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Old February 9th 06, 05:41 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
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Default Preparing cats for the big move


Pat wrote:
By the end of this month I will be moved over to the new house.

Probably won't get the fence completed for a while yet so meanwhile the cats
will just have to stay inside. I am preparing them for it slowly. It's not
hard to keep them in when it's cold, and we're finally getting some cold
weather. It may last for another few weeks.

I think it's a good thing to keep kitties inside for a while after a move,
anyway, until they are thoroughly familiar with the house and they've
adjusted to living there.

I decided against putting up a board fence like I originally planned. Not
that I wouldn't like to have a wooden fence, but it would just been too
costly. What I'll do instead is use welded wire, with electric at the top,
and plant bushes for privacy and a windbreak.

Anyone had any experience with "Austrees"?

http://www.rmausa.com/rma/trees/austree.html

The neighbors on two sides already have their yards fenced with welded wire,
so on those sides I can just plant steel t-posts with insulators on top and
run aluminum wire close to the top of the existing fence.

I already have a small charger and a post-pounder, 100' of w.w. and about 18
t-posts, and so the expense will be minimal, I'll just need one more roll of
w.w. and maybe a dozen more t-posts for the other sides.

I'm thinking that as long as the cats are kept inside they will spend time
looking out the windows and seeing/hearing vehicles whiz past, and hopefully
that will help them understand why they'll be finding themselves confined to
the backyard once I let them go out.


Have you ever considered just building an enclosure and forgetting
about trying to fence the entire yard? Even an 8x10 enclosure, enclosed
at the top, would be very safe and much less expensive. You wouldn't
have to use a fence charger either. You could furnish it with all kinds
of ramps, ledges, perches, scraching posts, climbing trees and leave a
grass floor. I would really be concerned about the safety of the cats.
I'd be afraid they'd get zapped by the charger, then panic and get hung
up on wire fence. Or it wouldn't be effective in keeping them from
escaping.

Sherry