Outside cat stuff

Recently my butthead neighbor decided she didn't want cats in the neighborhood. Although the guy next door has had an indoor/outdoor cat for 9 years, she called the city about the three strays that I feed. This is the same neighbor who complained that the dogs were barking, so I put up a 6' wooden fence this spring.

The law says all "animals" must be kept on a chain or in an enclosure. So now I have built an enclosure on the side of my house. The cats will have a kitty door into the spare bedroom as well as a 35'x10' pen outside to play in.

I need help furnishing this play area. There is a large air conditioner in the middle of it, so I plan on putting a shelf over it for them to lounge on. Also a large sand box with a cover, and a shade cloth over one end.

What can I put outside for them to play on that won't be destroyed by the sun and rain?

Mary

What about one of those children's plastic Playskool type miniature jungle gyms? I see them in people's backyards so they must be fairly weather resistant.

I would imagine you could still put climbing posts and scratching posts out there if the covering (carpet) is real short. You could put card board boxes (replace them when yucky), maybe an old tire...to hide in. Maybe some old towels/blankets for napping. Will they have shade? I think that anything you put out there will be fun for them. You could even plant some cat grass or cat nip for them! :)

That is really cool you are willing to provide a home for them! Keep us updated on what you decide. :)

Scratching posts covered with rope might be more resistant to weather than the carpet ones.. those ones seem pretty tough and they also seem to last longer.

This sounds like it will be pretty neat - will you be able to post some pics? I would love to see! :D

hi Mary !!
What a great idea to create an outdoor playground for those cats !!! How absolutely generous of you !!
Can you post some pics of it when it is ready ??

Success ( and may your stupid neighbour go to h... !!!!!!)

Thank you for the ideas!

I really like the Playskool idea. I'll be searching resale shops this week end!

I also like the rope-wrapped pole idea. That would probably work, too.

I may expand on the box idea by making a couple from wood or plastic so they last longer.

My granddaughter has a small plastic house that she has outgrown. I'm gonna swipe it and see if there's room for it.

The tire idea would be good if I could be sure it wouldn't hold rain water. Could I hang it from a rafter and put a lot of holes in it? Would they like a swing?

Over the week end, I will be putting the shade cloth up and moving anything in that I can. Two of the cats are going to be easy to keep in the area but Shai, the feral, will be a challenge!

I will be posting pictures as soon as I can. Mondays at the office are usually busy, but I'll try to get something posted by Tuesday night.

Keep those ideas coming.

Mary

I'm so glad that you're able to do this for your outdoor cats. I sure hope that you don't have any more problems with your nasty neighbor. Please keep us posted. I'd also love to see pictures of this when you're done. :)

The pen is done!

I managed to keep two of the cats in the house Saturday night so they were easy. The third, a feral , was more of a challenge. She came into the livingroom for a late breakfast and I managed to close the door on her---literaly. I nearly slammed her nose in the door when I closed it. I snuck outside and arranged a trap and blankets around the storm door, giving her nowhere to go but into the trap. Then I went back inside by another door so I could open the door to the trap. She was in a hurry to get out; right into the trap. I let her out into the room with the cat door. She did go outside eventually. And found a hole under the fence. So I'm back to feeding her in the morning in the living room until I can trap her again.

Since I'm not real computer literate, I'll have to post pictures one at a time as attachments.

Mary

Inside view

You could also put an old tree log in there. We have one in ours and the cats lounge on it, use it as a scratching post, etc. We have several shelves for them to climb and lay on, and we also built ours around a live tree. We built a ramp and put sisel rope like stairs so they don't slip and we also wrapped a post in sisel rope and hung it from the top. They play with it and also use it as a scratching post. We bought a water fall/fountain and put in there for the water loving cats. This also provides them some drinking water.

Front

From the side

I admire your love for animals, don't let your ignorant tattle tell neighbor ruin your spirit.

Here's an interesting way to confine cats to the yard!http://www.alleycat.org/ic_fs_fence.html

Wow!! It looks really good!! I bet they will be happy in there! :)

K&L: what a great idea about building it around a tree and having fountains!! Very cool! Do you have any pictures?

Yes, on my computer at home so I'll post tomorrow!

Great! Looking forward to it!!

I have pictures, but don't know how to post them here???

Quote:

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Originally posted by NoahsMommy
I think that anything you put out there will be fun for them. You could even plant some cat grass or cat nip for them! :)

That is really cool you are willing to provide a home for them! Keep us updated on what you decide. :)

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The grass is a great idea. I have some ornamental grass, that grows to about two feet tall in the summer and then dies back in the fall. The cats love to run through it, hide in it, and munch on it. I'll occasionally cut off a blade for an instant kitty toy that they just love.

My kitties also just love to sit on just about anything. A cement stepping stone or an old lawn chair would be fun. You could probably check out some garage sales over the weekend and come up with some fun stuff.

good luck.

Mary,
Your outdoor pen is looking exellent! I love the tire idea, and all of the other ideas! All of your hard work is going to be way worth it!

I'm not sure what is visible but there are a few things in the pen I can't see. There is a shelf above the A/C enclosure for sunning and a litter box under it. There is a rope scratching pad mounted to a 4x4 and a little square pyramid type house with holes in two sides to hide in as well as a furry toy hanging from the rafter. The kid's house should provide some shade. With the ramp to the window and the cat door, they have access to chairs, food, water, a cat tree and several beds.

I find that the two cats I have don't seem to play. I'm not sure if it's because they are still waiting to get out or if they just don't know how to. I need to find some toys they will like----Ghost is just too fat for his own good.

A tree would be great, but I don't have room for one. There is a young one just outside the fence. Hope it grows fast.

I used a heavy wire for the bottom of the fence so the wandering dogs in the neighborhood couldn't get in. If they try to dig under, the cats will have time to escape into the house.

After one last check for holes, I'm going to try to get the feral, Shai, back in on Saturday.

Mary

It's looks really good Mary! I like the kids playhouse in the middle, I bet they like that!!

Very good idea about the special wire so the dogs don't get in.

How are the cats doing now? Do they like their new home?

It's hard to tell if they like it. They spend most of their time in the house! Of course the temperatures have been in the 90's during the day and the house is cooler.

Missy still runs away from me most of the time, but sometimes she just freezes while I pet her. Ghost is an old man and spends most of his time laying around. He has developed a hot spot between his back legs, almost where his body starts. I'm not sure why. He may be bored or upset. I can't think of much I can do for it.

Tomorrow I'm going shopping for a lot of toys.......something has to spark their interest. I'm also going to try to add the feral girl back into the yard. Maybe they need more company. I'll try for pictures, too.

Mary

Mary,
I bet they would LOVE anything hanging down from the top of the enclosure! I know my cats love anything that dangles. Also, have you thought about placing a bird feeder around the enclosure so they can stare at them? (At a safe distance, of course) My cats just love "stalking" birds from inside the windows... :)

Well, I captured the feral and managed to get her into the room on Saturday. She found a place to get out, so I'm still feeding her in the livingroom every morning with the doors open. Maybe this weekend...............
All of the toys I got for them seem to be in the same places as I put them. I DID get Ghost to play a little last night for the first time in a year. I dangled a furry mouse on a wand on his belly until I got him irritated enough to bat at it. He actually ended up on his back for a few minutes! Missy still doesn't want to play. But who knows what happens when I'm not around.

Mary