Wow!
In short: we are happy we got the system and without a doubt, our cat is happy about the enhanced freedom to explore the yard.
Initially had reservations about
a) using electric "correction" and whether this would lead to a depressed cat
b) whether or not a cat might understand the "rules" to not receive a "correction"
c) would the cat be able to learn at all (the training seems like a lot of hard work, complicated and takes a long time!)
d) or be too determined to leave the area despite any shocks for it to work
So in reverse order to the concerns listed...
d) Too determined?
Maybe for some cats, but ours learned the rules and respect the rules and pretty much avoids the shocks now. Maybe still early days, but has not tried to charge through irrespective of the "correction". And this is on the lowest corrective setting
c) Will she learn the complicated training procedure?
She did --- super fast! by herself! within a day and only needed three "corrections".
The training, according to the manual takes a whole month with loads of small daily training sessions. I had read a review online that animals learn much faster than that, and decided to just see how she learned on her own with a minimal of guidance! She learned in no time at all on her own without following the cumbersome training procedures.
b) Does she understand the rules to avoid shocks?
Without a doubt she does. I watched her approach the flags which give her a visual warning of the perimeter. When she reached the flags, you could see her stop and hesitate about moving forward. She took one more step forward and then heard the beep and froze. You could see her body wavering back and forth without actually taking a step, and think think think think, and then she decided to turn around and walk away without setting off the "correction". So yes, she learned very quickly that flags are a visual perimeter, the beep is a last warning, and that another further step would result in something unpleasant.
a) is using electric "correction" ok ...
So this is not ideal, but for us it was the least evil of the choices we had.
And for the record, yes --- I did try out the shock on myself --- and yes, while it was bearable, I would not want that happening to myself regularly and would think twice about doing anything that set it off. I guess you could train me with that thing too!!! But my cat is definitely happier and wants to go outside and does not resist the collar.
Our choice is simple, the cat can stay inside or she can go out. She WANTS to go outside and whenever we are outside, you could see she is dying to come out and explore. She hates going on a leash because she has so little freedom (yes, we tried that over a long period of time). And we can't let her roam the area beyond our fence because of coyotes and she wouldn't be the first cat to be run over, plus we do like to believe she is soooo cute that someone would steal her.
So yes, we decided to give it a go, and our cat loves the freedom. Once she understood the rules, she did not become depressed at being contained. In fact, she is happier for the added freedom. She clearly understands the perimeter rules and the collar. But you can just tell that she enjoys going out and exploring, rather than being contained.
Now - if you have a cat that is already used to roaming freely and you are inhibiting that freedom, that might be different. But for our cat -- she loves the added freedom of being able to go outside!
Enough said --- for us and our cat, definitely a system that we are happy with, as is our cat.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: New