Worried about cat escaping

thesiren

Hi everyone, wondered if someone could give me some advice as I'm very upset/worried about an incident that happened last night:

I got my cat 2 years ago, previously lived in an apartment with a big balcony so she was able to roam there (it wasn't a nice area so that was the safest thing for her). I now live in Dublin 3 in a small terraced house with a 'garden' (no grass but stones, she loves going out and sitting there). There are fences between each of the gardens, and a big wall behind all of these which is quite high.

Recently there has been a very cute cat (with collar) appearing on the wall, just walking about. My cat is a rescue cat and 'grew up' with another rescue cat, but since I took her she hasn't had any other exposure to cats. Anytime my cat has seen the new cat she 'talks' to it or runs up to it as much as she can and the other cat eventually goes away. But yesterday evening the cat was trying to come into our garden. I picked her up and held her as she 'talked' to the cat, because anytime she sees it her heart races and she takes ages to calm down, but instead of clinging to me as usual the pair of them started hissing and snarling and my cat literally scaled our fence and took off across the wall to the very edge until the cat had gone. She then spent at least half an hour up there and I was calling to her and trying to get her down to no avail, even tapping her milk bowl didn't help and that normally gets her running to me. Eventually she sort of came back over and I was able to get up onto the top of the fence and grab her and make my way inside with her and keep the door shut. She wasn't happy at being kept in and still hissed a bit initially but eventually curled up on my lap purring and went to sleep.

My worry is, what if she gets up on the wall and goes over it next time I let her out? There is actually no way I could get her back - the wall would be too high for her to climb (and it's very rough stonework), and you can't get in behind the gardens because there's a big kids football pitch there. I am terrified of losing her. The fact that she didn't come in when I called her makes me particularly worried. My friend said that she would eventually come back of her own accord because I am her owner and my house is where she gets fed, but I really am scared that she might go and not come back.

If anyone has any advice/tips/etc I would be really really grateful.

zef

Hi, I have 3 cats, 2 are young females 2 years old, and the 8 year old is a neutered tom cat.
At present I only walk the younger cats on a cat harness. I live in an estate that is literally a strip of land between a motorway and another busy road. Also a few residents on the road have a few gsds that they leave off leash & unmuzzled and would often be running down the passageway between the houses.
I think the best option for me is to get my garden completely fenced with the wire that turns inward at the top - no kitties in or out. Have a google and see if that would suit you- i forget he name of the co. but one do if for around 300e

Other cats are as big a danger to them as anything else. The older one has gotten a few nasty bites in his time that have needed vet attention.
Know the horror of having a distracted cat up a tree whilst looking like a demented fool below "c'mon, DINNERRRR!'

Would you try her with a harness just so she can get out and about for a sniff/ eat some grass, esp in this hot weather? I wouldn't be trusting her if she's still a bit flighty and won't come back when called. You can get them for around a tenner and takes a little getting used to, yours is still quite young at 2 though.

Don't mind your friend. Many here will attest cats do not just 'come back on their own'. I have unfortunately lost cats that never came back. Cats on their own outside are vunerable to cars, dogs, foxes, cruel humans, poisoned food, infected rodents - how can you know your cat will be ok if you are not there to protect her? That's my thinking on it anyway.

Guess_Who

So glad I'm not the only one who doesn't leave my cat out to wander freely. If you find somewhere that does that wire could you post on here?

The other thing I'm looking into is a Cat Run. They're popular in other countries but I can't seem to find any here.

My next POA is to find someone who's good at DIY to make one for me

thesiren

Thanks for the replies. The house I live in is rented, and I'm not sure the landlord would be happy about us putting up fencing. Also there's no way I could afford 300 euros. My housemate is currently out of the country, otherwise he probably would have been able to help me last night in getting her back, so I might speak to him this weekend and see if he could help me put together something temporary but which would keep the other cat out/keep my cat in.

I might try the suggestion of a harness, I just feel it might be a bit cruel but will call down to a pet store today and see if they can suggest something similar.
Another of my friends is adamant that my cat won't run away - she has a very big garden with lots of places her cat could easily disappear to and not come back, but her cat has never disappeared for very long if he does go for a wander and comes back each evening for his dinner.

username123

thesiren wrote: »

My worry is, what if she gets up on the wall and goes over it next time I let her out? There is actually no way I could get her back - the wall would be too high for her to climb (and it's very rough stonework), and you can't get in behind the gardens because there's a big kids football pitch there.

How is the other cute cat with the collar getting onto the wall? If that cat can do it, your cat can do it. Im not suggesting you let her off to do it, but just trying to put your mind at ease that if another cat can come from elsewhere into your garden, your cat could too.