A Guest Cat Still Needs a Safe Garden
You are holding someone else's cat and someone else's trust, so the goal is a garden that is safer for this cat without alterations the deployed owner never agreed to. Begin by asking, through whatever contact channel you have, how the cat normally uses outdoor space: does he roam freely, use a catio, or only go out supervised? If the owner is hard to reach, work from the paperwork and notes left with you and default to the more cautious pattern. A cat in a temporary home is already unsettled, and an unsettled cat tests fences harder than a settled one, so assume this cat will look for a way out in the first weeks.
Read This Garden Through a Stranger Cat's Eyes
Walk the boundary looking for what a cat who does not know this garden will meet. Gaps that your own pets ignore may invite a newcomer. Check the shed and garage for open chemicals, antifreeze residue, and tools left where a hiding cat could be shut in without anyone noticing, because a guest cat hides in unfamiliar outbuildings far more readily than a resident one. Note neighbouring dogs, busy roads beyond the fence, and any tree or structure close enough to the boundary to work as a launch pad over it. Write down what you find before you fix it; the list itself is part of caring properly for someone else's animal.
Reversible Fixes First
Block fence gaps with mesh, boards, or bricks you can remove later rather than permanent construction. Move chemicals onto a high shelf inside a closed container, fit a simple self-closing spring to the gate, and keep a lid on any water butt. If the cat came with a harness and is used to one, supervised harness time in the garden is a good bridge while you judge how settled he is. Set a clear household rule that everyone follows: shed and garage doors get a look inside before they are locked for the night, every night, because that single habit prevents the classic temporary-care disaster of a cat shut in somewhere for days.
Learn This Cat's Own Garden Habits in Week One
Spend the first week watching how this particular cat uses the space before deciding he is settled. Note which fence corner he studies, where he chooses to sleep outside, whether he startles at the neighbour's dog or the road noise, and what time he asks to come in. A cat who came from a flat may treat the whole garden as exposure and stay near the door, while a cat used to roaming may patrol a boundary twice your fence line in his head. Send the owner a short note of what you observe; owners know which of those habits are normal for their cat and which signal stress, and that exchange is part of doing this temporary job properly rather than simply feeding and housing an animal until the deployment ends.
Keep the Owner in the Picture
Send the owner brief updates with a photo when you change something, and keep the cat's feeding, vet, and garden arrangements recorded together rather than scattered across messages. When the deployment ends, that record hands back cleanly and the owner can see exactly how their cat was kept. KinsLe's Care Pass is built for precisely this handover, giving a temporary carer like you time-limited access to the cat's care routine and key details for exactly as long as you are responsible for him.