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Rose & Dora's Enclosed Home

This very relaxed cat lives with her sister, Rose, in a secure house with an enclosed garden.

Rose & Dora have free run of the house and the enclosure, but do not venture into the outside world.

There are many benefits to this. The world is a scary and dangerous place. Enclosed cats are protected from the following:

• Being hit by a car or other vehicle (extremely common - especially at night).

• Suffering injuries or death from ferocious dogs or other animals.

• Infection from stray / feral cats carrying diseases such as FIV - not to mention fleas and ticks.

• Becoming locked in a neighbour's property or vehicle, or simply getting lost.

• Being harmed or abducted by those who dislike cats.

• Intolerance of neighbours who are unwilling to allow their gardens to serve as cat toilets!

• Accidental poisoning (slug pellets and anti-freeze to name just two).

• Upsetting bird lovers by the occasional accident involving our feathered friends.

Dora

Enclosures

Rose

More and more people are now enclosing their gardens to not only protect their cats, but also to protect local wildlife. In the USA and Australia it is very common for cats to live safely in an enclosed home. Australians in particular are very concerned that free-roaming cats could endager indigenous animals that are only found on their continent. Here in the UK, the RSPB are worried that cats may be responsible for the decline in population of several bird species.

Besides the obvious benefits of keeping your cats safe and protecting local wildlife, it has also been proved that enclosed cats live longer than those left to roam loose.

It is not difficult to adapt your home. There are several ways to enclose your garden and screens are available to cover windows in the Summer. To avoid cats slipping out of doors, many people have a porch fitted (or just a second door) so that the inner door can be closed before the outer one is opened. If you are interested, please explore the links below to see the ingenious ways that cats are protected in the UK & around the world.

Please note that it is not Cats Protection policy that cats must live in enclosed homes. It is simply an option to be aware of for people who are concerned that their cats might be killed or injured by external dangers. If you do allow your cats to roam loose, please try to at least keep them in at night. It has been established that 90% of cats killed by cars are struck between dusk and dawn.

Enclosure Links