Assambly Instruction for a - Cat Safe Terrace Safety nets are a compromise solution for house cats with free paths. No bird has to fly away before that for its life and behind it, no cats have to fear cars and poison baits. Hardly any area of life is so burdened as the coexistence with neighbors. People argue often for years about branches and leaves, blades of grass and centimeters. For one the frogs croak too loud, others are disturbed by the garden gnome. And predominantly the pets! Bello’s vigorous barking often gives rise to violent rows just as Pussy’s preference to silence for the bed of tulips in the garden of the neighbors next door. It often comes down to a war of the nerves for cat lovers and their pets together against those thinking differently. On the first side there are the bird enthusiasts, to whom the welfare of the twittering beings in the garden prevails over anything, and on the other side are the other animal lovers, the cat owners.
Unlike dogs that are willing to return when whistled at, all calls and shouts are utterly useless if the kitten is on the prowl over the neighboring gardens.
Whether cats, on the other hand, would suffer psychological harm if they were not allowed outside, you do not know. The million household cats are actually against it. Even the experts do not agree on this point. There are veterinarians who caution against suddenly letting out cats that have spent half their lives exclusively in flats outside. These animals have never learned to deal with the dangers in the garden and on the road and usually do not survive in the unaccustomed freedom for too long. On the other hand, there are many four-legged daredevils that cannot be kept in the house even with force. They simply want out. Which cat fan can resist the wishful blinks from oblique, green eyes through the glass of the patio door to the most interesting games of butterflies, leaves in the wind, flowers, spiders, beetles and other animals? It thinks of a compromise - if it has the opportunity: perhaps no walk in the garden, but free passage on the terrace with restriction yes!
The solution: a Boy cat net, which is exactly made for this purpose. Between the posts of the pergola, the almost invisible olive green nylon net can be easily attached. However, one cannot forget the "roof"! A 2.40 meter set on the transom is definitely no problem for curious cats. As an example of a "netted terrace for both cat and human," we display the newly built patio of our author Ursula Kruger. Naturally, you would like to even be able to leave the terrace and not always go through the house towards the garden. The visibility and wind protection wall from wattle fence elements (1 mx 1.80 m) conceals a secret: The middle element is a sliding door. The building kit for it (sliding bar made of galvanized metal, screws, stoppers, etc.) are available in various lengths in hardware stores. The door is secured with a small padlock.
In our example we have not used the lower rail. An angle iron, doweled into the decking, preventing the door gets into swaying from the wind and jump out of the top rail. The first experiences with the new cat terrace have shown that the four household cats of our author, Ursula Kruger have greatly appreciated the new space; the net is only noticed by visitors on second glance and only when they are up close. A nice side effect of the net is that it is not dangerous for birds: It is an ideal support for climbing plants and helps transform the patio into a cozy, green arbor. Incidentally, you can protect any balcony with such a net!
The cost of the net, the bamboo poles and for the attachment and the sliding door specifically required parts cost around 250, - euros for a terrace area of 17.5 m² (without pergola and wattle fence elements). The installation takes about a day and requires no previous knowledge, only a little skill in working with screws, a screwdriver, hooks and eyes.
At the upper and lower ends of the pergola posts there are stainless or plastic covered hooksscrewed as a holder of the bamboo rods.
The rods are inserted through the hook and cannot be mounted. Since the bamboo rods vary greatly in strength, the thickest end is decisive for the diameter of the hook. Metal bands are an alternative that are turned into loops.
The network is temporarily hung on the hook. Don’t cut off anything yet!!
The bamboo rods or round wooden poles shoBe sure to leave gaps between floor plates and the bamboo poles cats are safely locked if you push the net under the plates.
uld be sawn to the required length. These rods can be purchased in many garden centers up to 180 cms in length. If you require longer, they are available in shops for horticultural products (see the Yellow pages).
The bamboo rods are first threaded above and then below through the net and then pushed through the hook.
Tighten the net, it loosens up a bit with time. You should only cut off any excess when the net is fully secured.
To secure the net in the longitudinal direction of the post, screw screw eyes at a distance between 15 to 20 cms.
You can attach the eyes to the net with net ties or plastic coated wire, by threading it through the net, pulling it tight and looping them through the eyelets.
Secure all 'loopholes' precisely. Cats can be very smart! In addition, the wind can tear the net,
small holes can quickly become larger openings. Any gaps between the floor boards and the
bamboo poles can be closed cat-safe by pushing the net under the plates.
