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Let's Cat Proof This Patio - Now With Patio Photos
Quid
Definitely not a bananaRegistered User regular
Definitely not a bananaRegistered User regular
We have a cat, Skitters:
(We only do this to him when drunk, I promise)
When my wife found him he was completely declawed. Because of that he isn't allowed to just go out and roam the outdoors. However, he still loves the outside and gets as close as he can.
When he was still living with her family in Florida they had an entirely enclosed patio with screen windows and doors. He would spend a lot of time out there lounging, chasing bugs and lizards, etc. When my wife moved in with me he pretty much lost all of that. Fast forward a couple years and we're moving into a new house in Hawaii which, to our delight, has a fenced in patio. However, the bottom part of the fence does not completely cover the bottom area, so I need to put something along it to keep him from going under the fence.
Since we don't own the house any modifications have to be easily removed without much damage. I'd prefer whatever I put on there could be stapled on with a staple gun or only require relatively small nails. I considered chicken wire but don't want to risk him/another cat just pushing through it and crawling out/in.
I'll take some pictures of the actual patio when I go down later to check the mail.
Patio photos:
(We only do this to him when drunk, I promise)
When my wife found him he was completely declawed. Because of that he isn't allowed to just go out and roam the outdoors. However, he still loves the outside and gets as close as he can.
When he was still living with her family in Florida they had an entirely enclosed patio with screen windows and doors. He would spend a lot of time out there lounging, chasing bugs and lizards, etc. When my wife moved in with me he pretty much lost all of that. Fast forward a couple years and we're moving into a new house in Hawaii which, to our delight, has a fenced in patio. However, the bottom part of the fence does not completely cover the bottom area, so I need to put something along it to keep him from going under the fence.
Since we don't own the house any modifications have to be easily removed without much damage. I'd prefer whatever I put on there could be stapled on with a staple gun or only require relatively small nails. I considered chicken wire but don't want to risk him/another cat just pushing through it and crawling out/in.
I'll take some pictures of the actual patio when I go down later to check the mail.
Patio photos:
Quid on
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Posts
If he doesn't find a way beforehand.
Our space is already limited- I'd ate to restrict it more.
And I'm hesitant to give the fucker any extra height to get out with, even if it's not much. He's fat but by go, h will try.
basically, get strips of this, and staple staple staple.
If you get something that is only a couple centimeters shorter then the gate then it would still be open and close. Just want to be watching out for stubbing your toes on them.
No claws. He's still a good jumper but he's not making it from the ground.
Lattice seems like the best bet. I'm going to go down to Lowes, maybe tomorrow, and see what they have. Sandbags might still work too since now that I think about it'd be a fairly simple matter to move them out of the way when necessary.
Lattice.
Staples will probably not be sufficient to attach it. Short wood screws should be fine.
Claws or not you will need something to keep the cat from digging below the dirt line under anything you put in to block the gap. You will also need something to block the upper area to keep the cat from jumping out. I've seen this done with chicken wire/lattice attached at the top of the fence (~6ft) pointed inwards and downwards at a 45 degree angle and held out from the fence with sections of 1x2 or 2x4.
also, is that the original cat dressed as a chicken picture? Ive seen it before, and i swear its your cat! is it??
It's not our cat.
I'm really not digging the whole chicken wire draping over the inside (or any side) of the fence deal as much as it makes sense. The patio is sad enough as it is but Quid seems pretty damn set on doing something for the cat and I know if we don't do something like that the cat will managed to jump over the fence the second we put furniture out there.
He'd kill himself somehow. Seriously, once we came home and he remembered he has a collar and had wiggled one paw into it, had the thing stuck in his mouth, and was foaming/bleeding/wheezing.
We have a harness but he fights it just as badly.
Looks like we're going to go with bricks for now and once we start putting furniture back there look at methods for closing off the top if it looks like he'll be able to jump over from the patio furniture.
Yeah. Chicken wire and a staple gun. That worked for me.
If you're concerned with the cat possibly jumping over the fence (not likely), just staple some chicken wire around the top and bend it so it angles inward.
Also, be careful of the types of plants you have outside. Daylillies killed my baby.
Those fences definitely look short enough for a cat to leap over, especially if you plan on putting anything out there as far as furniture or lawn equipment. He probably wouldn't do it if there were nothing to interest him, but if a bird flies overhead or he can see something running past the fence, on a branch, or on a telephone wire, there's nothing really stopping him from going for it. If you want the cat to have the patio, screen it in.
Quoted, as this echos my sentiments exactly. I've known some pretty fat cats and seen them jump up over fences like that. Short of screening in the patio, you all might want to not let him out alone as to keep an eye on him.