Anyone cat proofed their garden??

Hi there. We've got a decent sized back garden I quite like the idea of somehow fencing our garden so that the cats can run about in there. I came across this which I reckon looks exactly what I want:

Cat Fence Testimonials - South Region

Anyone used these? Looks a bit expensive- anyone do it somehow DIY? I don't really want an enclosure, I want it too look as unobtrusive as possible. Only problem is that our garden slopes downhill so we might come across problems at the bottom end- the fence may need to be quite high and we back onto someone elses garden. I don't want to create an eyesore!!

I don't have this system but I do have Katzecure and I couldn't recommend them highly enough. It wasn't cheap to have done but it will last forever. My sister was so impressed with it shes getting her garden done too.

I have the double pole system: Double Pole

It was installed two and a half years ago and we've had no escapees! :LOL:

Hi Catlover, we enclosed our garden DIY using plastic netting and metal garden poles. It's a small L-shaped garden which wraps around the corner of our house, and previous owners planted fir trees around the perimeter for privacy. We used these to our advantage when it came to the netting. Our garden wall is topped by those horrible 1970's pre-formed concrete decorative blocks, so we used those as well. We attached the 6 ft poles to the wall using cable ties (through the gaps in the decorative wall). Then we cut sheets of netting to size and attached that to the poles, and to the trees, using smaller cable ties. At about 8ft high we attached more netting on the horizontal, using the tree branches, to create a canopy, to stop the cats from climbing to the tops of the trees and escaping that way. There is only one entrance to the garden, via a gate, so we made a screen out of netting and tree branches (I was in the Girl Guides!) to extend the gate so that they can't jump over it. The netting was about £1 a metre from Homebase, and I forget how much the poles were. We used hundreds of cable ties, but even so the whole job came to about £60. The cats don't climb the netting, as it is too flimsy to hold their weight, in fact they don't like getting their claws caught in it. Besides, there are plenty of trees for them to climb, and we made a couple of tree platforms for them, so they've got somewhere to climb to, and hang out.

We had one escape early on, when we missed a bit at the bottom of the trellis, and Larry appeared on the other side of the wall. And again when it was very snowy in December, Monty was sitting on the wall when I realised he was on the other side of the netting! But he wasn't running off down the road, he was just sitting there going 'ermmm, help! how do I get back?' In fact, he hadn't gone anywhere as there were no paw prints in the snow. So I nipped out of the gate and rescued him. He' had managed to squeeze his snakey body through a small gap, so some string and more cable ties sorted that out.

The netting is quite fine so it's not noticeable at all from a distance, and when the garden starts growing again in a few weeks' time, it will be even better. When the weather warms up we have plans for more tree platforms, ladders, and fun stuff for the men!

We had to add trellis to one end of existing fence because Shimba found out that due to flower beds that end had become a couple of feet lower,only one that had worked it out,but even with the extra height he was up & over so hubby made up some stainless steel brackets got some steel mesh & put it around the fence facing into the garden,no more up & overs.Shimba gave it a few tries & when his head hit the mesh he moved along & tried it again,just to make sure dad hadn't missed a bit....!
Only had one more escape since & that was when hubby had stacked all the cat carriers outside & Shimba found that with a leap onto them he could make the bungalow roof,pannniccck .....

Fab guys- I might explore the homebase netting.... I really like the idea of givign them access to the whole garden but if that fails I'm thinking of building a raised 'cat deck' accessed from the dining room window. My other half isn't that keen on the idea as it would mean we would be effectively looking out into a cat pen of about 2m cubed! I don't think it would be too bad if I could find some strong but fine net....

Oh and here's a pic of naughty Dudley. I heard a clatter in the kitchen and he'd managed to get inside this bowl. He's the acrobat of the house and the one who would be most likely to attempt escape I reckon!

Would be interesting to know exactly which netting you used Howlinbob as obviously you have had no problems with birds getting caught,we stopped using the "netting" for fruit cages up the garden because of birds getting caught,we have now made cages out of metal mesh but also daughter had made a fish pond cover out of the plastic mesh netting & had the horrible job of removing some very lovely little birds from it ,two were still alive but had twisted round & broken their legs so would be good to know which size mesh is safe to use please,she has got to have a cover on as they are close to a canal & the local heron likes to visit.....
We had thought that perhaps dad was going to have to get busy with the stainless steel & mesh again but it is rather a large pond !
Raised cat deck sounds good catlover,they will appreciate any outside space I am sure,we were able to enclose part of our back garden & although not huge it is big enough for them to run around in & have a play,best though is when the sun is shining & they can just go out to laze & relax,normally on mum's sunbed I have to say !

Hi Jackie, well I used some plastic netting off a roll in Homebase, and the holes are about 15mm wide, as I remember. We have not had any birds caught in the netting, but admittedly that is more down to good luck than good judgement, as this did not occur to us when we put it up. We still get birds in the garden so they are obviously coming and going with no problem. Sometimes when I let the lads out they fly down the garden like streaks of lightning because they've spotted a bird...so far they've never managed to catch one!

I can just imagine your boys streaking down the garden & then the look of disgust on their faces when the birds disappear,up,up & away,obviously pleased for the birds though & it does help keep two little furries nice & fit.....x

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Howlinbob

Hi Catlover, we enclosed our garden DIY using plastic netting and metal garden poles. It's a small L-shaped garden which wraps around the corner of our house, and previous owners planted fir trees around the perimeter for privacy. We used these to our advantage when it came to the netting. Our garden wall is topped by those horrible 1970's pre-formed concrete decorative blocks, so we used those as well. We attached the 6 ft poles to the wall using cable ties (through the gaps in the decorative wall). Then we cut sheets of netting to size and attached that to the poles, and to the trees, using smaller cable ties. At about 8ft high we attached more netting on the horizontal, using the tree branches, to create a canopy, to stop the cats from climbing to the tops of the trees and escaping that way. There is only one entrance to the garden, via a gate, so we made a screen out of netting and tree branches (I was in the Girl Guides!) to extend the gate so that they can't jump over it. The netting was about £1 a metre from Homebase, and I forget how much the poles were. We used hundreds of cable ties, but even so the whole job came to about £60. The cats don't climb the netting, as it is too flimsy to hold their weight, in fact they don't like getting their claws caught in it. Besides, there are plenty of trees for them to climb, and we made a couple of tree platforms for them, so they've got somewhere to climb to, and hang out.

We had one escape early on, when we missed a bit at the bottom of the trellis, and Larry appeared on the other side of the wall. And again when it was very snowy in December, Monty was sitting on the wall when I realised he was on the other side of the netting! But he wasn't running off down the road, he was just sitting there going 'ermmm, help! how do I get back?' In fact, he hadn't gone anywhere as there were no paw prints in the snow. So I nipped out of the gate and rescued him. He' had managed to squeeze his snakey body through a small gap, so some string and more cable ties sorted that out.

The netting is quite fine so it's not noticeable at all from a distance, and when the garden starts growing again in a few weeks' time, it will be even better. When the weather warms up we have plans for more tree platforms, ladders, and fun stuff for the men!

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Just having another think about how we're going to go about catproofing the garden and found your thread with pics of your garden- looks brilliant and I bet the cats appreciate it. I think your approach might work well for our garden...... I think a trip to homebase is in order! Exciting!! :rofl:

Did you have any places where the garden poles needed to be placed directly in the ground? And if so, how far in did you put them and how did you stabilise them? We've got 2 hedges on 2 sides and a mishmash of hedge and fences on the 3rd side.

Hi Catlover, no we did not have to put the poles into the ground at any point, as our garden is completely walled in, so I can't really advise on that. Thinking about it, it might be a good idea to put some fence posts into the ground, (dig a hole and stabilise with some sort of concrete), then attach the poles to the fence posts. Good luck! xxx

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Howlinbob

Hi Catlover, no we did not have to put the poles into the ground at any point, as our garden is completely walled in, so I can't really advise on that. Thinking about it, it might be a good idea to put some fence posts into the ground, (dig a hole and stabilise with some sort of concrete), then attach the poles to the fence posts. Good luck! xxx

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Sounds like a plan.... I'm wondering if there is any virtue in spending a bit more on the net and getting this:
Great Deals on Cat Nets for the Balcony at Zooplus: Trixie Protective Cat Net, Roll
If it's less easy to chew through then it may be worth it but part of me thinks that it will be no stronger than the homebase stuff..... I wonder if anyone else has tried this stuff? I think our plan is only to allow access to the garden when we are around to keep an eye on the cats so perhaps it doesnt matter so much about how indestructible the net is....

Well ours have never tried to chew their way out. And I agree, we only allow them access to the garden when we are around. If we leave the house, even to nip to the shop for 5 minutes, we get them inside.

Im planning on cat proofing my garden once i move into my bigger house, the double pole looks very neat and tidy! I love it! My new garden will be HUGE though so may be expensive. LOL