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Cat Forum / General Topics / September 2004bored cats want to go outside, afraid to let them
I just moved from a house with a huge fenced yard on an quiet street, where my 5 y.o. female sibs used to lay in the sun and play, to a house with a smaller fenced yard on a busy street. After two weeks indoors, they are thoroughly bored, climbing the bookcase, the drapes, leaping into cabinets and drawers, mewing a lot, running around the house like wild Indians. They want to go out and play! Unfortunately, there's that busy street just 30 yards away. Anybody know if there's a way to persuade a cat to stay inside a fenced yard? Leashing them is not the answer; they just go flat and slink, won't walk around at all, much less romp and play or sprawl in the sun. There has GOT to be a solution! I feel I'm not doing right by my babies, couping them up indoors. Thanks for any help, Harper Harper lemondiva@comcast.net writes >I just moved from a house with a huge fenced yard on an quiet street, >where my 5 y.o. female sibs used to lay in the sun and play, to a house >with a smaller fenced yard on a busy street....They want to go out and play! Unfortunately, there's that >busy street just 30 yards away. Busy streets are a no no! <g> I know several people have posted about building a caged environment outside in the backyard. As long as there's enough room for the cats to run about a bit but not too much room that they can wander off to danger. > Busy streets are a no no! <g> A BIG n-no, absolutely <g> > I know several people have posted about building > a caged environment outside in the backyard. As long as there's enough room > for the cats to run about a bit but not too much room that they can wander off > to danger. Yep. Sherry's got me covered. I'm gonna do what she did for her daughter. I'm so glad I asked you guys! Instant solution. Yay! Harper There are some large cat "cages" with climbing shelves, etc. to use as outside playrooms. You might want to look on the internet or somewhere like the ads in Cat Fancy magazine. I wouldn't let them out with a busy street so close. Also, how about a big cat tree for inside? Lots of them for sale on Ebay. Rhonda > I just moved from a house with a huge fenced yard on an quiet street, > where my 5 y.o. female sibs used to lay in the sun and play, to a house [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Harper > There are some large cat "cages" with climbing shelves, etc. to use as > outside playrooms. You might want to look on the internet or somewhere > like the ads in Cat Fancy magazine. I think Sherry has solved my problem with her enclosure idea. I'm so glad she posted pics, otherwise I'm not sure I'd have gotten the idea. > I wouldn't let them out with a busy street so close. I won't. It's tempting, because the street is quiet at times, but I won't. > Also, how about a big cat tree for inside? Lots of them for sale on Ebay. I may still get one of those, for double fun! Thanks, Ronda :) Harper > I just moved from a house with a huge fenced yard on an quiet street, > where my 5 y.o. female sibs used to lay in the sun and play, to a house [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Harper You're right in not feeling that you've done right by your babies. Why on earth would you move to a place that is not a good place for them? > You're right in not feeling that you've done right by your babies. Why on Ugh! Don't make me feel worse than I already do! > earth would you move to a place that is not a good place for them? For reasons too complex to go into, the new place IS good for my elderly mom, who has dementia and mobility problems. And while I do try my best to accommodate everyone, mom actually comes first. Harper >> I just moved from a house with a huge fenced yard on an quiet street, >> where my 5 y.o. female sibs used to lay in the sun and play, to a house [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >You're right in not feeling that you've done right by your babies. Why on >earth would you move to a place that is not a good place for them? Thank you Doctor Laura. That is the exact same self centered answer that she would give if someone dared do something that was not 100% in the best interests of his/her child in the opinion of the only person who counts, Doctor Laura. Well, real life isn't like that. Sometimes we have to balance our needs and the needs of everyone, not ONLY those of our children. There are many circumstances that would justify making such a decision. Who are you to make such a strong judgement of another, especially with such little information and no background? We need to be responsible for those that depend on us, but we don't need to sacrifice our all just to make their lives a little better. Besides, who is to define better. I completely understand your desire to allow your cats to bask in the sun and fresh air. I think it's good for them. But with a busy street 30 yards away, they just can't safely go out unsupervised. It's too dangerous. Ever thought about building an enclosure? We built one for my daughter from an existing patio. Here are some links to pictures below. They love it and it cost less than $200 to build. We used pet screen and 4'' wire mesh, but you can design and build your own the way you want it. It's a good compromise and your cats will spend a lot of time outdoors in one, I would guess. Other posters have built similar enclosures that looked better than ours, IMO. Maybe they will post their pics again also. http://members.aol.com/sriddles/room1.jpg http://members.aol.com/sriddles/room2.jpg > I completely understand your desire to allow your cats to bask in the sun and > fresh air. I think it's good for them. But with a busy street 30 yards away, [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > http://members.aol.com/sriddles/room1.jpg > http://members.aol.com/sriddles/room2.jpg Oh wow, that's a *brilliant* idea. I know just what to do (and who to ask to do it). Cheers to you from Bloomie & Camoo! <paws waving> Harper :) >I know just what to do (and who to > ask to do it). Sherry, are these photos going to be up for a while? Thanks again, Harper >>I know just what to do (and who to >> ask to do it). [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >Harper Oh, sure. I have more pics on the old computer. If I get get the Jurassic Packard fired up, I'll post them for you, too. Someone else (Cheryl?) also posted pics of their enclosures, and there are some available on the internet, links I've seen. I hope someone can re-post those. The thing about the cat enclosure is, they even like it in cold weather. And you're limited only by your imagination. YOu can put in catwalks, trees, ramps, whatever you like. Good luck!! Sherry > Oh, sure. I have more pics on the old computer. If I get get the Jurassic > Packard fired up, I'll post them for you, too. Someone else (Cheryl?) also [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > you're limited only by your imagination. YOu can put in catwalks, trees, ramps, > whatever you like. Good luck!! Thanks so much, Sherry. Harper That is great! Got us thinking too... Rhonda > I completely understand your desire to allow your cats to bask in the sun and > fresh air. I think it's good for them. But with a busy street 30 yards away, [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > http://members.aol.com/sriddles/room1.jpg > http://members.aol.com/sriddles/room2.jpg Let them go outside. Yeah the busy street might kill them, but then if they're that miserable, they might as well be dead. Got to let them live a little. If there's a way it can be done to all but ensure they can't get into the busy street, no problem. But even with the busy street and your understandable concern, if they really hate being inside that much, why not let them? Caution is understandable, but that doesn't have to mean totally sheltering altogether. LRH > I just moved from a house with a huge fenced yard on an quiet street, > where my 5 y.o. female sibs used to lay in the sun and play, to a house [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Harper > Let them go outside. Yeah the busy street might kill them, but then if > they're that miserable, they might as well be dead. Got to let them live a > little. Can't do it, Larry. Finding them dead by the side of the road would kill me too. I'd die of guilt. I look at them an I can see the trust in their eyes. No matter how enticing I know that crepe myrtle tree looks to them as they gaze out the window, I can't let them go climb it. Not if it means risking their lives. I'd get one of those hideous looking, six story "cat condos" first :) I'd get two. > If there's a way it can be done to all but ensure they can't get into the > busy street, no problem. There is. Sherry showed me pics of an enclosure she built for her daughter (see her post in this thread). It's perfect. > But even with the busy street and your > understandable concern, if they really hate being inside that much, why not > let them? Caution is understandable, but that doesn't have to mean totally > sheltering altogether. For me, it does. Thanks for your reply. Harper >Anybody know if there's a way to persuade a cat to stay inside a fenced >yard? You know those electric fences most people use for dogs? You can use them with cats, too. Or so the salesman told me. You might want to check into it. DES Save 1 life and you're a hero. Save 230 million and you're a Starfleet officer. remove "nospam" from my addy to reply. >>Anybody know if there's a way to persuade a cat to stay inside a fenced >>yard? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >DES And then a dog (coyote, fox, etc.) sees the cat in the "enclosure", the dog can enter and chase the cat down, but the cat can't get out of the "enclosure" to get away. Then what? eq >Save 1 life and you're a hero. >Save 230 million and you're a Starfleet officer. > >remove "nospam" from my addy to reply. >I just moved from a house with a huge fenced yard on an quiet street, >where my 5 y.o. female sibs used to lay in the sun and play, to a house [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >Harper Here's a commercial solution I built for my house. The website is www.friendlyfence.com http://web.newsguy.com/equalizer/enclosure%201.jpg http://web.newsguy.com/equalizer/enclosure%202.jpg http://web.newsguy.com/equalizer/enclosure%203.jpg http://web.newsguy.com/equalizer/enclosure%204.jpg http://web.newsguy.com/equalizer/robocat.jpg >Anybody know if there's a way to persuade a cat to stay inside a fenced >yard? Leashing them is not the answer; they just go flat and slink, [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >Harper I bought a system called Fence-In which has worked well for several years except for one large tree close to the fence where Migi and I have a long-going battle. He pulls it loose, sits on top of the fence and laughs at me until I fix it.:( It puts a netted barrier around the top of the fence that's almost invisible. One variety will also keep other cats and critters out. This is expensive, but you can find do-it-yourself directions that do about the same thing using less expensive products from Home Depot or Lowes. If you can't find the info searching for "cat fence", I'll look it up when I have more time. BarB |
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