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So we have some strays on the back porch (I have a thread on that).
Anyway, we left the pool ladder in the pool.
I went out tonight and one kitten was sitting on top of the rung that was inside the pool. He was staring at the water. Another kitten was on the ladder outside of the pool.
Anyway, I moved the ladder away from the pool. Fortunately nobody fell in.
I know we usually don't think about mundane things like that, but they can end in tragedy. Make sure there's no way for any of your animals to fall into your pool.
About the only way to do that would be to keep the pool covered at all times when there's no one around. It's too bad that the cats wouldn't understand if you put them in the water only briefly and then fished them back out, to illustrate what would happen if they "explore." They'd only process that you did something mean to them, so don't think about doing that.
Simply removing a ladder or even the diving board isn't going to prevent an accident from occurring. There really doesn't seem to be any other way to keep the kittens safe than actually installing a cover at night and when people won't be there. I've heard sad tales of young cats who DID drown in backyard pools. But "curiosity killed the cat" doesn't seem to apply once they're grown. By then the innate fear/dislike of water shared by all domestic felines has kicked in. During my younger days my family kept our cats under close watch until they were a year or so old. After that they could prowl the back yard to their hearts' content. They not only never tried to get into the swimming pool, they steered clear of any wet spots around it.
The pool is four feet tall. Without the ladder in it they couldn't get in it unless they jumped off the fence directly into the water. The fence is a foot away from the pool and two feet higher. I doubt they would do that. We don't have a diving board. The ladder was my only real concern with that.
So we have some strays on the back porch (I have a thread on that).
Anyway, we left the pool ladder in the pool.
I went out tonight and one kitten was sitting on top of the rung that was inside the pool. He was staring at the water. Another kitten was on the ladder outside of the pool.
Anyway, I moved the ladder away from the pool. Fortunately nobody fell in.
I know we usually don't think about mundane things like that, but they can end in tragedy. Make sure there's no way for any of your animals to fall into your pool.
Also make sure they have some way to get out of the pool should they fall in. A plank or bench of some kind attached to the side, in the water, would help.
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