How to build a cat enclosure in a rental property?

[Janeylou]

Hi,

I have recently moved to a rented townhouse with a very small patio/backyard area. the covered area is metal and the surround fences are wooden. There's also some quite tall trees in the garden. I want to build an enclosure for my cats but also need access for my dog to go out to the toilet so I'm looking at a cat net. As i'm in a rental I'm not allowed to structually change the outside area so drilling holes would need to be kept to a minimum. There's also a side access down the side of the property which would be good to make further use of, although I realise that the netting would need to be attached to the wall! Does anybody have any ideas how I can make this work? Thank you for your help

[JacobZ]

Hi @Janeylou,

Thank you for your question and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is wonderful to have you with us.

Is it possible to get some photos of the entire area? It would certainly help our members to assist with creating a solution for all areas you are looking to cover.

Unfortunately, it would be very difficult to create something capable of keeping your cat in, with the ability to be opened to allow your dog out, without drilling into the concrete or structures around.

You could create a fairly secure area with shade cloth or protective netting and zip ties connected to the patio posts. You could then attach the bottom of the netting to a heavy piece of timber, such as a 200 x 50mm Treated Pine Sleeper CCA H4 to weigh down the bottom edge. This could then be lifted to allow your dog to get in and out.

It's not a perfect solution, but it would be a way to create an enclosure without screwing anything in to posts or the concrete.

Allow me to tag some of our helpful members to see if they have any ideas, @Dave-1, @Noyade, @Nailbag.

You might also like to check out our range of cat enclosures as potential solutions.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[Dave-1]

Afternoon @Janeylou 

Mmmm thinking about the areas that you want to enclose. A few more photos of the overall area would certainly help with ideas.

However from what you have shown there are some fixing points that I can see.

-I am thinking of using Saxon 90cm x 10m Bird Netting Wire and cable tieing it to the posts of your awning. 

-I am thinking of the posts needed to be attached to the side of the house and how to get around the issue. I saw on Gardening Australia Where they used a metal garbage bin, post inside it (for you post against the edge) and fill it with rocks. The post needs to be up to the roof tall.

-There are gaps under the guttering I can see, you can double or tripple link a cable tie to loop around the beam and through your mesh to secure it.

For the "door" you could go the path of a zipped flyscreen doorway and use the garbage bin with rocks and post either side.

Looking at the cat enclosure you will see.

-Bin plus post next to the wall and also in the same bin a post for the "doorway" then the zippered flyscreen, then the bin plus post. 

-Strung between the bin and post to the frist support for the awning will be the mesh, that gets wrapped around the post and continues to the second post (cabled tied 4 times over the 90cm height) from the second post you then do the same towards the wall with another bin plus post inside it.

-Repeat 2 and a half times by the look of it as you go up to the height of the roof.

By my count I see

3 Bins needed

4 H3 pieces of timber

Quantity of waste rock/concrete (you could also use some soil towards the top and grow things in the bins)

Cable ties 30cm long ish (A fair few)

-Zippered fly screen door

This could be extended as much as you want with more bins and mesh. There are a few differeant sizes that will work.

Dave

[Nailbag]

Hi @Janeylou 

Last year friends of mine were in a similar situation needing a temporary cat enclosure in a short term rental between old and new house moves. I rigged up a similar idea to what @JacobZ suggested but using an anti-bird netting which was a much cheaper alternative to shade cloth but achieved the same result. It's also much lighter so doesn't require much to secure it. But I still needed/wanted to gain the ok from the owners as it does require some permanent fixing, which I later restored when they left.

I used screw in hooks along the top rails of the boundary fence and then in to the facia board (just under the guttering). These small holes once the screws were removed is what I promised to make good when they left. Like @JacobZ suggestion, I used cable ties to join the netting and where possible to secure to the outer perimeters.

Bird netting unlike shed cloth is very stretchable. So once the hooks are in place you simply pull the netting over the hooks. There will be some back and fourth to get it all relatively even as it won't work out thats its only the edge of the netting thats hooked..

Hope this helps.

Nailbag

 

[Janeylou]

Thank you so much Dave that's really helpful

[Janeylou]

Thank you so much Nailbag that's really helpful