This morning I had a request to list a cat, who has been getting in the neighbour's garden. (If you are interested in a lovely neutered,(and sadly declawed) five year old black and white domestic short hair, check Flash's listing on the site)
Like everyone else who is retired, I have a to do list as long as my arm.... and one of the action items is an outdoor cattery. I have gone as far as to have the hardware kit for a modest sized gazebo (from Lee Valley) but it is still up in the air whether there will be time to actually build the darn thing this year. My idea .... is to site it so that a run from one of the existing house windows can be used for temperate weather in and out access.... but we shall see how that all transpires.
The point I am making in this long and winding way is that while it is reasonable for cats to want to go out, it is just ever so much safer to protect them in every way. It only takes a quick look online to see how many innovative and great ways there are to do this:
- http://www.kittykouch.com/articles/catenclosure.html
- http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cat-enclosures.htm
- http://www.pets-haven.com/cat_outdoor_enclosure.htm
- http://www.animalnetwork.com/cats/enclosure.asp
- http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/lp_dogs/article/0,2041,DIY_14061_4944502,00.html this article also includes an underground dog fence ... grrrrr .... but its included in spite of that because of the really neat cattery plan
- http://www.brushyland.com/cats/enclose.htm
- http://www.brushyland.com/cats/catrun.htm
And before you ask, at this point in time Dora and Oscar find enough interesting things in my almost two acres to keep them home. Happily, with two natural ponds, an ornamental pond, a nice big field, lovely bits of woods, perennial gardens that merge with wildlife habitats and all sorts of lovely temptations from the wood pile to the outbuildings.... there seems to be enough entertainment to 'keep them home'.
When Dora first showed up, I let my neighbours know that I was trying to get my paws on her, so they wouldn't call AC and have her trapped. I let them know when she was tested and spayed and have asked them to call me first if either of my two scamps ever start frolicking in their garden.
IMHO, doing a bit of PR for your pets is as much a part of responsible pet ownership as providing good food and vet care. Its the same reason that I don't let Ruby and Henry off leash in the yard where they could dash after the neighbours who walk their dogs. They get to go off leash, in a quiet glen on private land well away away from the temptations of the road and the river .... as a reward for being reasonably well behaved on their lunge lines for the rest of the hike.
To quote an old saying... Love means never having to say you're sorry. There are no guarantees in life, but making proactive choices to protect our pets cuts down on the odds of any of us having to be sorry we let our pets have the liberty to be hit by a car/ scooped up by a predator/ or seized by Animal control.
1 comment:
Those are some great links for ideas! Right now our deck is ground level, but we have plans to lift it up to the main floor level so we can have access to it from the dining room. My plan is to enclose underneath the deck to allow the kitties some outside time.
Your idea of the gazebo is a great one! My big thing about making an outdoor cattery is how awful it would look sitting in our lawn, but a gazebo would look nice!
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