Pumpkin does paperwork

Pumpkin does paperwork

Friday, September 9, 2011

DIY: Keep your feline "escape artist" from climbing your wooden fence

Cats have serious claws. They can climb just about any porous surface - to a point. As long as your cat can't jump and land on the top of the fence without using her claws on the way up, this solution should work for you.

Xappa, the Escape Artist
In my case, I had already installed some cat netting on a wooden fence, but my "escape artist" was able to make a cat-size hole through the netting in the corner of the yard where she could get good leverage. It took her weeks of working the netting until she was able to squeeze through.

To remedy the situation, I obtained two 24" x 36" sheets of clear lexan, the kind of material used for picture framing, and plastic windows. I chose clear because it was available locally and would not be very visible. I got some exterior wood screws and some "fender washers" from the hardware store and put the two sheets up where the two fences met. I aligned one 24" side against the top of the fence, and 36" side along inside corner where the two fence lines met. I carefully drilled some holes and secured the sheets with 2 to 3 screws along each edge. I also made sure the edges of the plastic sheets lined up well in the middle because I didn't want any "rough spots" that could be used as a claw-hold.
Two plastic sheets up in the corner, one screw to go...
Fender washer and screw
When it was all done, it was hardly visible and the escape artist had been foiled. She was unable to dig her claws into the smooth hard surfaces, and since she couldn't get up into the netting without using the fence to climb on, the solution worked and I could relax knowing she was safely contained once more.

1 comment:

  1. Genius! You are smarter than the average, or even above-average cat. Great blog you have here. I discovered it searching for an example of a cat-door feeding station. Keep up the blogging and I will definitely keep reading. Thank you!!!

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