Weblog Entry - 07/16/2002: "To Dance beneath the Diamond Sky with one hand waving Free"

[Previous entry: "This temp worker's journal is SOOOO Funny"]
Green Consciousness Archive Index
[Next entry: "Justice Antonin Scalia's craziness unveiled"]

Click Here to Sign the Safe Space Petition

07/16/2002 "To Dance beneath the Diamond Sky with one hand waving Free"

This entry will always be at the top of this Journal - the new entries will always start right below this entry.
Click here to skip over this entry
I think it is so important that all new readers see and read this entry. Tell other people.
Your cats should always have several ways to get out of your house and be safe in your backyard until you can get to them. Just in case something bad happens (like a fire) and you are not there. And now there is a way to make this possible!
This entry is also for people who do not want other people's cats in their yard. Take some responsibility yourself. You may have more money than the offender. You can build a fence rather than starting a war with your neighbors. Read On.......
My cats are safe outside at last!
Most people know what horror I and my cats have suffered since 9/11/2000, when neighbors shot my 5 month old kittens for target practice and never stopped killing them after that.
If you're interested in the details, click "Higher Consciousness" on the green Index way at the bottom of this page or on my home page graphic.
I moved away from that house and that city when the legal system refused to protect me and instead persecuted me, saying I was just as bad as the animal abusers because I, like everyone else in that city of 4,000 people, let my cats go outside. I, however, had the misfortune to live next door to Mr. and Mrs. Satan from Hell.
Get this people - the victim of animal abuse is not as bad as the abusers. She did not "ask for it". You condone and excuse animal abuse when you have that attitude. You blame the victim and excuse the abuser. No one is responsible for animal abuse but the abuser. And believe me, they enjoy it and are always looking for an excuse to do it. Don't help them excuse their cruelty.
Cats have a right and a need to be outside in nature and nothing they do gives anyone the right to hurt them. They need the herbs, they need the exercise, they need the experience, and they need the healing power of nature just as we do. The house is just a big cage unless you really turn it into a jungle jim with a lot of eatable cat greens, open windows and fresh water.
NOW THERE IS A WAY TO HAVE IT ALL - THE CATS CAN GO OUTSIDE AND THEY CAN BE SAFE TOO!
I am writing today to announce that, on a six foot wooden fence, the Cat Fence-In System really does work. It can also be put on a chain link fence. I linked to the Cat Fence-In website below and copied some language from their site at the end of this entry.

THE BASE FENCE
The thing I would tell you about having the base fence built, is to tell the builder to place the fence right on the ground. If you do not give specific instructions, they will leave a few inches space and the cats will escape under the fence.
You can ask them to dig a trench (there is a machine, a trencher, that will do this). Order a fence one-half foot larger than your city's regulations allow, and have the installers place the extra inches in the trench.
However some people say there are problems with trenching. The ground freezing causes fence buckling when part of the fence is underground; other people say this is nonsense. I have no idea.
I had the fence set as close to the ground as possible and then I placed 4x4's along the bottom of it. Perfect! No one even tries to dig out. I did notice the boards seem father apart than when they first came and Lemke said that was because the wood was wetter when it came and as it dried there was some shrinkage. But it is not significant enough shrinkage to allow a cat to escape.
Be sure that the gates are also hung as low as possible.

Be sure the last fence post is placed as close to the house as possible. In accord with the no gap rule, avoid a large gap between the house and first fence post. The post closest to the house should be braced toward the house so it doesn't start leaning away from the house as the concrete dries.
Avoid Wet Wood - Lumber for base fence should be held for at least a month before it is used.
Have them deliver the lumber and let it sit in the garage a month or two before it is used unless they will guarantee that it will not shrink after installation, causing it to have wide spaces between each board.
If the wood is not dry when installed, when the shrinking of the base fence's wood is finished, there may be a gap between the gate and the fence post to which the gate is attached. A gap large enough for a cat to squeeze through. Best to get some guaranteed that the wood has set around long enough to have dried sufficiently so that the subsequent shrinkage is minimal.

THE CAT FENCE-IN SYSTEM
Cats, who are small lions, need exercise; the mental stimulation of the outdoors; the pleasure of eating catnip and cat grasses; rolling in the dust and sleeping in the sun. All animals including cats have a right to the pleasure and comfort of nature.
But it is simply not safe to let them roam. Remember the group of boys who barbecued a live kitten on an outdoor grill at a party. And remember the Wisconsin tavern party where they tortured a kitten to death for fun and bragged about it later. The jerks own the world and the legal system spits all over victims.
The latest story I read, was a pet store worker stomping a kitten to death in front of children waiting to buy her. He said she bit him, just like the Wisconsin DNR supervisor said, when he clubbed a cat to death with a pipe. Neither of these jerks did any time or was even fined.

So Of Course, if you live in a huge city and do not have a yard; or if you live paycheck to paycheck as so many of us do; a loving indoor cat home is far better than the alternatives for cats.

But now, if you can build a fence, cats can be given the freedom of a back yard.
Of course,you will have cat doors on the first floor hopefully in several places; (a window and a door to the back yard). You will NOT have problems with other animals coming in your house because you will have the cat fence to keep them out of the yard.
Dr. Patricia McConnell who has a radio program Calling All Pets has mentioned on the air that there are tubes that can be attached to the second floor windows of a house which lead to a tree in the yard.
McConnell is a zoologist at UW-Madison and an animal trainer who specializes in non-aversive problem solving. She raises and trains border collies.
Then Marc Morrone did Martha Stewarts TV show on these tubes and he said the tubes are called Kittywalks and you can see them at www.midnight-pass.com
I recommend professional installers unless you can actually see the system installed somewhere before you attempt to do it yourself. The trickiest places are the gates and where the fence attaches to the house. There must be no gaps.
Lemke Fence of Wisconsin, 1-800-242-2009, installed my Cat Fence-In system on the 6 foot wooden fence they built for me. They work all over Wisconsin. I tell you this because most fence companies I called had no experience doing cat fences, and didn't want to try.
"Put it up yourself after we build the base fence", they said. Yeah right, if I could do that I would just build the whole damn thing myself.
Lemke had knowledge of the Cat Fence-In system; ordered the system from Cat Fence-In; and agreed to install it. They did warn me that it would be the first time for them.
I feel it would be better if the fence owner finds the Cat Fence-In website; orders what they need and have it delivered to their home. Then hire the installers.
The boss and president of the Lemke Fence company, Dave, was an OK guy to work with and was committed to getting it right. He came out to view the job after it was done. It was the first time they ever installed the cat fence system. They did not get it right the first time but they came back and kept trying until they did it right. Now they have the experience. But they did not get the gates right and they substituted their own fasteners for the twists sent by cat fence-in. The directions state the net must be tied to the bracket a special way.
I have no stock or any financial interest in either company, not Cat Fence-In or Lemke. My interest is in getting cat owners to see that their cats have a right to the outdoors and the grass and trees.

Below are some of the problems Lemke Fence and I encountered when trying to install the cat fence in system. Read and remember.
WHICH SYSTEM TO CHOOSE
The producers of the cat fence-in system say the system should be placed at least five feet from the ground but I found that to be misleading. The system should be placed as close to the top of a six foot fence as possible.
They seem to say that the "stand up combination barrier" should be used to keep unwanted animals out of your yard and the "hang down barrier" should be used to keep your cats in. No No No!
Take my word, I learned the hard way. NEVER, never, use the hang down barrier - it is really for 12 foot fences or attached to the gutters along low roof lines.
ALWAYS buy the stand up system, called the COMBINATION BARRIER KIT that the creator states is to keep unwanted cats out of your yard. But read carefully. He is actually saying, the combination barrier works great to keep them in too.
So, no matter if you want to keep the cats out; keep the cats in; or both; use the Combination Barrier Kit and System.
The only place I would use the hang down Strato Barrier is a roof that comes down low to the ground. Mine is only 9 feet from the ground and Wander Cat is giving it the serious looks. The gutters have nails holes every two feet so the strato barrier could be easily attached.
TREE GUARDS
My cats used to go up the tree branches and leap onto the roof from them.
Then, they would trot over the roof to the other side of the house like a little pride of lions.
Then, they'd drop from the roof into the FRONT yard, where there is no stinking fence.
I have very resourceful and intelligent cats. They can jump 8 feet from a sitting position.
So I learned that unless all tree limbs are over 12 feet from roofs, you must use the tree guards provided by the Cat Fence-In System.
At first, I had a tree-trimming service come and cut the branches back, although I never thought I would ever cut a tree. I don't like to cut branches and make them look unnatural, but the reason I want the cats outside is to exercise vigorously. I want them to be able to climb the trees. So I cut the tree branches back rather than use the tree guards.
Once I installed the Combination Barrier Cat Fence-In System, and cut the branches back far from MY roof, only one cat seriously tried to get out of the yard and that is Dreamer. The rest became content to stay in the backyard and seem to enjoy it with no desire to leave until Dreamer found a way.
Dreamer started to leap from a tree limb higher on the tree to a NEIGHBOR'S roof (10 to 12 feet). None of the other cats could bring themselves to try it.
I doubt if you have a cat like Dreamer.
(It's a bird, it's a plane, it's WANDER-CAT)
And the thing is, after he jumped down from the neighbor's roof, he waited right there for me to come and get him and bring him back into my yard. My crazy boy, Beautiful Dreamer.
Go to my home page called Spiraling Cycle or to the green Index at the bottom of this page - click on the May Day Holiday, and it will open to a picture of the feral Luna and her babies. Luna had allowed a human (me) to touch her for the first time only about five weeks before that picture was taken. I touched her for the first time, the night she had the babies, April 19th, 2000. Dreamer is the gray tabby baby and you will have trouble finding him. This turned out to be the story of his life.
I finally had the tree guards installed. It seems no matter how far he has to jump, Dreamer will jump. Perhaps secretly he flies. I had them install the tree guard as high up as possible before the branches start. This way the cats can get some exercise running up and down the trunk.
Boy - that tree guard was hard to install. None of us could figure it out. The guys spent over an hour trying to make it work in the heat and flies. Then one of installers threw the directions on the ground and installed it by his own common sense. It works perfectly.
Dreamer understands he cannot get over the tree guard. I do think he believes if he just thinks about it reeeal hard, he will figure a way to get to the great, wild, out-side-the-fence.
Now, after almost five months, he seems to think about it less than he did at first. But I did make him a jungle jim out of branches and tree trunks that he leaps around on. It is in the middle of the yard, far away from the fence and the roofs and the tree. Go for it Wander Cat! Sometimes he sits for hours on his highest jungle jim branch and just stares at the tree. But he has failed so many times, he is embarrassed to try again.
**********************THE DREADED GATE AREA************************
The other thing to be careful of when installing this system, is The Gate area. The treatment around The Gates is important because there is a gap between the gate and the fence. The gap opens as the gate opens; at the opening (O) and at the hinges(H). Kevin realized that the gate bracket and fence post bracket must be level with one another. If your gate opens outward they probably will not be level. Kevin fastened thick wood squares to the gate and attached the bracket to the gate's wood square. That way the bracket on the fence post and the bracket on the gate were level. That and the overlapping mesh eliminated any gap in the netting barrier where the fence and gate meet.
I would also attach a bracket on the actual house and attach netting from that bracket to the first fence post eliminating any gap between the house and the fence.
It is necessary on the last fence post to leave about 3 inches of net overlapping at the hinge opening and from the fence post about 3 inches of net overlapping at the gate opening. we also used hairpin or H clips to hold the brackets together as an extra precaution.
I will have to remember to take the hairpin clips off when opening the gate every time. What a hassle. My second installer didn't want to overlap the net so he gave me this hassle and the net got ripped when his stupid boss opened the gate from the outside ripping off these clips. These clips are really unnecessary. Use overlapping nets. If the gate and fence post to which it attaches are not level, fasten the gate bracket on a raised wood square to make the fence-post bracket and gate bracket level with one another.
UPDATE***************UPDATE**********************UPDATE*****************
Buy the Gate Hardware Kits for the Combination Barrier System ($30.00 each). I could not figure out why the gate kits were any different than the regular brackets, but my new installer, Kevin, saw at once that the left bracket had the loops for screws going one way and the right bracket had the loops going the other way so that the brackets fit together tightly preventing gate gaps.

USE SNOW RELEASE CLIPS FOR NET TO BRACKET ATTACHMENT
AND IF YOU LIVE IN AN AREA WHERE IT SNOWS BE SURE TO BUY THE SNOW RELEASE ATTACHMENT CLIPS and use them.
The second installer insisted on using the twist ties not the snow release clips. Now I am watching the backyard brackets being pulled down and destroyed because of the heavy snow weighing down the nets. These goddamn men who think they know everything and leave you with their mess to clean up long after their gone and who will not follow directions should not be paid until they do what they are told to do or you will regret every dime you give them.
MORE STUPID MAN TRICKS
It is up to the installers to make sure there are no gaps in the Cat Fence-IN system. The first time my installers tried to install the system, my Lemke Fence installers left gaps when they went around the posts.
They did not take the anchoring strip right up to the edge of the posts and screw the anchor strip down right next to the post; then screw the anchoring strip to the side of the post, and screw down as they went around the post, (side, front, side). Then screw the strip down when the fence boards start again right next to the post.
No, they screwed the strip about 3 inches from the posts; went over the posts; and screwed it down again two or three inches from the post. Of course, this left gaps in the corners where the post and the fence met.
And the cats found those gaps.
They did the same thing when the edge of the north/south fence panels met the fence panels going east and west. They did not keep the anchoring strip's E/W screw close to the N/S screw creating a gap in the corner.
Don't feel superior. You will do stuff like this if you try to install it yourself. It is only after you actually see the system up, that you understand how it works and how to maintain it.
I recommend watching the cats the first week. Take some vacation time. When Lemke first put the system up, they used the strato barrier and the cats got out. Then, the gates were not done properly, the posts had gaps, and the cats got out.
You need to watch the cats the first week. If anything is wrong you want to catch it. You need to spy on the cats when they think they are alone before you relax. Just be thankful you don't have Mr. and Mrs. Satan from Hell living next door during this process.
You should know that after the tree guard came, all my cats gave up trying to escape pretty quickly. But the best use of the cat fence happened because other cats are always trying to break in and that cat fence keeps them out.
The intruder cats perch on top of the wooden fence but then cannot figure out how to make it over the top of the cat fence-in netting. There would be big fights if they got in.
I can tell by the way they scream and curse at each other across the netting. A lot of "your mammas". So another good reason to get the cat fence is to keep unwanted cats out of your yard

BASE FENCE AND THE CAT SYSTEM ARE NOT CHEAP SO YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO EXPECT THE INSTALLERS TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS
CAT DOORS
There will be the additional cost of the cat doors. Get 4 way lock magnetic ones - do not get those that make you put electric collars on the cats - forget electric anything as far as animals are concerned! They have cheaper pet doors you can put in your window but I would have to put a table out side or the cat could not come back in.
BASE FENCE:
For 102 feet of pressure treated lumber, at $20.00 a foot, (plus 2 gates and locks, posts and cement, and installation), the cost to me was $2,040.00.
CAT FENCE IN SYSTEM IS INEXPENSIVE - INSTALLATION IS EXPENSIVE
The Cat Fence-IN system (net with anchor strip, bracket holders, screws, net fasteners,= $1.50 a foot; the gate kits = $30.00) is not expensive but Lemke charged a lot to install it (about $700.00). I agreed in order to give them and me the experience.
Total Costs for; the base fence, the cat fence-in system WITH INSTALLATION came to approximately $2,800.00. The unnecessary tree trimming was an additional $350.00.
This cost was for a small backyard.

And to me, it is worth every penny!
Those people who are comfortable financially really should build cat fences so that the property, when you sell it, will ever after be safe for cats. You will be doing a good thing that will last long after you are gone. Put a metal fence plate telling future owners where to get replacement parts.
The peace of mind, the freedom from terror, the obvious pleasure of the cats as they eat the grass and herbs (helping their digestion and eliminating hairballs by throwing up); watching them roll in the dust, try to catch the bugs, hop on and off the trees, watching them hide and jump out at one another and sleep in the sun; bring me my greatest pleasure in life.
The cats are so much more active outside than they are in the house.
Now I have the pleasure of working in the garden with my cats lounging next to me again, and being outside at night in the dark watching the silver crescent moon and the stars, giggling together in the strobe light dark. The light is strobed because the yard is filled with hundreds of fireflies and their lights are going on and off. While the cats jump up and swat at fireflies, I hold their flashing bodies in my cupped hands. When I open my hands, they don't fly away but sit calmly on my fingers a while.
We are losing the weight we gained when we were confined to the house in Dodgeville, not able to step a foot out the door, even Talker, the billion pound cat, who enjoys watching television very much.
Even Dreamer, crazy Dreamer, the traumatized, who was there when Magic was killed, and who was hunted by the killers, has become semi-normal. He has started to be with the pride, tries wrestling with them, licks back a little when his surviving brothers groom him.
The way the brothers have always cared for Dreamer, no matter how unresponsive he was, laying catatonic under their tongues, it touches me and reminds me of how they cared for the dying Sparky as if they could lick away the pain.
Dreamer is losing his stricken look. He, who, after Magic was killed, never would come near me unless it was to try to sit on my shoulders the way Magic did, and never would sleep with the other cats, now sleeps next to me. Sometimes he stands on his two back legs holding up his front legs with paws on me, obviously wanting to be picked up. When I pick him up he lays horizontal across my chest and wraps his paws around one of my shoulders looking up at me. Yes, we are growing happy again.
NOTE: 6 months later - Dreamer does not want to leave the yard anymore - will not leave even if given the opportunity. He learned to like being safe in his own outside territory.
Now there is just Gaia, the golden one, whose hip was dislocated when I found him at the back of my property. Who frequently goes to a place where he is alone, like the basement, and paces back and forth crying loudly.
I am going to hold him as much as I can, when he does that.
I feel that is what he needs. I have been letting Thea take care of him, but now I am going to just find him, pick him up, hold him and talk to him when he does that.
NOTE: And it was a very good thing to make that decision, to have enough peace to be able to focus on Gaia and make that decision. Golden Gaia had colitis, which can kill. If you want to read about it, Click the "Table of Contents" under this entry and find an entry called Gaia. Click on that title.
Here is the link to the cat fence system:
Since 1990 throughout the United States and Canada, CAT FENCE-IN is still keeping thousands of cats safe in their yards.Cat sanctuaries use the CAT FENCE-IN system.
Animal behaviorists recommend CAT FENCE-IN to their clients. It relieves indoor stress, boredom, and depression. It also stops arbitrary in-house elimination problems. Cats are by nature, outdoor animals.

Comments for above entry:

I was so happy to read this entry. It sounds like your life is more normal now. I'm glad you're not dealing with those horrible people anymore and that your kitties are more relaxed now. Yay!

Posted by Thelma @ 07/27/2002 11:03 PM CST

Yay! Thelma Yay! Thank You -nice to hear from you again.

Posted by ginny rose @ 07/29/2002 11:01 AM CST

You could have saved a ton of money. Cats can't climb plastic. Simply line the upper half of any ordinary fence with sheets of corrugated polycarbonate (the plastic stuff you see on a lot of greenhouses). You also have to band any trees that could lead to a way out of the yard. The stuff is around $1 a foot, and light and easy to handle. As a bonus, it comes in various colors and will let light in so your plants get plenty of sun.

Posted by Gertie @ 12/26/2002 03:22 PM CST

Gertie Gertie : I would have e-mailed you if you left your address. I hope you come back and do for I will send you the pictures. That yard in Dodgeville, which I loved, was 75x150.

It is the base fence that costs all the money. A chain or wooden fence would have cost 8 to 10 thousand dollars. So I put up a 6 Ft high, weld wire fence and covered it with polycarbonate. That only cost $4,000.00 - I have the pictures.

They sailed over it and he killed two more after that time. They all can jump 6 feet - I think they lightly touch at the top. Magic who was found in the gutter in front of his driveway could jump from a sitting position to the top of my shoulders without touching my back. She would ride on my shoulders all day as I moved room to room. She was light as a feather and snaked her head around to kiss me on my shoulders and smile at me as she sailed over the top of the plastic coated fence.

The cat fence-in system itself is cheap - only $1.50 a foot. It is paying for the installation that costs so much.

Now that I see it all done, I might be able to put the cat fence-in system myself but I could not have done it before I saw it done. And I certainly could not drill the holes, pour the cement and put in the posts for the base fence myself. It is the base fence that costs thousands of dollars-just call an installer and ask what it costs to put in a fence the size of your back yard.

They can't jump over this cat fence-in system because it angles out like a prison fence and bats them down.

Believe me, I did not want to leave my beautiful house and back yard in Dodgeville - I tried everything.

I made myself an object of ridicule in Dodgeville with that plastic covered fence but I would not have cared if it worked. People talked and talked (small town) but the worst thing was it did not work. However, the talk futher harmed my ability to earn a living. People whispered I was nuts.

Posted by ginny rose @ 12/29/2002 03:17 PM CST