Letting cats outside

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luna_sedds1
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Letting cats outside

Post by luna_sedds1 »

Our boy, Sedds, is about to start going outside once his microchip is changed to our address, but we are nervous about it because we live near a road that can get quite busy. Is there anything we can do to reduce any risk?
emmab
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by emmab »

Not really. We lost a cat to a quiet road and would never of dreamed Thomas would of been killed on it. We did live on a busy road once when we were renting and kept Sam indoors, however he did develop crystals in his urine due lack of exercise so is a vicious circle. Cats do and will stray for miles at night. Even if you have a fenced garden they will get out. If you aren't aure and have worries keep him in.
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Janey
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by Janey »

Cat proof the garden if he is used to going out otherwise you are risking it near a busy road.
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MarySkater
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by MarySkater »

emmab wrote:Even if you have a fenced garden they will get out.
When I first enclosed part of my garden for my cats, one of them got out twice. It needed a lot of care to find and block the gaps (it's amazing how small a hole a cat can get through if they really want to) but I think now my cat-playground is secure, and there have been no more escapes. I sometimes wonder if it's possible to get something like a sectional chicken-run to make a cat enclosure, if it's not possible to escape-proof the whole garden.
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Ruth B
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by Ruth B »

You might be able to train him that cars are something to be afraid of but it isn't that easy. If you have a car and he is likely to try and follow you out to the car when he is let out then have your partner or a friend sit in the car with it running and when he approaches rev the engine hard and you chase him back home. It might have to be done several times to get the message home or it might not even work, some cats are just too curious for their own good.

Only letting him out during daylight hours can help as most accidents happen at night, however again there is no guarantee and you have to make sure he is in at dusk which in winter can really curtail his exploring and might make him want to stay outside.

Cat proofing the garden or building a cat run for him are the only real methods of stopping him facing any risk on the road. I have always been in two minds about cat proofing the garden but I am lucky to life on a quiet cul de sac which reduces the risk even if it doesn't eliminate it, if I lived on a busy road then I think I would look into the option.
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by emmab »

Whilst you can keep a dog in a secure garden they can still escape. As for a cat is it pretty hopeless.
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Janey
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by Janey »

emmab wrote:Whilst you can keep a dog in a secure garden they can still escape. As for a cat is it pretty hopeless.
I haven’t done this as I don’t need to, but lots of forum members have their gardens catproofed and I don’t think they get out if it’s done well.
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by emmab »

Janey wrote:
emmab wrote:Whilst you can keep a dog in a secure garden they can still escape. As for a cat is it pretty hopeless.
I haven’t done this as I don’t need to, but lots of forum members have their gardens catproofed and I don’t think they get out if it’s done well.[/

Would love to see how this is done as cats can climb very high fences. I can only presume they are small gardens with netting over the top?
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meriad
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Re: Letting cats outside

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I've cat proofed my garden and whilst not the biggest it isn't the smallest either. And it's done by fixing angled brackets to the fence posts and then running netting along the brackets. I did it myself and (knowing what I know now) should have used stronger netting, but for the most of it it's kept the cats in just fine. The problem areas were (and still are) the shed and trellising I have. I have since removed one of the trellis bits but the other hides the shed and the neighbours cat Theo (large Maine Coon) has now figured out how to get in and out. So this coming weekend I'll be working on reinforcing that bit
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Lilith
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by Lilith »

Me too! And in just the same way. Yes, it can take a bit of trial and error - it certainly did when Houdini Molly joined us, but it's definitely worth it :)
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by MarySkater »

If you google "cat proof fencing" or a similar phrase, you'll find several companies who will sell you fittings to make an overhang like Meriad's, if you don't want to do it yourself.

I looked at that method for my garden, but I felt that the corners round the shed and the back gate would be difficult, so I opted to enclose just part of my garden. I made a rectangle, where the back wall of the house and the existing garden fence made 2 sides, and I had 2 new runs of fencing put up to enclose the other two sides. The enclosed space is about 10 feet by 30 feet, which is narrow enough to put netting right across the top, but gives the cats reasonable space to play.
Cat pen.jpg
When winter came, the "track" they use most to the back of the pen became muddy, so I put down coconut matting. I have also added some shelves along the side, to give them variety. There's a litter tray hidden under the compost bin, and they both prefer to use that rather than the one in the house.
Pen with shelves.jpg
There's a simple door-type gate in the right-hand fence so that I can get in and out to the rest of the garden.

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meriad
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by meriad »

Mary, that litter box under the compost bin idea is brilliant! I've got two outside litter trays but they're such a pain for the cats to get in and out and not exactly the easiest thing to camouflage in a garden. I may just very well copy you on that idea :D
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MarySkater
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Re: Letting cats outside

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Meriad, I'm still trying to find the best option for an "outside toilet" for my cats. I'll let you know what I've tried so far...

The composter sits in a dip in the ground which was once a pond - the old liner has been removed. The first thing I did was make a sand pit in the hollow. My idea was that urine would drain through into the soil, I could scoop the lumps out, and from time to time pour water over the sand to wash it and stop it getting smelly. Up to a point that worked, I only needed to clean it every two or three days, and the cats were happy to use it. However, it did mean they were coming into the house with sandy paws, and I'd find my sofa and bed were getting gritty. Also, the earth beneath the sand would gradually rise up and mix with the sand, so the pawprints in the house were becoming muddy as well as gritty.

So I decided I'd need to move to a proper litter tray inside the compost bin, although with two cats using it, even a big tray would have to be cleaned at least once a day. At first I thought I'd be okay with an open tray, as the composter keeps the rain off it, but the cats were excavating the litter over the sides and on to the ground, so I replaced it with a covered tray, to keep in the litter.

Now begins the search for the perfect litter. I've always liked wood pellet litter, which turns to sawdust when it's wet. When I clean the indoor tray, I put the litter through a sieve. The sawdust gets thrown away, what's still in pellets is dry and can be re-used. But it's not so easy to do this sorting in the outdoor tray which is set down in a hollow, and I don't want to be hauling it out every time. I thought a clumping litter would be easier to manage, but I've never liked clay-based litters, because of the dust. Browsing the internet, I read about Greenwoods Clumping, made from plant fibres. Some people love it because it's light and dust-free, others dislike it because it gets scattered around the house. I thought this wouldn't be a problem for me, as from the outside tray, the cats have to cross grass and flagstones to get back to the house, and I have a fluffy mat just inside the cat flap. But even so, I am still finding that this stuff gets carried into the house - maybe on paws, but some at least comes in on Ria's fur.

So when I've finished the bag of Greenwoods litter, I'll try something else. But it all keeps life interesting... :lol:

Mary
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Kay
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by Kay »

My Trigger didn't like using an indoor tray, so I lifted a slab in the patio for him

I experimented with soil, compost and sand, and the mess was as you say, but I then tried aquarium grit, which drained well, didn't get dirty and gave up poo lumps easily
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MarySkater
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by MarySkater »

Kay, thanks for that. I had aquarium grit on my list of things to try. But it would be expensive to get enough to make a "starter pit." And I thought I'd need some kind of permeable mesh to keep it separate from the soil. How do you have yours set up?
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Kay
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by Kay »

I just put the lifted paving slab back down on the soil after digging down about 15 inches, leaving an inch myargin all round for drainage, though I'd probably use duckboard with its gaps if I did it again

When Trigger had to be pts a couple of years later the hole became his final resting place

I seem to remember I got the grit on Amazon and I don't think it cost that much - and of course it stays pretty clean with the rain, and when we had a dry spell I simply watered it - because it is light it did scatter a lot but it is easy simply to brush it back into the hole, leaving no residue
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Re: Letting cats outside

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Thanks, Kay, that's useful to know.
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meriad
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by meriad »

Mary - another litter to try is Cats Best which is a wood clumping litter - works really really well and very easy to scoop any clumps. You do have to have at least 5cm deep though. Golden Pine also one and also good to use

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_ ... _oko/14001
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_ ... rey/188551
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MarySkater
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by MarySkater »

Thanks for the links, Meriad. But I've read the reviews and quite a few people report both of these as bad for being tracked around, especially with long-haired cats. I've had enough of that with the Greenwoods I'm using now. Once I've finished that (I bought a small pack to try it, initially I liked it and bought an economy sized pack, before I realised how much was going to find its way into the house!) I want to try something different.

I had already considered using something like the fine pebbles sold for aquariums (as Kay has posted) if I could figure a way to let liquid drain into the ground, without the gravel getting mixed with earth. I'm thinking about getting one of these rubber horse feed containers:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0060IRPA4/ ... GICF&psc=1
and drilling a lot of small holes in the bottom. Still browsing for similar ideas. I also need to look for litter-catching mats that can be left outdoors, but that won't address the problem of Ria carrying bits in on her fur.

It's entertaining to try to find the perfect outdoor loo for my cats. Maybe I'll end up just digging a flower bed in the cat pen, as that's what cats traditionally like! :)

Mary
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Kay
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Re: Letting cats outside

Post by Kay »

As someone who tried everything too, this is my perfect thread!

A tubtrug could well work - but I think the answer to stopping soil mixing in is to dig a hole deeper than the deepest digger digs

I have noticed, incidentally, that Tiffany occasionally wees in one of the many piles of dead leaves which have fetched up in the corners of my enclosed patio - do you think yours might enjoy digging into leaves? It would be a wonderfully green - and cheap - solution
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MarySkater
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Re: Letting cats outside

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Kay wrote:As someone who tried everything too, this is my perfect thread!
I hope the original poster finds it interesting! They haven't come back to comment. But if nothing else, we're showing that those of us who have managed to make an outdoor enclosure for our cats are enthusiastic enough about it to put some effort into getting it as "right" as possible. I know many people let their cats roam free with no problems. But then you hear about the cats who get killed or injured on the roads, or the cats who just vanish and are never seen again - it gives me enormous peace of mind to know that my cats are contained. (With occasional hiccups such as the time Rocky got out via an upstairs window, which had been opened to a gap of - I measured later - three and a quarter inches. And he's a chunky cat!)

I don't get enough leaves in my garden to try your idea - mine is overhung by some bushes, but nothing to produce leaves in quantity. And your setup is a little different, in that you could remove one slab from a paved area, while I want to use the pit that was dug for the old pond, with the composter as a shelter/ camouflage. But I do think that gravel/ small pebbles may be the way to go - I would think it's too heavy to cling much to paws or fur, and it can be washed, so urine can be allowed to soak away into the ground and not have to be removed with litter.
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