How cat proof 3.8 ft. fence?

[metamorph]

Hi Norachan,
Thank you for your reply and the photos. I'll be having my two cats, who r currently 12 weeks old, in a 10x10x6' wire mesh kennel that is arriving next week.
Their current "playpen" is a 4x4x4 wire mesh structure that I zip tied 24" wide X 26" long clear polycarbinate panels to each section of the 4x4 mesh unit. They have not been able to climb out of the 4' playpen as they can't get claws into the polycarbinate panels.
I'd like to do the same for the 10x10 (rather than put a wire mesh roof on the unit) but polycarbonate for the 4x4 was $110 so for 10x10 would be more than cost of the 10x10 mesh unit! So I could use the wavy plastic panels but would prefer clear panels as I used in playpen and am trying to determine if rather than the 26" width of the plastic panels how to determine the minimum width of plastic needed. So am trying to determine how far an adult cat can stretch up if hind feet are on wire mesh rung. Thanks for any input on this!

 

[Norachan]

Wow, that is a lot to pay for polycarbonate! How about making a wooden roof for the playpen? That would give them some shade and look a bit better than the wire mesh.

It depends on where you are, but a few things to bear in mind are;

A. How long are the kittens going to be in the play pen every day.
B. Are they going to be left in there unsupervised.
C. Are there any other animals around who might try to climb in.
D. What extreme weather might you get.

I've had another feral cat and several tanuki climb into my enclosure. It's too big to put a roof on, so I just have to hope the cats all stay out of the way of any intruders until I can get them out.

We also get a lot of snow here. The netting was too fine to let the snow through, so in the winter this happened.

I've now replaced the net overhang with wire mesh. This is a lot more weatherproof and looks better than the netting too.

It's still very much a work in progress though. What works for one cat won't always work for another.

A wood or wire and wood roof would be the safest option if your cats are going to be allowed in their playpen unsupervised, I think.

 

[metamorph]

Thank you Norachan for the additional info and photos. The 4x4 playpen is temporary until the 10x10x6 is ready - it should arrive next week.
The kittens r in playpen, which is under a roof of a barn, for several hours each day while I tend to horses and chickens-most of the time they r in two large dog crates that are connected - they r very active inside the dog crates which has several levels but am eager for the 10x10 to arrive as they would benefit from having more space to wrestle and play w toys. They are unable to get out of playpen w the polycarbonate panels on upper portion of each segment of mesh 4x4 playpen.

There is no snow here in bay area of San Francisco but we do have rainy season which I'll prepare for prior to November. But there r feral cats that might want to climb into the 10x10x6. I might just avoid all issues by putting a wire mesh roof on the 10x10. was hoping to leave open to the sky by using wavy plastic panels and maybe a 3" pvc roller on the outside perimeter to prevent feral cats from entering. There will be several small areaca palms inside the 10x10 and shade cloth to provide shade-it can get very hot here. an insulated house w rain overhang and wind panels will be attached outside the 10x10 on the usual NW windy side. There will also be several self heating tunnels and hammocks at multiple levels of ramps thru out the 10x10. the 10x10 will sit on outdoor carpet over pallets. am thinking of sitting 10x10 on coated wire mesh so nothing can dig into the 10x10.

 

[Norachan]

I'd love to see some pictures of it when you've got it all set up.

 

[metamorph]

Will post photos when it's all set up - it may take awhile as there is still lots to construct in the way of ramps etc.
Thanks for all your advice!