We realized at the beginning of the summer when the cats kept trying to dart out the kitchen door onto the upstairs deck that we had to figure out a way to contain them. Ours is the only house in the row with a second floor deck, so on either side of the wood railing, the cats can walk through to the adjacent rooftops...and from there, they could easily escape.
I picked up five sets of $18 black bamboo matchstick blinds from Home Depot and chopped off the top part that you mount to the window frame as well as the weighted bottom, tying up the loose ends of the threads that weave the sticks together.
That took a ton of time, so I quit because it got dark out.
NEW PROBS!
The overnight rain caused instant mold to grow on the blinds. I busted out this Concrobium miracle spray that Angelune bought me for a mold issue in our shed a while back.
Spray, wipe, dry...probs solved. And now they're treated for the future, so it was a good lesson to learn early.
I tied the blinds sideways onto the rail posts with hemp twine and trimmed off the extra 3" or so from the matchsticks for a snug fit underneath the top rail.
It looks a bit like jail, but plenty of light gets in for the plants (although the added shade will hopefully prevent them from getting burnt on super sunny, hot days) and it looks nice and clean from the outside. Everybody wins!
KITTY HANGOUTS, GO!Labels: cats, DIY, garden party
