Our Ingenious Pool Safety Solution

Life In The Mountain

I moved to the Cederberg for many reasons, one of which was to have space for the dogs and to able to walk them in the mountain, undisturbed, directly in front of my house.

This is one of the many luxuries of living remotely, although there are many challenges that come with living here, one of them being extreme heat in the summer and extreme cold in the winter.

In the summer, temperatures can soar to 44 degrees C, with no breeze, it's sweltering hot, absolutely critical to have a source of water to swim in, and we are very blessed to have access to a pool.

Hydrotherapy For Anyone In Need

Being unable to leave the house very often, and not being able to be away for long periods of time such as for holidays, having a pool is critical for rest, relaxation and exercise and it's a real blessing.

Although typically, I'm so busy that I rarely have time to enjoy it, but when I do, it's really nice and I constantly resolve to get in it more!

It's also fantastic for the animals for hydrotherapy, in particular for Layla, who has lost the muscle in her shoulder due to an old injury, and we will be taking her for regular swims to build her up.

The Challenges of Having a Pool

When it comes to animals, having a pool can create a whole host of challenges, one of which is a very real drowning risk. 

I lost my Soul mate cat Courage to a drowning incident, despite the fact that I had stationed a watchman to sleep outside to prevent anything from happening to him whilst we were treating him for seizures, but sadly, we didn't hear and we lost him.

Not wanting to lose any more, when the kittens were small and we were figuring out a solution, I stationed a watchman both during the day and at night and thank God, everyone was safe.

The Drinking Area of Choice

Despite the fact that we put bowls of water all around, and even had a fresh water foundation in operation at the time, the cats still choose to drink from the pool.

Obviously this isn't good but it's difficult to stop them and we will be adding salt in order to create a healthier water system for ourselves, whilst hopefully making it unpalatable for the cats.

Sometimes, when we have issues with the water, the water gets low and this increases the risk of them falling in and being unable to get out, and we simply cannot carry that risk.

Wracking My Brains For A Solution

We need a solution imminently but none of the standard means were viable and we needed something ingenious to enable a cat that fell in to be able to get out with ease, without panicking.

The bubble layer that floats on the surface are dangerous because an animal can get trapped underneath, a net is a pain because it has a whole rigging system that needs to be undone before you can access the pool and the ultimate solution of a pool cover that opens and closes with the touch of a button is a fortune.

Fortunately, all the solutions for the animals and my life in general come via divine revelation and God showed me a perfect, quick and easy solution that would meet our needs exactly.

Shade Cloth Netting For Grip

The problem was that the fibreglass had no grip, hence the drowning risk, but the idea that came to me was to put shade cloth all the way around the pool edges, which then went into the pool by 400mm.

The shade cloth was weighted down on the overhang into the pool by small rocks tied by transparent fishing line and pegged into the grass with tent pegs, around the entire perimeter.

This way of fastening meant that the netting stays in place at all times and provides an easy way for cats and kittens to grip onto and escape in the event they ever fall in.

Tried & Tested!

A new batch of kittens of a few weeks old had started moving around and we were very nervous for them to be around the pool, so much so, that we kept a close eye on them until we felt they were safe.

During the watch period, we saw two of them fall into the shallow part (children's depth of 400mm) but still a drowning risk for them, and they quickly scrambled out using the net to grip onto.

It took us a few hours to bolster the pool in this way and it's a bit of a mission to maintain, but it worked and we were overjoyed!!!!

Ingenious Solutions Always Needed

We come across so many problems that need ingenious solutions and we constantly have to rack our brains and pray for ideas that solve the problems we face.

Remarkably, a perfect solution always materialises and the ideas that come never cease to amaze me!

There is simply no end to God's grace, to those who are willing, and there's nothing we won't do to help our animals, make their lives easier, and bless them with long and happy lives.

Fresh Drinking Water

Still not content with the cats drinking from the pool, an additional solution was needed, something that sat alongside the pool, whilst at the same time, keeping them away from the pool edge.

And then the idea of a gutter pipe came to mind! I wanted the square ones as they would have had a more stable base, but they were difficult to get.

Instead, we opted for the round ones on brackets to stabilise it and secured the bracket into the grass for stability, and hey presto, it worked, mostly!!

Pool Safety

If you have a pool, it's critical to find ways of reducing the risk of drowning as there's nothing worse than losing an animal needlessly, when measures could have been taken.

There are numerous ways you can secure your pool and for dogs, this is much easier, as you can limit their access to when you are there to supervise and also block access with a gate or fencing.

It's much harder if you have cats that have free access to the outside, but where there's a will there's always a way and we wish you the best of luck in creating a safe space for everyone to enjoy.