outdoor security enclosure

[opposable thumb]

We were blessed with a stretch of nice weather this week so I got motivated and finished it. Actually, there some cosmetic touches still required, but the enclosure is 100% functional.

The reaction from our cats has been mixed. Panda has always enjoyed a lot of freedom. We just bring her in at night, but as long as weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re home, she can come and go as she pleases. She likes to roam the neighborhood and sniff around everyoneâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s backyard. This will change starting now. Cold turkey.

During her 8 years here, she has had to go to the vets for various emergencies several times. She has suffered abscesses from fighting with the neighbor cats and she has gotten into some kind of poison at least twice. Probably slug bait. Scary and costly visits.

On nice nights she simply refuses to come home. We have to go find her in one of her usual haunts. Sometimes, even then, she will hide behind a neighborâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s fence knowing we will not trespass.

I worry about the coyotes and I worry about the traffic and I worry about everything…

Panda is visibly disappointed with the new arrangement. Time will tell if she makes an adjustment, but she has spent a couple hours the last two days attempting to escape to no avail

Cynthia used the video feature on her digital camera to record Panda failing to scale the fence twice. I wish I could host it somewhere (I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t even knew how…). The clip is at once pathetic and hilarious.

I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know she was so athletic! I hope she gives up soon. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no chance, but itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s an impressive effort for an old girl.

Gibson is only 2, but he has enjoyed the same freedom as Panda. The difference is, he demands to be let out in the morning before Cindy and I go to work. Every single day at 4am. Ugh.

He will torment Panda, knock stuff over (lamps, etc), use the mattress as a scratching post and go all Tazmanian Devil until someone lets him out. We used to just open the door and let Gibson and Linus run around for an hour before we had to leave for work (theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re good boys, they didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t go too far), but since Linus disappeared I have been going out there with Gibson every morning (Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been sad without Linus

) I fix a cup of tea or cocoa and watch him leap after bugs and scan for other cats. I have to admit that I have enjoyed it.

Now I can just let him out the back and go back to bed.

We adopted Kyra (pronounced Keerah) a couple months ago. Gibson and Panda are like oil and water and Gibson needed a new playmate. Kyra has fit in great around here and she plays with Gibson all day. But she has been restricted to the house until now.

I went out to put the finishing touches on the enclosure Wednesday afternoon and went ahead and left the backdoor open so everybody could just wander out. Kyra stood in the doorway for a while kinda looking for additional permission to come out. Then she stepped out on to the patio a few feet and stood still for a while longer before succumbing to the sunshine and began a perfectly executed cement roll-over move.

I have created a monster. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m having difficulty getting Gibson and Kyra to come back inside now. With the nice weather I can just leave the door open while Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m home.

The back screen door is actually a security door with decorative bars and Cynthia has discovered that if we lift the glass at the bottom they can all fit through the bars (Gibson just barely). Now we can lock the door and they can come and go into the back yard enclosure as they please. Have I mentioned that we spoil our cats?...

 

[opposable thumb]

There’s no razor wire, but the fence does resemble the outdoor area at a JDH.

Here’s a photo of one of the two gates.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...-06024gate.jpg

This picture was taken from the deck above before the bottom wire was attached. The new fence is not touching the wood fence. There is about a 6 inch gap between them as per installation instructions. The neighbor cat can actually walk outside the entire perimeter, in between an assortment of different fences. Wood; chicken wire; cyclone etc. The wood fence has another gate just out of sight in this photo, so there is kind of an air-lock with two gates on each side of the house (the other side is cyclone)



http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...-06025deck.jpg

From the gate down to that corner is about 60 feet. The yard goes about 45 feet across the back. Just a little postage stamp, but it’s perfect for the kitties! I pulled out my trusty mower to cut that grass and old trusty died. I broke the rope trying to restart it so off to the shop it went.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...6012stakes.jpg

This is a close-up of the wire at the bottom of the fence. You can see that it is attached to the upper plastic mesh with ‘zip-ties’. You have to look closer to see the tent stakes that are holding it into the ground. Also note the weed fabric that is between the fences. This fabric goes almost all the way around in an attempt to keep the weeds under control. I don’t want to have to spray weed killer back here.

They use the wire at the bottom because rodents might be able to chew through the plastic mesh.

The entire fence is connected with those ‘zip-ties’. There must be 2500 of them. I didn’t snip off the ends as I went, so now I have to go back and double-check all my fasteners and cut off the ends. I did about half of them yesterday.

Gibson and Kyra played out there until after 11 last night. I sat on a lawn chair for a while and watched them just go crazy. I tried every 20 minutes to get them to come in, but they were having too much fun. I had to finally pick them up one at a time and throw them in so I could go to bed.

 

[arlyn]

Looks great, you will have to let us know how well it goes over time.

Just want you to be aware of birds of prey as well, they should not be forgotten in your safety equation.

 

[cagnes]

Awesome job, it looks great!

And I'm glad to hear that it passed the test & is Panda proof... I'd love to see that video!

I've seen some similar to yours, but with a double arch where outside cats can't get in. You may find a strange cat trapped in your yard one day.

 

[opposable thumb]

Originally Posted by Arlyn

Just want you to be aware of birds of prey as well, they should not be forgotten in your safety equation.

My vet mentioned Great Owls, but I've never had a sign of them. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve never seen a hawk around here either. I think this has reduced the predator problem to almost zero. The most important thing was to keep the cats from going near the woods across the street. Their survival potential has just increased immeasurably. I couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be happier.

Originally Posted by cagnes

….You may find a strange cat trapped in your yard one day.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m almost certain I will, and it wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be a strange cat…itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll be one of my next-door neighbors cats (GK and Shadow). Perhaps raccoons and possums as well.

When we let Gibson out every morning, it will be standard procedure to check for intruders everytime. Easier said than done in the dark, but like Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve said, they canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t go out unless we are home. If there is a tussle, weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll be right there. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve broken up a lot of cat fights over the years. This should nearly eliminate that as well.