Why Use a Cat Enclosure?

Posted on March 16, 2011 by admin

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Cat Enclosures cover a considerable breadth from small carriers to screened in verandas to light portable tunnels and towers to large framed areas to free standing fencing around the perimeter of a yard. For me it’s about choosing the right one that will give the care givers a safe choice for peace of mind and still keep your cats happy and content.

Cat in his Outdoor Enclosure

Cat Relaxing in his Outdoor Enclosure

Let’s face it, country living can be very dangerous for cats due to predators such as coyotes, foxes, owls and hawks in addition to free range neighboring dogs.  City life can be safer than country life, but there are still many hazards from vehicle traffic, people who don’t like cats, and cats fighting for territory.  Hence there are many reasons to consider having a cat enclosure.

I was brought up with cats having an equal right to outdoor living and that still lives strongly in my heart. They are just as much a part of nature as we are, and their senses are so acutely tuned to experiencing the joys of nature.  However, I have recently been confronted with several traumas that have made me consider enclosures, even though we are living in the same location, such as:

  • cat traps in the neighborhood
  • neighborhood bully cats resulting in my cats getting injured
  • my cats not feeling safe in their own yard

But with new cats in our house and new cats in the neighborhood sometimes new solutions are needed.

We chose to build a veranda  enclosure…as a partial solution. We use it when we feel the need to use it. I think that a full fence enclosure around the whole yard (quite large) would offer an even better solution and keep the neighborhood cats completely out of our yard. There are existing fence extensions that would work well for our situation since we have a wooden fence.

The smaller portable tunnels would work well for travelers who take their cats with them in a car or a trailer. They are also great for ‘indoor cats’ who are ready to enjoy some outdoor space. I think that many indoor cat owners would like to give their cats a little more freedom.

Kittywalk tunnel unit

They want their cats to have healthy, active and long lives. The outdoor sights and sounds of nature can add a great new dimension of living to any living being.  Some owners like to share more time with their cats and cat enclosures provide another way they can spend time together with their feline friends.  These portable units also can offer creative pathways around the yard or garden.

Cat lovers love to see their cats happy. In our hearts we know that cats, by their very nature, are outdoor creatures and deserve some kind of outdoor experience.  However, there are many factors that will determine how you will be able to do that. Enclosures and containment structures provide us with the best of two worlds…a safe area for the cat caregiver to have peace of mind about safety, and the cats to feel the area is protected, yet a designated area to be able to enjoy the beauty and gifts of nature that make life fuller.

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Large Outdoor Cat Enclosures for the Whole Yard

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Anne

Today I kept my 4 cats confined to the house and the outdoor verandah enclosure while my large black guard cat was recovering from a sore foot. It’s truly amazing how one day the foot looks sore and swollen and is being held up in the air, and the next day my cat is walking normally with his full weight on it.  Anyway I decided to limit his freedom a bit and keep all the cats in and supervised more strictly for a few days.

Today, I can hardly believe it but the 2 adversarial neighborhood cats have made several visits right up onto my back deck to peer in our glass doors.  In one instance, I heard my female cat growling through the patio doors.  She lets me know when there are unfriendly intruders in the yard.

As we move into the fall, this year has had several instances of injuries from cat fights. My white cat got an abscess, from an injury, the very week he was scheduled for some dental surgery at the vets, so I postponed the surgery.

Every time the unfriendly bully cats show up to taunt my cats or whenever my cats sustain an injury I long for a full yard outdoor cat enclosure.  My husband is not too keen to spend the money or the time to install it, but the idea keeps surfacing in my mind.

There are 3 containment fencing options I have been considering. They offer a large outdoor enclosure area for my animals.  All of them are extensions that can be added to an existing yard fence.

1) One is made by Purr-fect Fence and is ideal, with its spring loaded lever, for keeping your cats inside your own yard.

2) Another one is called Cat Fence-In and is promoted for keeping cats out of your yard, as well as your own cats inside your yard. This one really addresses my issue.

3) The third possibility is to construct our own fence extension that would do the same job of keeping other cats out of the yard.

They all offer a great solution to providing a safer outdoor yard space for my cats.  It’s not the stray cats or the friendly cats, but the neighborhood bully cats that want to fight.  Their disruptive activity often leads to injuries and is, simply,  not welcome.  I do not feel that electrical fencing or humane trapping are options I would consider.

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Brazen Neighborhood Cat!

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Anne

My husband and I were playing a game of crib at the dining room table after supper. It had been pouring rain all day so the grass was still wet and suddenly my husband says, “There’s Funny Face! (neighbor cat’s name)  We look up from our game to see the neighborhood cat, that my 4 cats detest, walking around on our elevated deck.  (It’s actually a fairly challenging walk to get onto the deck when the cat enclosure is closed at the stairs.)  She was just entering our cat enclosure from the middle of our the deck where  we often leave it open (except at night). She knows she is not welcome and she would have just walked right through the enclosure and up to the cat door and into our house if she had not seen me jump up from the table. She is such a brazen cat! She decided to take off as quickly as possible.

I immediately closed the cat enclosure door as my big male guard cat came out to inspect the commotion. I did not want him running after her, as it could lead to a cat fight which can often result in abscesses.  Funny Face’s long coat of fur is like armor but my cats have short hair and seem to sustain more injuries. Then I took the handy tin plate and banged on it with a spoon, as I have learned that this particular neighborhood cat does not like it.  Maybe it sounds like a dog barking.

For so many years we always had a dog that kept the neighborhood cats out of the yard and now we are frequently dealing with cats in the yard.  Some of the cats that arrive are less threatening to them while others just want to stir up trouble.  It’s times like these when I envision the benefits of getting a fence extension that would keep stray cats out of our yard.

Cat Fence Extensions

Cat fence extensions provide a yard enclosure

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Electrical Cat Containment?

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Anne

Cats are truly amazing creatures with very sensitive electrical systems. Cats and dogs have similar electrical (electro-magnetic) meridian systems to humans. It’s quite amazing to see the correlation. Just take a look at the pictures in Four Paws Five Directions…. Cats are natural healers and have the ability to transmute negative energy. What a great addition to any home…an animal that can clear the energy in your homes. 

Feline Chart

Acupressure Meridian Chart of a Feline

I believe in holistic supports that do not interfere with an animal’s electrical system, hence I would not choose to implant a tracking device in my pet, nor would I advocate for any kind of electrical shock type of containment.  In fact, the videos that I have seen on cats encountering an invisible electrical containment yard are quite shocking to watch, let alone, physically shocking for an animal to experience.

We have many choices and do not need to make choices that invoke pain, foster distrust and fear and seriously disturb an animal’s electrical meridian system. We have numerous reasonable, natural and healthy solutions to cat containment, such as cat fencing and various sized outdoor cat enclosures, both commercial and home made options, to fit anyone’s budget.

 

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Cats Fighting in the Early Morning Hours

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Anne

It seems that my neighbor’s cat was out in the night, as she made a visit to my back yard in the early morning hours, about 5:00 a.m.  I heard my big male cat lash out at another cat in a fight, so I jumped out of bed and went running out to our outdoor back veranda, which is enclosed in chicken wire. It’s a homemade outdoor enclosure that the cats can go in and out of, independently, in the night.

The big furry intruder went running and I could see several of my cats looking at me anxiously.  They were all safely inside the enclosure.  My big black male cat that has the guarding and defending role, was also safely inside the enclosed veranda, and I was relieved  that the outdoor cat enclosure had done its job in keeping my cats safe from harm.

Outdoor Cat Enclosure

Convenient and sturdy outdoor cat enclosure

I’ve seen too many wounds and abscesses over the years from cat fights. That has been the primary challenge for owning outdoor cats in my area of the world, which might be more accurately defined as suburban living.

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Enclosure for Healing Cat

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Anne

Our veranda outdoor cat enclosure was a great help to us these past two weeks.  It provided the gentle transition that was needed.

Recently my big black male cat had a slip where he pulled his back leg muscle and was rather lame for a week. He hobbled around…and I was was quite concerned at first.  I gave him flower essences, some gentle massage and energy treatments to assist with his recovery.

I have to say that our veranda enclosure made it a whole lot easier to restrain his activity  because I could keep him contained while he healed. He needed 2 weeks off from his duties of guarding the property. But he could still go outside in the veranda area so was reasonably content.   He was able to make a full recovery in less than two weeks.

I appreciate the versatility of my veranda outdoor cat enclosure. It is also a deterrent to the neighborhood cats getting on our back deck.

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Cat Boarding Facilities

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Anne

Outdoor cat enclosures are commonly used at spas or retreats for cat guests that are being boarded there.  These cat enclosures are made for the many feline guests that come and go. They are built to be sturdy, easily cleaned and provide unshared outdoor space.

Once I had a kitten that needed some extra care and attention while we went away for  a long awaited family vacation. While my older cats and rabbit were attended by a professional pet sitter at my home, my rambunctious young dog was looked after in a kennel and my kitten was cared for in a deluxe style kennel that is frequently referred to as a spa.  I decided to spring for the extra expense of knowing that my pets needs were being met.

Kitty City had an excellent reputation for looking after cats. It was actually a renovated home with a special room that had cat cages around the permetre. Each ‘room’ had a hammock… plus a window opening to a little outdoor enclosure. The wire enclosure wasn’t very big but it allowed the cats to get outside for some fresh air and sunshine. I thought it was pretty neat at the time.  It would help to keep my cat more entertained and I’m sure he would like having the option to independently go in and out to his enclosure space.  There are so many sights and sounds and smells outside that I’m sure cats are tuned to much more than humans. They also had a big center room area where a few compatible cats were allowed out, at any one time, to run around and play on cat trees.

My 6 month old kitten did fairly well with the retreat style accommodation but I did notice that it still stressed him out a bit, as he came home with a slight cough.  All in all it worked out very well.

Ivan at Cat Spa

Ivan likes his outdoor enclosure at the cat spa.

Here is an example of a similar cat spa with boarding facilities and amenities for their cat guests.

 

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Cats and Dogs Together

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Anne

I was just reading about a family who was having to juggle their cats and dogs going in and out of a doggy door. Apparently, the dogs had the freedom to go in and out, but the cats did not, but started using the doggy flap.  Now that must make the cats feel that things in their household were a little unfair, especially once they have tasted the outdoors and realized that it’s such a beautiful and interesting place to be.   Cats do have feelings about their treatment in the household.

cat and dog

A lot of people on the forum were suggesting to shut the doggy flap and remove the doggy flap. Many seemed very concerned about the safety of the cats, and keeping them indoors.

Then someone mentioned a fencing enclosure.  Once that idea was suggested the discussion ended and the thread was locked.  It was mentioned that lots of people just don’t know that they exist. There are netting extensions that can be added to any existing fence.

Conversion Kit

Conversion Kit

Think about the reduced headaches of having to juggle your animals going in and out if you knew they were safe in their back yard.  It’s a very affordable option and relatively easy to install.  Finally, peace of mind and a very equitable arrangement for both the dogs and the cats. Best of all, mom and dad can relax knowing their animals are protected from leaving the yard space, and the animals can still use the doggy door which was installed for their convenience and independence.

 

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Kitten Play

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Anne

The playfulness of a kitten is so divinely precious!  I love to see the purity and sweetness of a baby animal such as a puppy or a kitten.  As caregivers we want to protect our little charges.

I remember laughing with extraordinary delight when playing with a kitten that repeatedly launched itself through the air to catch a toy that I was waving around. It touches ones own inner child and awakens us to the simple pleasures of life.

Here is a video that captures a kitten’s playful innocence and its phase of learning through practice in a dramatic episode of confrontation. It is done in the form of play and pretending, which is actually rather similar to how our children learn. We’d hardly know that the kitten was pretending if she didn’t take a few moments out to look at the video or scratch her ear.

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Flower Essences for ‘Indoor’ Cats

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Anne

Flower essences are a holistic energy support that can be used to help ‘indoor’ cats and other animals. Since Flower essences are made from plants and flowers, they are are a  powerful way of bringing Nature to your cat. The flower essences capture the divine qualities that are special to each flower and plant.  Indoor cats may be missing their unique connection to Nature when they are kept inside.

Cat siblings and friends

Contented cats

I particularly like the flower essences that use Red Shiso as the stabilizer base (instead of alcohol) that are made at Green Hope Farm. One can make diluted dosages that are very potent.  A few drops of flower essence may look like water but in fact, harness the divine qualities of Nature, that can bring back balance, health and happiness. All imbalance is held  in the feeling body and then progresses into the physical.

Cat and Dog Friend

Cat and Dog Family Happiness

If your indoor cat does not have an outdoor cat enclosure, then flower essences are one way of bringing Nature to your cat.

Flower essences can assist any animal or human being that is going through some kind of transition or stress.

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Cultural Contrast

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Anne

Several years ago I traveled to the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and then in another trip I went to Greece.  I was struck by the surrounding population of struggling cats. Stray cats were every where you turned.

I noticed that most of the people who lived there were accepting and kind to the animals, for the most part. I think many of them took it upon themselves to toss the animals some scraps of food from time to time to alleviate their starvation.

It just seemed to be such a contrast to what I see here in Canada and the USA.  In my suburbs and cities you would rarely see an actual stray. Yes, you might see a neighborhood cat out for a walk, but not a skinny starving cat. So, on one hand, you have a culture that agrees to live cooperatively with the homeless, wild felines, whereas in our culture we trap them and take them to Animal Services where they are generally euthanized.

So one culture lives in greater harmony with them while another views them as better dead than starving? Are we just trying to remove the difficult issues from our sight? Are we so afraid of the consequences of growing populations of stray cats? Are we trying to sterilize our experience of nature? Is that how we view humans, better to put to sleep than be starving? Fortunately there is a growing movement of Cat Rescue programs that are working tirelessly to find homes for abandoned cats.

Stray Kittens on a Greek Island Beach

Stray Kittens on a Greek Island Beach

Westerners seem to be increasingly intolerant of their neighbor’s cats as well.  Some city bylaws restrict the freedom of cats, and allow humane trapping. So now the cats should be unseen and unheard?  That sort of sounds like the old fashioned view of child rearing that was replaced a few generations ago.  People view their property as theirs and often don’t want feline trespassers. Can Mother Earth ever really be owned?

It was interesting to see stray cats walking through open air restaurants in Greece. The owners didn’t seem to be overly concerned by it.  In fact, it was a very novel and refreshing sight for many tourists to see. Others simply ignored it.

Another trend that I see and feel among westerners is a strong desire among cat caregivers to protect their cats from harm.  This includes exposure to vehicle traffic, wild animals, unsympathetic neighbors, and neighborhood bully cats to name the most common dangers. This stems from their deep love and attachment to their pets with a desire to control their environment.

Outdoor cat enclosures are becoming the western solution to allow cats a bit of freedom in a controlled and safe environment.

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