The Empress Clara and the accidental fence
By Gina Spadafori
January 21, 2008
A couple weeks ago, as I whined about here on the blog, a big nasty storm (by California standards, anyway) blew down some 80-90 feet of my fences, which meant I had to leash-walk all the dogs in the rain for a few days until the fencing contractor could get the fences repaired.
While he was here, we talked over some additional fencing I wanted, for a larger vegetable garden and possibly for another dog-door-accessible potty area, this one off the kitchen (I already have one off a back bedroom). Owing to a language-related misunderstanding — oh, if only I’d minored in Spanish instead of Italian! — I came home to find 5-foot-tall fenced-in area off the kitchen that wasn’t really what I had in mind for the dogs. Nice work, but .. oh well.
It’s a lovely little area that’s fenced off inside the yard now, sunny in the morning and shaded in the afternoon. And the fence is done, so what to do with the space?
Over the weekend it came to me: It’s the perfect start to the Empress Clara’s secret garden.
When Clara came here as a kitten, I had decided to screen in my back porch for her. Great idea, until the bids came in — between $3,000 and $6,000. Those bids quickly led to Plan B: Clara the completely indoor cat.
Except almost a year later, she’s not. I haven’t stressed about it too much, since I live on a street that’s like a country lane with very little traffic and there’s a three-acre private open space behind me. I never see her out front — why watch traffic go by when you can explore an urban jungle? Plus: She’s always in at night.
Of course, I would prefer to keep her contained for her own safety, to protect songbirds (although I don’t think she hunts) and to avoid any potential conflict with neighbors (which I’ll eventually have again, when the empty and possibly foreclosed house next door finally gets sold). Plus, I am planning another feline addition this spring, and Cat No. 2 may not be so content to stay relatively safe close-by and not hunt.
Today, while pretending to be wrapping up our weekly Pet Connection syndicated newspaper page — due this morning, and this is why the smart writer always bribesgives gifts to her editors — I went to the hardware store to figure out how to configure a tall cat-proof top for the new enclosure, which will also be an upgrade in outdoor play yard (on the bottom level) for Velocity the rabbit.
For feline access, I have a Let Meowt window-mounted cat door the manufacturer sent me for testing. Clara and eventual Cat No. 2 will be able to jump up on table in the kitchen and pop outside through the Let Meowt. Inside the new secure garden enclosure, I can easily build some ramps and loft space ala The Cat’s House (which I got to visit last year, and Bob Walker’s lovely and whimsical books can’t really show off the glory of the place in real life).
Even taking the expense of the accidental fencing into account, I still can do everything for tiny fraction of what it would have cost to screen in the full back patio, especially since a lot of the materials are already on hand from other projects. (Like the stall mats that will make for more comfortable — and still cleanable — flooring.)
By the end of next weekend, I hope images like the above — the beautiful Empress Clara coming over the back fence from the property behind me — are a thing of the past.
Sorry Empress. Your roaming days are few.
When my cats were kittens, I kept them in the house.
I have an enclosure to use at night or when I need them to stay safe but outside. However, my tuxedo boy cat will drive me to insanity if he does not get to roam, although his big roaming days are over (He is 14 yrs. old).
It is such a worry letting him out and listening for the possibility of a cat fight.
Sometimes I have trouble determining if I hear cats fighting or children crying.
Luckily, my female cat like to stay inside or in the enclosure. She feels safer.
I was wondering, Gina, how such an alert cat as Clara would want to stay confined indoors. It is extremely hard for me to confine a cat even though I know it is best for the feline.
Queen Clara is beautiful as always. Thanks for sharing the picture of her.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — January 21, 2008 @ 9:23 pm
The trick is always to never let them out. They can do very well inside if never given the opportunity to roam. Once they get a taste of the outdoors, though, it’s hard to keep ‘em in.
Clara slipped out a few times early, and liked it. I’m hoping that a large and entertaining enclosure will keep her happy once she’s used to it. And Cat No. 2 will never learn to like roaming, if I can help it at all!
Comment by Gina Spadafori — January 21, 2008 @ 10:04 pm
Thanks for the info.
My both cats are kept inside at night. If I ever got another cat, it would be inside or in an enclosure all the time. Too much uncertainty about the dangers that a cat could encounter.
At least Clara has animals inside the house to watch—a bird, a rabbit, dogs. At times, I can imagine her wanting to chase a mouse, squirrel, or bird. Oh, well, cats are fun, nonetheless!
Comment by Colorado Transplant — January 21, 2008 @ 10:19 pm
but ya gotta admit, that pic of her coming over the fence is awfully nice. she’s a real beauty!
when i lived in SF, i had 2 indoor/yard kitties. it pained me to move them to NYC and i thought they would hate 100% indoors. they adjusted pretty well, thankfully. in my first apt, they had access to the warehouse roof attached to my building and would romp in the snow or hang with me on the fire escape. after that apt, they never went out except to the vet. they seemed perfectly content. i now live with a couple of ex ferals that would love nothing better than to never go outside again. go figure!
i’m sure Clara will adjust just fine to an enclosed area. especially as she matures and the warm spring and summer sun starts hitting.
ack! reading about your plans makes me impatient to move. i WANT a garden and cat yard again!!!
Comment by straybaby — January 22, 2008 @ 12:46 am
My Magic refuses to be an indoor only cat. I’ve fenced in the hope of containing her. Might as well have saved my $$. She came from the great outdoors and still wants to return to it. Luckily as she ages she finds the outside temperatures not quite as much to her liking as before. It is a great source of stress to have her outside, but sometimes that is the only option.
Beautiful kitty, Gina!
Comment by Carol — January 22, 2008 @ 9:16 am
Yup. Seconding straybaby. I don’t think whether they’ve been outside or not has much to do with it.
The cat we had indoors-only from a very small kitten was always shooting for a cracked door. The ex-barn kittens and other outdoor-acclimated cats have never had much desire to return to the way things were, and would ignore a gaping door for quite some time.
-C
Comment by ellipsisknits — January 22, 2008 @ 10:26 am
My tuxedo cat. Batman, lived the first two years of his life sleeping near the railroad tracks and catching prey for his meals. I think, in part, he shows some feral behavior.
However, he is a darling, loving, good natured cat that loves to live with people.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — January 22, 2008 @ 1:01 pm
Interestingly, most cat rescue organizations in England refuse to adopt a cat out to a home that won’t let them go outside since that is felt to be unnatural.
Our four go in and out as they please 24/7, but we both work at home so we see them through the day. Wet food dinner is around five, so most everybody checks in about then. They all pretty much sleep inside at night. Niki the collie seems to keep track of them too.
I’ve thought about the inside/outside issue and have decided that there is no such thing as a risk-free life for any of us and that I am not going to deny our guys, all of whom are rescues who had already been outdoors, their days in the sun and the grass. And, anyway, Eowyn, would never forgive me if she couldn’t “help” me garden.
Comment by Susan Fox — January 22, 2008 @ 10:11 pm
Well, my boy cat is normal weight and roams outside.
My girlcat is inside all the time and is two pounds overweight.
It must be nice to have a dog to defend and look out for the cats.
Thanks for sharing the info of how the English view this issue of inside/outside cats, Susan Fox.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — January 23, 2008 @ 8:19 am
You’re welcome. It’s been interesting how my husband and I have come to depend on Niki’s superior ears and nose to keep track of what’s going on around the property and in our rural residential neighborhood.
I wonder, has anyone ever done a study of cat weight as it relates to the likely increased activity of outdoor cats vs. indoor cats? There might be a real trade-off there. Our cats scamper up trees trunks and race around the yard (we call it having “crazy fits”) I would imagine that the calories consumed vs. calories burned equation applies to cats pretty much the same as humans.
Comment by Susan Fox — January 23, 2008 @ 9:30 pm
Gosh, look at all that fur on Empress Clara. It’s a wonder she can jump a fence with all that fur weighting her down.
She’s so pretty.
Comment by Lynn — January 23, 2008 @ 11:53 pm
susan,
my indoor cats get plenty of activity :) 6ft cat gym and 5 for road racing! none of my cats are overweight. and i haven’t worried about their weight since they went grain free/raw. they range in age from 2-15yrs. in the past, my male cats would tend towards a bit heavy, but they were big cats to start with and i would just keep an eye on their weight and food intake. the raw diet has been heaven in the weight area as they all maintain a good weight on it. much easier when you have multiple pets. having a cat or 2 on a diet sucks! lol!~
Comment by straybaby — January 24, 2008 @ 2:20 am
Susan, my cats climb the cat trees, race around the house, wrestle with each other, the younger one also plays chase with the dog (the elder being over fourteen now and not quite as active as she used to be.) They both still love to Chase the Red Dot or stalk and pounce on the cat teasers, and get high on catnip mice. They’re not overweight; they’re quite svelte.
Comment by Lis — January 24, 2008 @ 6:32 am
I have two (indoor) cats. One is a battle to keep weight ON, the other is a battle to keep weight OFF. It’s an individual thing (genetics, etc.), IMHO.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — January 24, 2008 @ 7:15 am
My cats are indoor only. Which is a good thing considering I live in a highrise.
One cat is always ‘escaping’ into the hallway -and running into all the neighbors’ apartments if they open a door while he’s out there. I’m really glad I don’t live in a house - he’s so fast he’d be out in a flash. He was adopted as a stray and is so people friendly that I’m convinced that he became a stray by escaping from a house and then not being able to find his way home.
Comment by 2CatMom — January 24, 2008 @ 10:07 am
Your cat looks absolutely beautiful. ;)
Comment by sherwinwinsher@gmail.com — May 15, 2008 @ 5:36 pm
Sherwinwinsher—you should see her new cat who is named Ilario posted recently!
He also is a WOW.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — May 15, 2008 @ 7:35 pm