Helping elderly cats over fence

lesley1966

Hi

I hope this is the right forum - maybe the DIY one would be better?

I have two aging cats - one is nearly 16 and getting quite frail, the other is 12 and limps from an injury he sustained as a kitten. They both come and go fairly freely, although I keep them in at night.

I want to make it easier for them to get back into the garden from outside, especially for the 15 year old who is really struggling to climb over the fence. I think we should cut a hole in one of the fence panels, but my husband is not keen. At the moment I prop the gate open during the day, but I want a more permanent solution as I feel an open gate is an invitation to passers-by to pop in and help themselves to anything in our garden!

Any ideas, other than a hole in the fence?

Cheers

Lesley

Bonbon

As your cats are old and frail I wouldn't worry about getting them over the fence.I'm sure they will be just as happy to stay in the garden. I know that some people who live in flats have 'house cats' that don't go futher than a balcony.I'm sure they will be a lot safer than roaming the street and crossing roads. Perhaps you could make a cat flap in your fence.

paddypaws101

Well, years ago even BEFORE my gang got old I asked the builder to leave a cat shaped gap at the bottom of a wall in the garden....and when my fence was replaced a year ago I got the guys to cut a hole out of the bottom of a brand new fence panel. So, it makes sense to me! Even younger cats are more at risk of injury constantly landing with full force from the top of a fence.
Cut a hole!

spike7451

Might sound daft but why not fit a cat flap to the fence?

lesley1966

Hi all

Thanks for your replies. I think a hole in the fence is the way to go ... with or without a "flap". Any ideas how I could put an edging of some sort around the hole to make it look more like a finished job? I suppose I could use a cat flap edgng but wood would look better...

Cheers

Lesley

zzzLazyDaisy

You can get beading from DIY stores - just use panel pins to secure a strip each side of the fence. Should do the job nicely.

lesley1966

Thanks LazyDaisy, that's a great idea.