You want to let your cat out but don't know how to keep your cat in the garden. Indeed, you worry because it can go to explore beyond your garden, it can run away for several days and even never coming back ...
Here are some tips to prepare your cat to go out in your garden and so that she does not risk running away.
Preparing a cat to go out in the garden
To ensure that everything goes as well as possible when you let your cat out into the garden, it is best to anticipate the risks and reactions of your cat. Here are some tips to prepare him for this new freedom:
- In your garden, the 1st risk is that your cat runs away and does not come back. If this should happen, it is essential that your cat can be identified in order to initiate a search procedure (see how to find a lost cat). It will therefore have to be chipped. Then, you will also have to place an identification collar on which there will be your contact details (see recommended necklace). This way, if your cat runs away from your garden, the person who collects it can quickly contact you so that you can come and pick it up.
- La neutering your cat can also prevent your cat from running away from your garden during the love period and don't come back ...
- In your garden, the 2nd risk for your cat are parasites (ticks, lice, fleas ...) and the diseases they can transmit, some of which can be fatal. I therefore advise you to have your cat vaccinated and treat against fleas and ticks before his first outings in the garden. See also: How to remove a tick from my cat
- Finally, to prepare a cat to go out into the garden, it will need learn and get used to going out and coming back. If your kitten has never been out, see my advice: At what age can a kitten leave the house?
How to keep your cat in your garden?
If you want your cat to stay in your garden in complete safety, here are some things you can do to have peace of mind!
Outdoor cat enclosure kit
A pen in your backyard is the best way to make sure your cat stays outside and can't run away. There are pens on the internet that are very secure and practical to install and not very expensive. See my recommendation below:
This enclosure has the perfect dimensions so that your cat can be comfortable and move at will: length of 3 meters by a width of 4 meters with a beautiful height of almost 2 meters!
If you choose to put your cat in a garden enclosure, you can put her basket, some toys and an outdoor cat tree inside. So your cat will be outside in a safe and stimulating environment.
Do-it-yourself garden enclosure
If your budget does not allow you to buy a ready-made enclosure, you can build one on your own. To do this, all you need to do is buy a few tall wooden stakes and chicken netting. For the roof, you can use a net which will be more practical to place.
Garden cat fence
If you'd rather leave more room for your cat in the garden, you can build a fence that your cat can't get over to escape. You will need to use a wire mesh 2 meters high with a return inclined inward from 50 to 60 centimeters.
Anti-runaway fencing for cats
Here is the best way to leave your cat in the garden without a fence, without an enclosure and without the risk of running away! It is an electronic system which makes it possible to delimit an area of the garden where your cat can be completely free. And this system prevents your cat from leaving this area.
It is necessary to delimit the zone by using a specific wire and by fixing the receiver on the collar of your cat. Thus, when the cat approaches the area delimited by the wire, it will receive a warning signal. And if despite this signal, the cat exceeds the delimited area, it will receive a weak electrical impulse (without danger for the cat). Suddenly, the cat will quickly understand that it is not necessary to pass the wires and will no longer try to cross the delimited area.
See the video presentation of this virtual garden fence:
Leave your cat in the garden and allow him to come home
You want to let your cat out, but what if he wants to come back? Let's say your cat is in your yard and is cold. So that your cat can return home (and therefore home) when he wishes, consider installing a cat flap at the bottom of a door.
If you want your cat to move in and out freely to go in the garden with a cat flap, you will have to get her used to it.
The first few times your cat comes out, you will have to leave the cat flap door always open. You will lure him to the other side with treats or toys until he gains confidence by moving from side to side. Thus, when he crosses without fear, you can show him that the door even lowered opens simply by pushing a little.
What solution if the cat does not stay in the garden?
For those who want to be sure to find their cat if despite everything it has escaped and may be lost, here is a system to find it easily and quickly. It is a GPS plotters which allows the cat's position to be visualized in real time on an interactive map. With this GPS for cat, wherever your cat is, you will locate it to go look for it!
