Our kitty companions often hear the call of the wild.
You can see this in the way they stare out the window, and in the way they play as if they were a tiger hunting in a jungle somewhere.
In the later years of my cat caretaking, we decided that it is in a cat’s best interest to be able to see the outside world, but not to be in the outside world. During this time we had two cats that actually preferred being on the elevated screened porch to being in the house, and they essentially lived out there. They loved their screened porch life.
Perhaps you might wonder if your cat spending time on a screened porch could be a way for your kitty to commune with nature without having to contend with some of the challenges found in nature.
There are some important considerations that are related to this idea. This blog post will explore some of those considerations.
By the way, my blog post Living With Your Cat will touch on additional subjects related to cat caretaking, so you may want to visit there later.
8 Things to Know Before Putting Your Cat on a Screened Porch
1. Learn About Fiberglass and Polyester Screen Material
The screen material you choose for your porch could prevent two potentially negative outcomes:
- Your cat tearing the screen and exiting the porch
- An intruding animal tearing the screen and attacking your cat
Fiberglass is the age-old and most common material used for window screens and porch screens.
For the sake of your cats, a better choice may be polyester screen. This screen material offers greater resistance to tearing by an animal than fiberglass does.
When reviewing the features of polyester screen, you will find a specification such as 15/12. In this example, the numerical fraction indicates that for every one square-inch of screen material, there will be 15 openings in the mesh along the horizontal inch and 12 openings along the vertical inch.
This specification will tell you how tight or open the weave of the mesh is. If there is a larger number of openings in a given area, that means the openings are smaller. If the openings are smaller, that makes for a tighter weave.
A relatively open weave will be easier to see through than a tighter weave, but may not keep the bugs out as well. A tighter weave will have less visibility,, but will do a better job of keeping those insects out.
Super Screen is a company that offers polyester screen in four weaves:
- 17/14 – their standard mesh
- 15/12 – a relatively open weave with good visibility
- 17/20 – a tighter weave the company says will deter most bugs such as fleas and mosquitos
- 20/20 – an even tighter weave the company says will also deter tiny bugs such as the small species of gnat commonly referred to as the “no see-um”.
For more information visit the Super Screen website.
2. Be Familiar With Chicken Wire, Hardware Cloth, and Chain Link Fencing
While a polyester screen may provide more protection against animal intruders than a fiberglass screen, this does not necessarily mean that you should rely on the polyester screen alone to protect your cat. Potential predators come in all sizes, attitudes, and skill levels.
If you are considering using something other than, or in combination with, fiberglass or polyester screen to contain and protect your cat, you may want to know about these three materials:
chicken wire – If you were to find this material in a hardware store, you might wonder if it would be good material to protect your cat from intruders. According to several expert opinions I found during my internet research, it is probably not.
A page on the website wildlifehelp.org includes this statement: “Chicken wire is designed to keep chickens in, not predators out.”
If this wire is not designed to protect chickens, we would not want to rely on it to protect our cats.
hardware cloth – Where I found pervading opinion that chicken wire did not provide protection from intruding wildlife, I found many claims that hardware cloth was a strong deterrent to predator intrusion.
While not 100% guaranteed protection for your cat, hardware cloth seems to be a good choice.
Some specifics of hardware cloth include:
- a mesh constructed of galvanized or stainless steel or some other metal
- also available with a vinyl coating and in colors
- mesh may be woven or welded
- grid openings range from 1/8″ to 4″ wide and may be square or rectangular
- the wire gauge ranges from 16 to 27, with 16 gauge being the thickest wire
- typically sold in rolls or may be available in sheets
chain link – This is a heavy duty mesh that is often used in security fencing.
Some specifics of chain link include;
- a mesh typically constructed of galvanized steel
- also available with a vinyl coating and in colors
- mesh is typically woven
- grid openings are typically 2″ plus or minus 1/2″, measured between parallel wires
- gauge of wire typically ranges from 6 to 11 -1/2, with 6 gauge being the thickest
- usually sold in rolls
I do not know if you would normally consider chain link on a screened porch to protect your cat, but I thought this information was worth knowing about.
A caution I find about chain link is that the grid openings are big enough to allow a predator to reach through and grab your pet. This being the case, you may wish to consider chain link covered by hardware cloth or polyester screening.
3. Look At Whether Your Porch is on Ground Level or is Elevated
A ground level porch should be considered more vulnerable to intruding wildlife than an elevated porch.
An elevated porch , while probably less vulnerable to intrusion, poses a potential problem should your cat successfully break through the screen and fall.
It should also be noted that a stairway from the ground to your elevated porch represents a weak point in an elevated porch’s fortification against intrusion.
These considerations should inform your choice of screen material.
4. Know What Wildlife Animals Roam Near Your Home
This is another consideration that will impact what you select for screen material, and even whether it is safe to let your cat onto a screened porch.
For instance, if you have racoons in your area, and you leave food on your porch for your cat, there is a good chance a racoon will pay a visit. Take it from me, racoons can be very clever and assertive.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you live near wolves and bears, I cannot think of any screened porch arrangement that would be considered safe for your cat unless you are able to sit with your cat and keep watch. Even an elevated porch could be susceptible to a hungry climbing bear.
5. Be Sure Your Porch Gets Good Shade From the Roof
A porch with a high ceiling will allow the sun’s rays to shine for a longer period of time and over a greater area than a lower ceiling. Cats can get sunburned, especially on their face.
Cats love to bask in sunlight, but as with humans, they can overdo it. Take care that your kitty is not lying around in direct sunlight all day.
6. Check to See if the Porch Floor Gets Very Hot
When dog owners walk their dog on the street, they should be aware that asphalt and concrete can get hot and burn their pet’s paws. The same need for caution should be applied when allowing your cat onto a porch. Depending on where you live, a concrete patio can get very hot.
7. Think About Extremely High or Low Temperatures
I know you know this. I only want to remind you to think about what kind of temperatures your kitty may be exposed to when out on the porch.
When extreme levels of heat or cold are expected, bring your kitty indoors if you have air-conditioning and heat. If you have to leave for the day, set your thermostat on a comfortable minimum or maximum temperature so your cat will be okay.
Does My Cat Like To Be Warm or Cool is my blog post that will provide you with some interesting insights regarding your cat’s temperature preferences.
8. Consider Adding Some Cat Related Stuff to Your Porch
So with all this said and done, if you presently do or plan to let your cat spend time on the porch, perhaps we should consider that nature may not command all of your cat’s attention.
Since the inclination to scratch and to climb will follow your cat onto the porch, a cat tree or two with scratching material on the lower posts should occupy that instinctual urge. I have a blog post that has information on cat trees and scratching posts, so you are invited to visit How to Choose a Cat Tree
Having some toys on your porch might also be a good thing. My blog post How to Choose Cat Toys will give you some good ideas about that.