardens as he comes back to his litter tray in the utility room.

mbody

You’ll be happy to know that ours goes out to play quite happily, popping back every now and then to have a snack and use the facilities! He just doesn’t ‘go’ in the garden!

I’m with mbody on this one.
Why have an animal that is out on its travels most of the day or night? Apart from the ‘mess’ they leave in gardens, I’ve seen cats take out baby birds early morning just fledging - it might be nature doesn’t bode with me ... and ... I hope ... your cat wears a bunch of bells.

A friend has a wire thing at top of hers that leans towards her garden so that her cats can't get out of it.

We have a 5 foot wall and a 6 foot fence to stop our neighbours cat wandering. It's black and used to jump through the open window at night and give everyone a heart attack!! The wall was there anyway but they added the fence. Tbh I prefer that to having a cat wandering round at night

Don’t thin pic posted so here it is

Friends have moved to France with their 3 adult cats- used to roaming. They kept them in for 3 weeks, but it was clear they were desperate to go out and do their thing. so they have got them GPS collars so they can be located at all times.

I would never have indoor cats - it is so totally against all their instincts- so would rather not have any in that case. I have had outdoor cats all my life.

I agree, cats are outside animals. But I have lost cats in the past. Car accidents. Wandering and getting lost. Injured while out.

My cats are rescue cats. They have a better home than they would have had as strays. It's a compromise.

Have you looked at protect a pet

He's a cat, and cats being cats, if he wants to go outside your garden he will. The only real way to stop this is to either keep him in, which would be a bit sad, or build him a fenced in 'catio' - they are very popular in the USA, and Australia.

For the time being until he learns his way around, I would put a collar on him with your phone number and address. He will soon find his way, but to start that stops you worrying.

It would be lovely if all cat owners confined their pets to their gardens. I would not be ankle deep in cat poo from the various moggies round here who treat my garden as their own personal toilet - horrid!!!