How to kitten proof your garden is probably not the first thing that springs to mind when looking at adorable kitty pics. The arrival of kittens is an exciting event. Cute, soft furred, cuddly; spending their time purring and sweetly chasing the toys you dangle in front of their tiny noses.
But those little bundles of fluff soon become bolder and start bouncing over your sofa. And across your computer keyboard. And scatter all the papers that were neatly stacked for filing…
You begin to wonder how soon they can go into the garden? Most vets will advise not until after they’ve had their injections. To be on the safe side, they’ll often need to be accompanied in the garden until they’ve been neutered.
Then the penny drops. You kitten-proofed the house, being careful to remove electric wires out of their way. But you completely forgot you’d need to kitten proof your garden!
Getting a Kitten or Kittens? – Questions to ask Yourself
Kittens are far more inquisitive than mature cats so you need to look around your garden, the garden shed, greenhouse and so on very carefully. Crawling around to get down to the kittens’ eye level can be helpful.
How old will the Kittens be when they arrive?
Small kittens are more easily contained in a space; but easier to lose in the undergrowth!
What time of year will it be when they venture outside?
If its winter and cold, they may not want to stay outside very long at first.
Are there other cats in the household?
Their relationship with other felines in the family may affect how keen your kitten is to explore the garden and beyond.
Do you have a cat flap?
If your other cat has constant access to outside it will be more difficult to manage your kitten’s ability to exit and enter. Initially you may need to restrict your other cat’s access to the garden.Of course, not every cat owner has a cat flap in a back door. Perhaps they have bi-fold patio doors instead of a back door, or possibly they’re renting and aren’t able to cut a hole for a flap.
Do your kittens come running when you call them?
This isn’t about a dog-type training, but if your kitten/s love you so much that they will run to you it will make it a lot easier to prevent them from scaling the barricades you’ve set up. And of course, when they do first climb the fence and panic at the big world outside, they will respond to your voice, making it easier to track down and rescue them.
Where do you live?
Busy urban streets and fields full of cows present different issues to the exploring kitten.
Kittens and Your Garden – Things to Consider
A few thoughts about the boundaries, potential hazards and possible escape routes. These are likely to include: –
- Garden fences (solid)
- Gates
- Trellis fences, horizontal slatted fences
- Garden walls
- Garden hedges
- Raised beds
- Ponds and water features
- Greenhouses
- Garden sheds
- Water butts and compost bins
- Garden statues
- Plants – poisonous or edible?
We are considering rear gardens here, as this is the more likely garden you’ll let your kittens into. However, there’s a section on your front garden below as they may go into that too.
How to Kitten Proof Your Garden – Boundaries
Check all fences for gaps – really small gaps as kitten’s heads are small and where the head fits, so does the kitten! Gaps may be at the base of a fence or where a fence panel meets a post. You may need to clamber into the shrubbery in order to check everything.
Trellis fences and horizontal slatted fences pose a different issue. They are ladders, enabling kittens to easily climb a fence they wouldn’t normally be able to until they were bigger. If your trellis fence is covered with thorny stemmed climbing roses it may not be a problem.
What are your options otherwise? Well, if there are no climbing plants on the trellis (perhaps its winter and you grow sweet peas there in summer) then you could cover the trellis. This needs to be with a material that doesn’t provide a lightweight kitten with claw holds. Or allows them to get caught in fabric and panic. This is only a short term fix, so, for example, internal ply should be fine. The barrier needs to reach from the ground if this is an exit point from the garden, but only reach slightly higher them the kittens could leap.
Gates in the rear garden generally match the type of fencing you have. The issue here is likely to be the gap at the base. The quickest fix is to rest a plank across here when the kittens are in the garden.
How to Kitten Proof Your Garden – Structures and Sundries
Greenhouses can offer a safe environment for kittens to start exploring. You can get on with some gardening and the kittens can see out as well as creep under greenhouse staging. The potting shed can be a fun place for kittens too…although you may like to move your vintage clay pots off the shelf first!
Imagine a neat stack of pots next to a folded-up BBQ, next to a water butt, next to a fence. To your kitten this equals a nice easy route for them to explore your neighbour’s garden! And they’ll probably get stuck in there as there’s no convenient jumping up place to return. And is your neighbours garden kitten proof…? Moving the BBQ, etc away from the water butt prevents an easy egress, at least when the kittens are first exploring.
Lightweight statues and large pots are at risk of being knocked over by playful kittens, especially if you have more than one! Square pots and cylindrical pots are less likely to come crashing down (and potentially injuring kitten or you) than those with narrow bases.
And look closely at where that statue is placed: is it yet another kitten climbing frame?
Kittens and Plants: Poisonous or Edible?
This is not an in depth look at what is and isn’t kitten friendly planting. Some plants are obvious, some are going to depend on how much of a nibbler your kittens are. Remember that as they mature, cats generally will nibble fewer plants. The initial nibbles are often to do with learning and exploring, just as they would be with a human baby and toddler.
Lilies are an obvious no-no that most people know to avoid. However, you may find you’re ok. I always had been with my cats, but those two kittens in the main picture were into trying EVERYTHING. So my lilies were enjoyed by my (then) cat-less daughter for the kittens first summer, just to be on the safe side. And just when I thought I might grow lilies again I rescued more kittens. Maybe next year is when I grow lilies again…
Now, I could give you a list of about 400 plants, some of which you may be growing in your garden or as houseplants. But you’re not going to be able to demand that your neighbour stops growing daffodils because they’re toxic to your kitten who will visit their garden. Yes, you did read that right, all parts of the daffodil, or Narcissus, are toxic to some degree or another to cats, dogs and humans of all ages.
Garden Teacher Tip
A word of warning, some of the lists you find on google are not accurate. For example, I have seen Rosemary cited as poisonous to cats because of its volatile oils. Well, yes it would give them a stomach upset if they ate a quantity of rosemary leaves. It wouldn’t do me much good either! But I doubt that either my kittens or I could keep eating strong tasting Rosemary to make ourselves ill.
What else? Tomato leaves, all parts of Yew (Taxus baccata) and most flowers which grow from bulbs and corms are contenders to make your kitten ill.
My best advice is for you to keep an eye on the plants your small kitten is nibbling and stop them from eating anything you are not sure about. There’s a blog link below on pet friendly herbs you could grow.
How to Kitten Proof Your Front Garden
You may not let your kitten out in to the front garden until they’re much older, and less likely to run straight for the road. But when you do, many of the suggestions above are as relevant for the front as they are for the rear garden.
There are a few items which can cause issues. Fences and garden walls are often substantially lower in a front garden, therefore so much easier for a kitten to climb over. Gates can be a problem as they often have gaps which are large enough for a kitten to sneak through. Or you may not have any boundaries at all!
And finally
Two last tips to make you feel comfortable about your kitten’s safety.
- borrow or buy a kitten sized harness and leash. Best to get your kitten used to wearing this whilst still inside the house – they’re very entertaining in the sudden inability to walk when it’s first put on!
- kittens are nearly always hungry and should come racing back to your voice and the promise of food. Once you’ve kitten-proofed the garden try letting them out just before meal time for a brief explore.
If you would like Plews to help kitten proof your garden and create one that will easily evolve into a cat friendly garden, please get in touch!
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