A fence is a boundary that limits our movement, it keeps within a given space, but cays do not see it that way. They can jump any fence they want to, even if it lands them in tour neighbor’s home or, worse still, where you can’t find them. As a cat owner, one of the few anxieties about your feline friend is leaving home and never returning.
Cats are instinctively curious and jump a fence to discover what’s on the other side. You can do a few things to deter these furry adventurers from jumping fences, including making the fence higher, using cat repellents, or even building a metal fence.
Today we explore the world of cats to know why they love jumping fences and how to curb them.
Why Cats Jump Fence
If a cat does not get all the care and attention it needs from you, chances are it will search for it somewhere else – okay! I know that is hitting below the belt because the truth is that no matter how well you take care of your lovely cat, no matter how much you feed and nurture it, there are no guarantees that it will not jump the fence, and this is because they don’t only jump the fence in search of food or for a better home. It’s simple – they are cats, and they will always be.
Cats are curious animals who love to explore their surroundings. This curiosity compels them to do many things, including jumping a fence. It is one of their favorite means of escaping boredom and the confines of their backyard.
Your sweet little cat might look cute and docile, but they still have that instinctive desire to hunt like most wild animals. Cats have a natural impulse to stalk and chase rodents and birds, and they will do it even if it means chasing their “prey” over the fence. Your cat will not hesitate.
Cats’ mating instincts are also another thing that can make them jump any fence. Unfixed males can go to any length in search of a female cat in the neighborhood for a nearby female in heat. Forget it. A cat searching for a mate will do note than jump a fence.
Dangers Of A Cat Jumping A Fence
Some believe cats and pets should be given leeway to be themselves and explore their surroundings, even outside your property. While we believe that all animals should not be denied their right, they should all be within a safe boundary.
Who will tell if your cat will not be stolen if it jumps off your fence to another place? Okay, if being stolen is too extreme, how about the cat getting lost? I hope you know some stray cats and animals did not leave their homes intentionally. They are lost.
It can happen to your cat if they jump fences to go anywhere they wish, so they must be discouraged from that acrobatic maneuvers.
You don’t want your beloved cat jumping the fence to go far from where you can easily see it. Who knows if it won’t get hit by a car as it jumps the fence away from your home, eat something poisonous, get into dangerous fights with other cats, or, worst still – dogs. These possibilities abound in that simple act of a cat jumping fence to go wherever it pleases.
Do you know that the chances of your cat contracting diseases or being invaded by parasites increase with every inch he moves away from your home? You can never tell the pathogens others around that it can easily be exposed to.
How To Keep Cats From Jumping Fence
We have already said that it is natural for cats to jump fences all in a bide for them to express their normal behavioral tendencies. We can, however, put deterrents that will outage them from this potentially dangerous act. Here are some of the ways of deterring cats from jumping fences.
Make Your Fence Higher
One of the reasons why your cat can easily climb your fence is that it is not too high. Cats can jump up to 5 to 6 feet high, so if the fence in your home is lower than that, then you may consider increasing the height of the fence to a height that the cat won’t dare to jump.
Cat repellant Works Too.
Various repellants can keep cats away from your fence, to say nothing of jumping it. Some use motion sensors that spray a harmless yet offensive scent when the cat moves close to the fence.
There are others in which the cat’s motion to the fence will produce an ultrasonic sound that cats find irritating, which forces the cat to retreat.
The main idea behind these cat repellents is to train the cat to correlate the smell and the sound to climbing the fence, and so deceive them to stop climbing fences.
You Can Build A Cat Run.
You can give your cat an experience of whatever it feels it will gain when it jumps over to the other side by creating an outdoor cat run that connects to the inside of your house.
That means that the cat can leave the confines of your house and explore the outside, but all within the boundary you have created for it.
This cat runs will not only keep the cat from jumping fences but also allows them to get their daily exercise and ability to explore the backyard without leaving your property.
You Can Go For Anti-cat spikes.
Before you accuse us of animal cruelty, we would like to state that the anti-cat spikes we are referring to are blunted at the tip and will not hurt your cat’s feet.
These spikes are only awkward and uncomfortable on the cat’s paw, which will deter them from climbing the fence. Your best bet is to have a high fence before installing this device for efficiency.
Use Cat Deterrent Spray
Do you know it is easier to keep your cat from jumping your fence when you are around? The problem is that you might only sometimes be around, and if you have a sneaky cat, it will try to take advantage of your absence and jump the fence.
You can deter your cat from this by keeping a spray bottle that sprays a scent the cat finds offensive whenever it approaches the fence.
Since cats hate the smell of orange and other citrus scents, like orange oil, you can spray any of these scents onto some rags and hang them on either flank of the fence, especially around the side of the wall it usually climbs or jumps from. The repulsive smell will keep your cat from the fence, to say nothing of jumping it.
Use The Cactus Plant
Suppose you find the idea of using anti-cat spikes or repellent spray a little too extreme for your beloved, tender cat. In that case, you can adopt a much more natural method of keeping your cat from jumping your fence by planting cacti around the areas of the wall where they usually jump from.
Cats hate the surface and feel of cacti, and they will steer clear of any place where there are cacti, even if it is near that fence that it loves to jump.
Install A Metal Fence
It is one solution that is effective in keeping your cat from jumping the fence, but as you know, it is a costly solution, but if all else fails, a metal fence is sure to deter your feline friend from jumping the fence.
The catch is that cats cannot have a firm grip on a metal fence. So assuming the cat manages to jump to reach the top of the fence, it won’t be able to get to the other side because of how slippery and smooth the metal fence is.
Best Option
The truth is that the most effective means of keeping your cat from jumping the fence is to use more than one of these methods. For instance, even if you have made it too higher, you can still use anti-cat spikes and repellents to ensure that your cat never attempts to jump your fence again.
Conclusion
Cats are very calm and docile, simple, but their animalistic instinct, together with their penchant for adventure, will cause them to jump a fence in search of a mate or for other cats to play with.
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You can, however, keep these cats from this habitual tendency by building a high wall, using anti-cat spikes, cat deterrents, and very effective metal fences.
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