electrified fence

I need to put an electrified fence to keep my cats in the backyard. There has to be two things to that the cat touches since they won't be on the ground to ground the connection. I bought a D cell powered power source that shocks pretty good and some capacitors or whatever that cut the voltage to almost nothing that I can adjust to find something uncomfortable but not strong enough to cause them to jump into a dangerous place.

How do I know how the power will be affected by the length of the wire? Can you help me with a way to set up the two sets of wires on a block wall that will shock my cats?

I know this sounds cruel but we have tried for over a year to keep them in and a new neighbor has a rotweiller that is dangerous. We've lost one cat already to another dog further down the road.

Thanks. I appreciate your help.

Reply to
Gray asphalt
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Keeping your cats in your yard is going to be a challenge.

If I understand your situation correctly, you have a brick wall and need to install some sort of deterrent that will emit a "small electronic correction" (marketing BS for "electric shock") every time your cats try to leave your yard.

You might try running the two wires (hot wire and ground wire) together about 1/2" - 1" apart (depending on the size of your cats) along the top of the wall in such a way that the cats can't scale the wall without touching them. The systems that they install on large office buildings to discourage birds are set up like this.

I apologize if I've misunderstood your post.

Just an idea.

Reply to
Banister Stairwell

Cats are quite clever. I doubt that this will succeed. My guess is that they'll find a way to get out and then be afraid to come back because of being shocked on the way in.

RB

Gray asphalt wrote:

Reply to
RB

That's exactly right. It's the positioning that I'm stumped about. They have foiled my attempts for a long time now and I'm pretty sure they would jump over anything that they did not "have" to touch on the way over the fence.

I've thought about larger metal strips positioned at the top of the wall but I'm still unsure of the voltage loss across 150 feet of fence.

Reply to
Gray asphalt

: > How do I know how the power will be affected by the : > length of the wire? Can you help me with a way to set : > up the two sets of wires on a block wall that will shock : > my cats? : >

: > I know this sounds cruel but we have tried for over a : > year to keep them in and a new neighbor has a rotweiller : > that is dangerous. We've lost one cat already to another : > dog further down the road. : >

: > Thanks. I appreciate your help. : >

: >

:

That definitely is a concern to me. They do come back in though the front door though but I would feel terrible if they didn't come back and the one wall is by the dangerous dog so they might jump down there and that would be terrible as I do love the cats. I guess I can ask my neighbor to help out by keeping the dog in for a while. Yeah, why not.

I don't have much choice here though. We have too many to keep in the house all of the time. I've put up white board on the block thinking they wouldn't be able to get there back claws in to get up the wall. I put wire mesh teepees on top of the fence thinking they couldn't walk on an angled surface and did the same with block that I cut and filled with plaster. I made a little experimental enclosure to test ideas. The whiteboard worked in the enclosure but not in practice.

If you want to know how smart cats are try to keep them confined. I have been witness to some amazing feats of athleticism, truly.

Reply to
Gray asphalt

Gray asphalt wrote:>I need to put an electrified fence to keep my cats in

God, that's funny! Tom Someday, it'll all be over....

Reply to
Tom

The only way to keep a cat in a yard is to put a cover on it. Or a moat around it. Cats are pretty agile and pretty smart.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

Use one of those virtual dog fences. I think you can get two collars for it. Basically, it's a wireless fence. You install the fence where you want it, and as soon as the cats get within so many feet, they either hear a beep, or get a shock. I dunno if it works on cats as well as it does dogs.. but it's worth a try.

Reply to
clevere

I don't think you are going to do it that way. Cats are quick to learn and agile. They will find a way around it. It takes quite a fence to keep cats in.

Too bad they are accustomed to getting out. I have two cats and no such problem, they have been in all their life and have not desire to go out. The only time I have allowed them out the door is when there is snow on the ground. They like it warm and dry.

The only thing I know of that might work is a totally enclosed area.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Keep them indoors and it works fine.

The average cat kills one songbird a day, if that matters. The difficulty is that the population of cats does not decline when the population of songbirds does, since cats are fed regardless; so you can pretty well wipe out easily-caught songbirds in a cat area.

Dealing with cat-hating dogs (nothing to do with Rotweiller) sort of addresses the balance. Dogs would be pro-bird, not being particularly good at catching them.

Reply to
Ron Hardin

[...]

just doing their part to help the little feathered friends evolve... Same argument goes for drinking alcohol... it kills the weak brain cells leaving the strong to survive. ;)

While I admire the OP's intent to keep their pets from interfering with their neighbors, I think they are in a loosing battle and also missing a point.

They shouldn't have to ask their neighbors to keep their dogs in... They need to maintain control over their cats. (just as the neighbors need to maintain their pets, including preventing them from barking incessantly for no good reason)

A reverse angle perimeter cover might work for them. if it were electrified, it might even have greater efficiency. Essentially have several wires running around the perimeter in a plain that leans towards the center of the containment yard. use maybe 8 spread out 2-3 inches between them. have every other one opposite sides of the e-fence.

Other options are to harness and leash (lead) the cats, or only let them out when someone is there to supervise.

We have eight indoor cats (the "octo-puss"). The baby (who lived for ~4 weeks outside before being left behind in a humain society sweep)

*loves* to go outside. She only goes out when we are there to watch her. She's good for catching moles. (we discourage her from going after the birds at the feeder... ;) The others like to be with us, and we will occationally let 1 or 2 of them out when we are outside. (more than that and they are too hard to watch)
Reply to
Philip Lewis

You may be trying to solve the wrong problem.

In most contests with dogs, cats will win. Consider:

  1. For short distances, the average house cat can hit 30 miles-per-hour.
  2. Cats can not only climb, but jump MUCH higher than a dog.
  3. Cats have a much higher pain-threshold than dogs.
  4. Cats are not stupid - they will not knowingly put themsleves in harm's way or torment a dog.
  5. A dog cannot "sneak up" on a cat; a cat can come to dog-harm only by being trapped and it's defenses overwhelmed.

(I recently read a story about a dog being walked in a county park. The dog gave chase to a roaming cat. The cat went zip up a tree while the dog, its eyes being focused on the cat, ran past the tree at full speed and off an

80' cliff into the river below. It took the fire department rescue team four hours to retrieve the dog (unhurt) from the water below. The cat, still in the tree, nearly laughed itself to death.)

So, you need only to deal with the rare case of #6. Two possible solutions come to mind:

  1. Provide adequate escape mechanisms for the cat (ramps, small, one-way, holes in the fence, etc.). Your neighbor will probably cooperate.
  2. Kill the dogs.

We have a (mostly) outside cat. I have personally seen her bring an Irish Setter to grief, chase two 30-pound raccoons into the next county, and teach a significant - and painful - lesson to a oppossum. No one knows what other wildlife she's brought to Jesus.

Nevertheless, one high-tech idea is a combination motion detector and water-sprinkler. I'll leave it to you to work out the details.

Best of luck.

Reply to
JerryMouse

well, i did have a cat that used to walk on top of a 6' block wall just to annoy the lab in the next yard. after a while the dog figured out he could never catch the cat and didn't bother it anymore. my cat then helped himself to the dog food bowl regularly.

Reply to
Charles Spitzer

You don't need an electric fence, you need a chicken wire enclosure with an overhead net.

Reply to
default

" snipped-for-privacy@uri.edu" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@uri.edu:

Or just a big screen-style pool enclosure.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

Forget the moat. Our cats swim. Last summer one decided to go after a blue heron that was wading in the harbor. Quite a swim but no bird.

RB

SteveB wrote:

Reply to
RB

Post videos of the first "try", please. :+)

Reply to
Jay

Question.... If it's a new neighbor... how do you know that their rotweiller is dangerous?

Rotweillers can be very loving and friendly dogs. It all depends on how they are raised. Contrary to populer belief, ALL rotweillers are NOT dangerous.

Reply to
Daniel L. Belton

"JerryMouse" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com... : Gray asphalt wrote: : >

: > I know this sounds cruel but we have tried for over a : > year to keep them in and a new neighbor has a rotweiller : > that is dangerous. We've lost one cat already to another : > dog further down the road. : >

: >

: You may be trying to solve the wrong problem. : : In most contests with dogs, cats will win. Consider: : 1. For short distances, the average house cat can hit 30 miles-per-hour. : 2. Cats can not only climb, but jump MUCH higher than a dog. : 3. Cats have a much higher pain-threshold than dogs. : 4. Cats are not stupid - they will not knowingly put themsleves in harm's : way or torment a dog. : 5. A dog cannot "sneak up" on a cat; a cat can come to dog-harm only by : being trapped and it's defenses overwhelmed. : : (I recently read a story about a dog being walked in a county park. The dog : gave chase to a roaming cat. The cat went zip up a tree while the dog, its : eyes being focused on the cat, ran past the tree at full speed and off an : 80' cliff into the river below. It took the fire department rescue team : four hours to retrieve the dog (unhurt) from the water below. The cat, still : in the tree, nearly laughed itself to death.) : : So, you need only to deal with the rare case of #6. Two possible solutions : come to mind: : 1. Provide adequate escape mechanisms for the cat (ramps, small, one-way, : holes in the fence, etc.). Your neighbor will probably cooperate. : 2. Kill the dogs. : : We have a (mostly) outside cat. I have personally seen her bring an Irish : Setter to grief, chase two 30-pound raccoons into the next county, and teach : a significant - and painful - lesson to a oppossum. No one knows what other : wildlife she's brought to Jesus. : : Nevertheless, one high-tech idea is a combination motion detector and : water-sprinkler. I'll leave it to you to work out the details. : : Best of luck. : :

One of our cats got killed by a neighbor dog. After reading one of the posts I'm wondering it there isn't a chance that the neighbor might have trapped my cat.

I meant that the neighbor might be willing to keep the dog inside while we broke in the fence, not long term.

We've got a bunch of cats so the collars might be too expensive and we have to worry about poisoning, too, so even if the dogs aren't a problem then we still have to keep them in.

Thanks so much for you suggestions, It makes me feel good : -)

Reply to
Gray asphalt

: >How do I know how the power will be affected by the : >length of the wire? Can you help me with a way to set : >up the two sets of wires on a block wall that will shock : >my cats? : >

: >I know this sounds cruel but we have tried for over a : >year to keep them in and a new neighbor has a rotweiller : >that is dangerous. We've lost one cat already to another : >dog further down the road. : >

: >Thanks. I appreciate your help. : >

: : : Question.... If it's a new neighbor... how do you know that their : rotweiller is dangerous? : : Rotweillers can be very loving and friendly dogs. It all depends on : how they are raised. Contrary to populer belief, ALL rotweillers are : NOT dangerous.

One of my favorite dogs, (mother-in-laws) is a rotweiler. But the neighbor's dog barks loud tries to get through the gate, and neighbor told me that he bites. : -)

Reply to
Gray asphalt

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