Cat Proofing a Wooden Fence
In some instances, additional cat-proofing of the fence itself can be required when installing on some fence types, especially timber fences with the posts and rails on the inside of the fence. This is due to the ‘climbability’ aspect, where cats can sink their claws into the timber whilst scaling the fence – giving them the leverage required to scale with enough speed and composure to get over the installed cat fence rollers.
If the design of your wooden fence is fairly flat and simple without any obtrusions, you can give it a try and install Oscillot without any extra cat proofing. We recommend to monitor your cat for a while and see how it behaves. Some cats are less agile than others and will give up after a few tries. However, if your cat is particularly skillful and persistent, the wooden texture of your fence might give your cat just the right nudge to help it get over the system. If that happens, consider adding extra cat proofing measures such as brackets. Brackets can be used to angle and extend the paddles further from the fence.
We generally recommend using brackets on timber paling fences and on any fences with a horizontal rail within 15 3/4 inches from the top of your fence. If you installed without brackets first, you can simply take the system down and re-install with brackets.
Not all of these fences will require additional cat-proofing, but it is something to keep in mind if your cat is particularly agile, determined to escape and can use the horizontal rails as a ladder with ease. Even if you have a timber fence with posts and rails, Oscillot® can certainly still be the solution to keeping your cat safely at home! If you find that your cat is managing to scramble up your timber fence and over, even after installing Oscillot®, you can install a sheet of polycarbonate below the paddles to cover the horizontal rail and top of the vertical post. This will prevent the cat from being able to get any traction near the top of the fence, preventing the scrambling over and, in conjunction with cat fence rollers, making your fence cat-proof.
If your fence also has a lattice top, consider installing Oscillot cat fence rollers on brackets, as well as covering the lattice with clear sheets of polycarbonate or light panels as in the following example:
Cat Proofing a Vinyl Fence
Installation on a vinyl fence can sometimes be a littletricky due to prominent fence posts separating the fence panels. The majorityof vinyl fence designs only allow installations on the inside of the fence dueto protruding fence posts. In some cases, fence posts come out too far into theyard from the fence panel, which might not allow for the system to fully clearthe posts when installed on the inside as well.
Installing the cat fence rollers with brackets will help you clear the fence posts. If our brackets don’t work for you, take a look at a creative solution from one of our customers:
Cat Proofing a Chain Link Fence
A chain link fence is easy to climb due to pockets of a metal net that can be used as a ladder. Installation on a chain link is similar to any other fence type. We supply you with self-tapping metal screws that will securely hold the system in place. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that there are no gaps in the fence itself and that it is firmly secured in the ground.
Cat Proofing a Brick, Concrete, Cinderblock, Masonry Fence
To accommodate an installation on your brick, concrete, cinderblock or masonry fence, Oscillot cat fence rollers will be supplied with masonry plugs for the screws. You can follow the same installation steps in our guide, with the additional step of pre-drilling the holes in your fence to insert the masonry plugs.
Cat Proofing a Wrought Iron Fence
Installation on wrought iron fence is similar to an installation on any other metal fence. Self-tapping metal screws will easily hold the system in place. However, you must make sure that the gaps between the wrought iron bars aren’t wide enough for the cat to walk through. If that’s an issue, you can cover the fence with any kind of netting or polycarbonate.