THE CAT-PROOFING PROCESS
Oscillot® installed around the perimeter of your fence line is most effective at containing your cats if you have identified and corrected all other routes (other than the fence) that your cat may use to escape your yard.
Your cat may also be using window sills, outbuildings, trees or roofing to exit your yard. Block off any spaces between fences and buildings where your cat may squeeze through as well as window sills and clothesline structures.
Remove items such as garbage bins, building materials, barbecues etc. near the fence line that may assist your cat to scale fences. Also remove shrubbery, bushes and trees and tree branches near fences that your cat may use to escape.
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 Oscillot®.
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 Oscillot®, making your fence cat proof.
CAT-PROOFING A TIMBER 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 Oscillot®.
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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.
ELIMINATING PLATFORMS
Even with Oscillot® installed, hot water units, gas units and air-conditioning units next to the fence line can make a perfect platform for a cat to jump onto and then leap from in an escape attempt. It is recommended that these types of platforms are removed from the equation so that they cannot compromise the cat-proofing of the fence.
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This is generally as simple as installing a sheet of rigid, clear polycarbonate sheeting on an angle from the outside edge of the unit up to the wall or fence. This prevents the cat from getting on top of the unit, or if they get on top of the unit, it prevents them jumping.
CAT-PROOFING SHEDS
We recommend cat-proofing the roof perimeter of sheds where possible when they are within two metres of the fence line.
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Installing Oscillot® around the perimeter of the shed roof will prevent the cat from jumping on top of the shed and using it to aid in an escape attempt.
The same theory applies for most shed types, as long at the roof is at least 1.80 metres high and there is a flat surface on top of the shed on which to install the system.