Can other animals like squirrels & raccoons enter the enclosure?Updated 2 months ago

Our cat containment systems are directional fence systems designed to contain cats. That said, they do a pretty good job excluding raccoons and other wildlife, especially the Freestanding System. The reason for this is that getting over either (and more so for the Freestanding System) requires a lot of effort for outside animals due to the flexible nature of the poly mesh material.

There usually needs to be something pretty compelling inside for most animals to go to that effort. For raccoons, that could mean cat food left out, fruit trees, gardens, trash bins, or even a water source where water is scarce. Our best advice is to not contain those things within the fenced area if possible. If an animal becomes trapped inside the fenced area after entering, they may need to be let out through a gate. Sometimes raccoons can climb back out as well, but this may cause minor damage to the mesh.

In our 20+ year history, reports of raccoon issues have been pretty rare. The reports that we do see are most often rescues/shelters that leave food out all the time for the cats. Raccoons love cat food and will go to a lot of effort to get to it. Rescue customers who adjusted their feeding to have the food out only for set periods of time mostly eliminated their raccoon issues. We have also had several rescues put arms up facing out as well as inward, and combined with better food management (so no food out at night) also solved their problem.

Squirrels are excellent climbers and should be able to easily enter and exit the enclosure area without a problem. They are not usually heavy enough to activate the spring-loaded arm.