Cat Proof Fencing

Even though my house is not directly on a road (and the road is only a quiet suburban road anyway), it was quite clear that being run over was a possibility.  You wouldn't think it from the number of neighbourhood cats who seem to quietly, and confidently congregate at their front gates to catch the last rays of sunshine, or criss-cross the road at sunset in preparation for twilight hunting or exploring.

Losing another cat was simply not an option, and so I looked at all the options for creating a safe outdoor space for Noomi (at least). A friend recommended a free-standing catio, however there is a world of difference between her older Persian, and the far more active, young Tonkinese I had. So I looked instead at providing as much of the yard as possible as a safe, cat friendly area. I had already started creating a number of climbing areas specifically for the cats on the fences, and much of the garden was planted in large native grasses to give the cats lots of tunnels and fun spaces to hide in, snooze in and play through.

There are a host of options out there, but the basic premise for all is to either create a fully enclosed space from some form of net (like a giant aviary), or to ensure fences are topped by some impediment to climbing.

There are a number of catproof fencing designs, some rely on installing rollers, slippery surfaces or even electric fencing to stop the cat getting over the top of a fence. The simplest, and perhaps most universal design is to install some form of mesh or net that bends inward on the yard.  This gives the cat the impression of being enclosed, and if they do attempt to climb up it falls back over the top of their heads enclosing them and in some cases a spring mechanism actually drops them backwards toward the ground.

This seemed the easiest DIY solution  for me.  Retrofitting the existing fences, and then deciding what to do with the gates and entrances.  I started off with a test run along the fence line the cats used to get in to the neighbours next to the road.  It gave me a chance to experiment with what was required, and also get my head around what I needed to do.

The initial test using plastic garden mesh and reusing old trellis battens

As it turned out, that initial bit of fence became redundant.  I installed two new pieces of fences with gates in them to create a backyard separated from the vehicle entrance, which resolved the issue of how to keep the cats enclosed while allowing vehicles and visitors to come and go as they please.

A simple side gate created from bamboo garden stakes and chicken wire

Another simple fence and gate created from chicken mesh, bamboo and pallet wood

existing fences were retrofitted with chicken mesh and some simple battens to make it overhand inwards

Trees and shrubs on the boundary were trimmed back, and mesh sometimes tied directly to branches to ensure it hung inwards.  Where there is a possibility of cats climbing tree limbs I inserted chicken wire around the limb..