In our previous house, Luna and Clio had free access to a patio enclosed by cat netting. They both love being outside, basking in the sun or chasing insects. For the past few months in our new house, they have had to be content with sunbaking next to a full length window, or watching birds on the decking. On warm days when we have had windows and doors open, with only a flyscreen to keep them inside, they miaow piteously to be let outside.
Now that we have finished the cat enclosure, they are able be outside again. After an initial period of caution and exploration, the cats had a ball. They spent most of their day hunting lizards and watching the birds fly overhead, so I guess the investment is a good one. We do want to keep our wildlife as safe as we can.
Here are some photos from their first day in the enclosure.
Since we’ve been in our new house, the cats have had to be satisfied with the sunny spots in the house, such as the loungeroom window. Luna stretches out in the sun.Clio loves to hunt insects, but inside there are no insects to hunt, so she plays with her toy mouse instead.Clio takes her first look at the enclosure.Both cats seemed to enjoy rolling around on the warm paving.The cats seemed to enoy the sensation of plants. They spent a lot of time in the fernery and in the garden beds. Here Luna sits in the rose garden.We have very tiny skink lizards in among the rockery plants. They are so small they can fit in the gap between two bricks. Both cats noticed these almost immediately and their hunting instincts kicked in. I don’t think they managed to catch any, but they sure had fun trying.We had a Kittywalk Cozy Climber hung inside the fernery so the cats have somewhere to snuggle up and watch the world go by.Both Luna and Clio are familar with Cozy Climbers. They had one in our previous house and loved it to death. I’m pretty confident they will like sleeping in this one too.The one Banksia Rose which did not get severely trimmed to make way for a new fence is intertwined along the lattice side fence of the fernery. The Superb Fairy Wrens play in this rose and can fit through the lattice into the fernery. One even did so today while the cats were looking around. Thankfully the cats were too busy exploring to notice…this time.Luna in the fernery
4 thoughts on “Luna and Clio’s first day in the enclosure”
Hi there,
Just saw your blog about your cat fence. We too are in the market for a cat fence and have quotes from catmax and secureakat. We are curious as to which “cheaper brand did you end up going with? We noticed that you said that the catmax was less visible. Now that you have had it up for a while and having had the two, would you say the difference between the visibility has decreased your enjoyment of the outdoor space/view etc?
Many thanks for any pointers,
Danielle
Hi Danielle,
We ended up going with SecureaKat, which was substantially less than half the cost of Catmax when we bought it. There are no views from our back yard, as there is high fencing or buildings on all sides. We have strung it on wires across the top of the yard to stop the cats climbing over the fence. We used some reclaimed Catmax from our former house over gaps in the fences. To be honest, when I look at them casually, I don’t notice the difference in weight, but if I look closely I can. However, the difference is slight.
To us, it was important to be with our cats when we were outside in the back yard, which is why we ‘roofed in’ the yard rather than building a cat run. This works well.
Both of our cats are pretty content to just look through the trellis to the other side, and don’t claw at the mesh, nor do they try to climb on it, so it is difficult to comment on durability other than we haven’t noticed any deterioration as a result of weather.
When we first put the netting over the yard as a ‘roof’ I noticed it was slightly darker in the yard (you don’t get the unbroken clear sky any more) but I’m used to it now. The only time I get annoyed with it is when I want to take a photograph of a bird on the other side of the netting.
Good luck with your enclosure, I hope this information helps you.
Fifteen Acres 
Hi there,
Just saw your blog about your cat fence. We too are in the market for a cat fence and have quotes from catmax and secureakat. We are curious as to which “cheaper brand did you end up going with? We noticed that you said that the catmax was less visible. Now that you have had it up for a while and having had the two, would you say the difference between the visibility has decreased your enjoyment of the outdoor space/view etc?
Many thanks for any pointers,
Danielle
Hi Danielle,
We ended up going with SecureaKat, which was substantially less than half the cost of Catmax when we bought it. There are no views from our back yard, as there is high fencing or buildings on all sides. We have strung it on wires across the top of the yard to stop the cats climbing over the fence. We used some reclaimed Catmax from our former house over gaps in the fences. To be honest, when I look at them casually, I don’t notice the difference in weight, but if I look closely I can. However, the difference is slight.
To us, it was important to be with our cats when we were outside in the back yard, which is why we ‘roofed in’ the yard rather than building a cat run. This works well.
Both of our cats are pretty content to just look through the trellis to the other side, and don’t claw at the mesh, nor do they try to climb on it, so it is difficult to comment on durability other than we haven’t noticed any deterioration as a result of weather.
When we first put the netting over the yard as a ‘roof’ I noticed it was slightly darker in the yard (you don’t get the unbroken clear sky any more) but I’m used to it now. The only time I get annoyed with it is when I want to take a photograph of a bird on the other side of the netting.
Good luck with your enclosure, I hope this information helps you.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Thanks so much for your fast reply. It has helped us feel better about our decision to go with secureakat which is half the price of Catmax.
Regards
Danielle
Thanks Danielle,
I notice you commented on the “Luna and Clio’s first day…” post, so I’m not sure if you saw this post, which shows the enclosure being constructed. https://fifteenacres.com/2012/11/26/cat-enclosure-stage-2-cat-netting/
If the link doesn’t work, go to ‘Our Projects” category and look for ‘Cat Enclosure Stage 2″
Lisa