Pam Flachs
Savannah Super Cat
One of the most important things I have had to do to make my home Savannah proof is creating a second barrier beyond the front door to prevent door-dashing escapes. In over five years, I have not had a problem with escapees, but the addition of a new girl changed all that! After her 3rd door-dashing escape (and man, she is fast!) I decided to enclose the front porch with screening. I am fortunate to have the porch, so it made my job a bit easier than if I hadn't one, although I would have used anything to create another barrier, even a tall outside dog pen or sturdy gazebo temporarily. My other two exit doors are already enclosed, either screened in entirely or with fencing. Because I was working against the weather, I was able to utilize several older wooden screens and screen doors scavenged from my garage and Habitat for Humanity ReStore shop to accomplish my task. I used heavy duty pet-proof screen stapled on the doors, (the older window screens were in excellent shape and will be re-screened with pet-proof in the spring) and added additional reinforcement along the bottom with black plastic mesh fencing, also stapled to the railing. Lucky for me, 3 of the screen doors fit perfectly across the front, but I did have to build a frame out of 2 x 4's for the side door on the end. I added hook and eye latches both inside and outside the doors (also temporary). The whole job took a total of 6 hours. I intend to keep this area off-limits to cats to reinforce the notion of not going outside, and I plan to paint and replace the doors later with decorative ones, but for now I can relax, knowing if my girl does get out the front door, she can go no further than the porch....
