How to persuade a cat ...........

RE: How to persuade a cat ...........

Sarah Keir — Sun, 15 Nov 2020 11:04:34 GMT

[quote userid="5464" url="~/001/veterinary-clinical/small-animal/f/misc-clinical-discussions/29463/how-to-persuade-a-cat/226648#226648"]More likely to hunt (which is not good for the cat[/quote]

I'm sure my cat would argue that is one of his 5 freedoms. The only harm I can imagine to a cat is tape worms or trying to hunt something unsuitably big!

RE: How to persuade a cat ...........

Chris Geddes — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 14:57:24 GMT

[quote userid="6386" url="~/001/veterinary-clinical/small-animal/f/misc-clinical-discussions/29463/how-to-persuade-a-cat/226454#226454"]generally suggest to owners to keep the cat indoors at night[/quote]

100%

Plus

- More likely to be undesirables wanting to be nasty to cats, especially when drunk

- More likely to be had by foxes (my own cat was carried off by a fox once - came back with half his neck missing

- More likely to hunt (which is not good for the cat or the hunted!)

My electric cat flap has a curfew on it!

RE: How to persuade a cat ...........

Bob Russell — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 14:41:22 GMT

We had a dog freedom fence around our 8 acres (quite an undertaking!) to keep our escape artist staffie safe. She had two zaps over her lifetime that I am aware of. She survived to a good old age.

I let the battery run down and she still stayed put but if the battery was removed she knew the collar was disarmed and would walk slowly off the land! Pretty smart!!

I don't know how good they will be for a smaller area or whether they can be installed on the road edge only.

It always bugs me when I read about people kicking off about electric collars without knowing enough about them. The 'training collars' are too easily abused so should be well controlled. Some of the cheap Chinese copies concern me too.

Our Freedom Fence was a life saver.

RE: How to persuade a cat ...........

vetbl.locum — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 20:57:30 GMT

Thanks for replies

Think they are going to try cat fence

Rgds

Lion dung ??? Is that pick your own??

RE: How to persuade a cat ...........

Kate Richardson — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 22:10:49 GMT

No magic response, but I generally suggest to owners to keep the cat indoors at night- the roads are quieter at night so become less scary than in the day time, so the cats that go out at night have less fear of the road. Plus people often speed at night when the road is quieter. Often (anecdotal) the cats that get run over are ones who are out at all hours so lose respect for the road.No evidence for this, just an observation and suspicion.The cats that go out only in the day will often stay away from a noisy road. Is there anything tempting for the cat on the other side of the road. Fields to the rear sounds much more interesting for a cat. A cat scare might work as well as an added back up during the day

RE: How to persuade a cat ...........

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 14:25:37 GMT

[quote userid="9515" url="~/001/veterinary-clinical/small-animal/f/misc-clinical-discussions/29463/how-to-persuade-a-cat/226421#226421"]

Evelyn Barbour-Hill said:
tiny electrical stimulus like a pin prick.

I don't know about that. I've tried one of the dog one on my leg and it was a fair whack, almost as bad as a livestock fence.

[/quote]

Fair comment. I can only say that when I got a Freedom Fence for my late escape artist, I tried the collar on myself (like you do) and at the lowest setting I could hardly feel it. And remember the cat or dog should only get the electric stimulus once; after that the warning bleep will suffice even if it does approach the boundary too closely. The use with cats has been properly scientifically researched (I'll look up the reference if you like) and the conclusion was that they presented no unacceptable welfare problem. (Publication came too late to show the stupid WAG minister, unfortunately).

Interesting you should mention livestock electric fencing. It would still be legal to use that to contain your pet, or spiny rose bushes, or barbed wire....

Anyway, before we off on a tangent, Freedom Fence (or another brand) could well do the trick to keep the cat in the OP safe. But it seems a rather expensive and elaborate thing just for one alley, unless simpler measures fail. A big dog or a tomcat at the other end of the lane would certainly work. If those don't happen to be available, what about lion dung?

RE: How to persuade a cat ...........

Sarah Keir — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 09:50:58 GMT

[quote userid="2131" url="~/001/veterinary-clinical/small-animal/f/misc-clinical-discussions/29463/how-to-persuade-a-cat/226410#226410"]tiny electrical stimulus like a pin prick.[/quote]

I don't know about that. I've tried one of the dog one on my leg and it was a fair whack, almost as bad as a livestock fence.

RE: How to persuade a cat ...........

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 18:46:22 GMT

[quote userid="8858" url="~/001/veterinary-clinical/small-animal/f/misc-clinical-discussions/29463/how-to-persuade-a-cat/226407#226407"]Freedom Fence? [/quote]

Unless the new apartment is in Wales 'cos it's banned in Wales. (Despite a considerable campaign with all good reason on its side to exempt such devices from the shock-collar law when it came up for review. The WA minister responsible didn't give a toss. RSPCA campaigned to keep the ban and their arguments made it clear they didn't even understand what the devices consist of.)

I wish people wouldn't call these things "shock collars". They give a tiny electrical stimulus like a pin prick.

RE: How to persuade a cat ...........

Jill Butterworth — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 17:25:57 GMT

Freedom Fence? It's a shock collar, so a little controversial, but not the banned owner activated type), but can be set to beep only.

I heard of a Cat's Protection fosterer who threaded the wire through a hosepipe to protect it and save digging it in.