My garden is surrounded by 6ft fences and it cost a lot more than £100 @raisingirl, but it fails to keep cats in or out.
Your comment about them taking their lives in their paws, but at least he lived free, does strike a chord with me. As a cat lover, I do worry about that all the time. They are always kept in after 7pm though.
They do have a wild nature about them and I admire how they are able to adjust from living with humans, to fending for themselves if they have to, so keeping them indoors seems cruel to me.
I do appreciate that cats can be a nuisance, but I have no issue with anyone who takes aim at my cats with a powerful water gun. Short of legislation ( which I don't think will ever happen) then that is the only solution to roaming that I can suggest.
From what I've read, the consensus seems to be that most ( but not all ) cat owners think; " I want a cat and I don't care how that effects anyone, or anything else"
When my friends cat was run over it was returned to her in a box by a neighbour (some distance away) who chastised her for being an irresponsible cat owner who should be ashamed of exposing her pet to danger by letting it roam free. My friend said 'if you owned cats you would understand the problem'. She replied 'I have four cats. My garden is fenced and the top of the fence has inward facing wire which prevents my cats from leaving my garden.' If she can do it why can't other cat owners. It's not impossible to protect your pet whilst letting it have a good quality of life. Most cat owners just can't be bothered and prefer to let their animals run the risk of being injured whilst causing a nuisance to other people. I really don't see why I have to check my garden for cat dirt before letting my two year old grandson play.
All the gardening/pet advice you read says to plant pyrocantha or other spikey plants to deter cats but if someone uses artifical pyrocantha suddenly everyone loses their minds. Well the Daily Mail readers lose what's left of their minds...
I don't know the answer to stopping cats roaming. Google is full of suggestions once you filter out the ones that are trying to sell you the 'cat scarer ultimate 3000' or similar nonsense. Hopefully the solution is better than making gardens look like a POW camp though.
The change will come eventually. If you said to someone 10 years ago that plastic will be the problem it is now they wouldn't believe you. As population increases and housing density increases conflicts with cats will also increase. The interest in wildlife is at an all time high and all the time the research data showing how cats impact our wildlife is slowly accumulating. Prominent ecologists have been asking cat owners to be more responsible for years now but still very few cats even have bell collars on (I know some do and well done to those owners).
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
At least we are getting somewhere with this discussion @Yviestevie. I would be more than happy to try to fence mine in. However, my garden is quite spacious and the only workable and affordable thing I have found is to drape netting over hanging basket brackets all the way round. That might keep my cats in, but other cats could jump over and then be trapped. Back to the drawing board for me ☹️.
I have to say I do see your point, I have 2 lazy tomcats who rarely venture out of the garden and never kill things apart from an occasional mouse. My neighbours actually entice them in with food etc so they are not a nuisance but maybe if I am ever lucky enough to own my own property I will seriously consider trying to fence them in as it's obviously much more of a problem than I had previously realised so there you have converted me!
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Your comment about them taking their lives in their paws, but at least he lived free, does strike a chord with me. As a cat lover, I do worry about that all the time. They are always kept in after 7pm though.
They do have a wild nature about them and I admire how they are able to adjust from living with humans, to fending for themselves if they have to, so keeping them indoors seems cruel to me.
I do appreciate that cats can be a nuisance, but I have no issue with anyone who takes aim at my cats with a powerful water gun. Short of legislation ( which I don't think will ever happen) then that is the only solution to roaming that I can suggest.
" I want a cat and I don't care how that effects anyone, or anything else"
I don't know the answer to stopping cats roaming. Google is full of suggestions once you filter out the ones that are trying to sell you the 'cat scarer ultimate 3000' or similar nonsense. Hopefully the solution is better than making gardens look like a POW camp though.
The change will come eventually. If you said to someone 10 years ago that plastic will be the problem it is now they wouldn't believe you. As population increases and housing density increases conflicts with cats will also increase. The interest in wildlife is at an all time high and all the time the research data showing how cats impact our wildlife is slowly accumulating. Prominent ecologists have been asking cat owners to be more responsible for years now but still very few cats even have bell collars on (I know some do and well done to those owners).
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.