Ruth aka Kattaddorra
In our country most people believe in giving our cats their freedom if we are able to, within reason of course. Personally we always keep ours in after dark and when no one is going to be home.
We live in a cul de sac so that vehicles can’t fly along the road at the front and we always keep our front gate closed if we aren’t out that way with Walter and Jozef, so that any wandering dog can’t come into our front gardens and upset them.
We have a wooden bench each side of the door for the cats to sit on when the sun is out that way, it’s very pleasant on spring and summer mornings sitting on the doorstep out there with them and having a cup of tea. Our back garden it totally fenced off with larch lap panels 8 foot high and in the back corner we have the ‘channel tunnel’ which is a cat sized gap for our boyz to venture further afield.
We make home a happy place to be with a huge welcome when our cats ‘clock in’ which they do quite often. Walter more than Jozef, we call him a yoyo sometimes he pops in so often lol
Jozef being half feral enjoys the great outdoors a lot, hunting mice over on the embankment behind our houses here. The cats have to cross a path where people walk and they are so very clever, we see them checking out of the channel tunnel before venturing out and checking from under the camouflage of the trees the far side before they come back across.
Down the side of the house in the gate dividing the back from the front, we have the ‘granny tunnel’ which is also a cat sized gap, we made this for our late Ebony when she was very old and found it hard to jump over the gate. She didn’t go out of the gardens but had the freedom to sun bathe whichever side the sun was shining.
In the back garden we have the ‘catnasium’ the invention of Barbara’s late husband John, thankfully she learned a bit of DIY from him because over the years since he died it has needed repairing and reweatherproofing. He also made some little wooden huts so they can stay dry while enjoying the fresh air even when it rains.
When we had four cats they would sit on a level of the catnasium each, sometimes go up onto the wash house roof to sun bathe together, happy days, sadly we lost our two girls Ebony and Popsy, within 9 months of each other a few years back.
The wood of the catnasium makes a great outdoor nail file and the boyz love exercising on the upright posts. We always have catnip plants growing but at present the winter has killed off the leaves, both boyz keep on checking to see if it’s growing back yet and yes there are some tiny beginnings of new leaves coming now. The grass of the lawns back and front is growing lush again too, juicy shoots to nibble on, which cats love doing.
Indoor cats miss out on grass, I wonder how many people bother growing kitty grass for them? It’s Nature’s remedy to help digestion and to help get hairballs up.
We’ve had cats for almost 39 years now, at our old home and this one, all have had their freedom, I can’t imagine trying to keep them prisoners and I feel very sad that in some countries it’s too dangerous for cats to live as cats like to live, enjoying their freedom, grass, exercising in the fresh air, the sun on their backs.
We moved house when our old home became unsafe because of cat haters moving in next door and as much as we love living here we would move again if necessary to keep giving our cats the quality of life they have the right to enjoy.
Wonderful Ruth! My Matthew was a stray for the first 5-6 years of his life, and now, wants nothing to do with the outdoors! haha You have a lovely set up and your babies have the best of both worlds! >^.,.^<