Cat Friendly and Calm
Peter Neville’s feature ‘Turf Wars’ (November 2016) was of particular interest to me. My partner and I recently moved with our four cats from a very rural area to the centre of a small town.
Our cats had roamed free in safety before we moved, but we realised we couldn’t let them do that in a town; they had no road sense at all, having hardly ever seen a car. We arranged for ProtectaPet to fully enclosure our new garden, and got the cats a seven-foot climber, some rotating solar butterflies, and numerous other toys.
We were amazed at how well it worked. Not only did they not seem to miss the opportunity to roam, they actually preferred having their own space, with no other cats invading it.
We hadn’t had any cats spraying, as in Peter’s example, but two of ours had been scared to go out, probably because the next door cat bullied them, and they were all jumpy and nervous. Now they al enjoy the garden and seem much happier and relaxed.
In particular, our Maine Coon Xena has gone from being a terrified little puss who hid most of the time, to a sociable cat who purrs a lot and asks to be stroked – something she never did before the move.
I used to think that country cats who could wander had the ideal way of life but my cats have definitely told me I was wrong. I now realise an escape-proof garden is the perfect way to keep my cats not only safe, but happy and secure.
Helen Krasner, Belper, Derbyshire