ᐅ Cat-Safe Garden

Hello everyone,

Although our construction doesn’t start until May, we are already thinking about how to make our garden cat-proof. I would appreciate any suggestions, opinions, and cost estimates.

Best regards
ille1975

Hi,

The most effective way is to have your own tomcat that marks its territory and keeps other cats away from the property. I can say this from personal experience. Before we had our tomcat, our property was like a public litter box.

Shortly after he moved in and was allowed outside freely, the problem somehow resolved itself.

However, if you don’t want a pet......

Regards

I also have a few house cats that get scared as soon as they are on the balcony and a car passes by. So I’m not worried about mine when they get outdoor access; they don’t even dare go further than the fence.

So, with our tomcat, I’m not worried at all—he would probably even ring the doorbell again to be let back in. With the two female cats, we’re not so sure. One of them would definitely want to explore the big wide world at some point. We have a little daughter, and once she figures out how to open doors, it will be off to the big wide world.

But how do you want to make a garden secure enough to keep a cat from getting out? You would have to build some kind of enclosure, because cats are not deterred by a 2m (6.5 ft) high fence. Where there is a will, there is a way. This will likely resolve itself over time; either the cat learns to handle the freedom or stays at home. It’s better to avoid it altogether, otherwise she might end up hanging somewhere because she tried to get out.

...we’ve been thinking about this problem for quite some time. Given the position of our plot and house, there is a moderately-sized garden area behind the house. The neighbors around there have more or less already sealed themselves off. We’ve also seen a few fence panels that can probably be considered cat-proof, though we were definitely outbid on the price. As an alternative, we’re considering a terrace or outdoor seating area that we could make cat-proof with less financial effort. Your note that it could potentially be dangerous is really useful. We hadn’t considered that at all.