Cats & Balconies

moggiegirl

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I live in a small 2 bedroom condo and if I didn't let my cats out on the balcony at all I feel I would be depriving them or keeping them in prison. I'm not one of those people who can have a large house. But at the same time I love my cats so much that I must keep them no matter how small of an environment I live in(as long as I don't live in a one room studio, which I never will). But I do not let them out unsupervised. I had to train Spotty not to jump on the railing with a spray bottle and clapping my hands and if I don't watch him he may do it. Fortunately I live on the 2nd floor so it would not be a very big fall but I do not want to lose a cat. Rosie never jumps on the railing but I make it a rule that someone must be home and watching them when they go out on the balcony.

The balcony is a pleasure for indoor cats as long as they are supervised. They can sun themselves and watch the birdies and buggies and get lots of fresh air. They need that.
 

mzjazz2u

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I let my cats out on my 2nd story balcony all the time. My cats are laid back and don't try to jump and they love to lay out there in the sun. Something you can do is put screening or fencing around the bottom portion so they can't fall out. That's what I do. Also, mine doesn't have a ledge for them to jump up on so that helps.
 

jcat

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Our balcony is secured with telescopic rods that attach directly to the handrail, and so-called "cat net", which is basically the same as fishing net, and available in black, green, and transparent.

You could probably use a "portable outdoor enclosure" if enclosing the balcony isn't allowed: http://www.wildwhiskers.com/OutdoorCatEnclosures.htm
Shop around for sizes/prices, though.
 

EnzoLeya

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I didn't have a cat personaly that jumped off, but my aunt did. She had second story balcony and the cat either jumped or fell, but it didn't make it. It broke something and had internal bleeding
 

sara12345

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i had a cat on my balcony 3rd floor and nothing ever happened to her... i reeally had no choice but to leave her outside and bring her inside at nite time because of my mum but nothing happened to her and cats always land on their feet and cats are not dumb...
dont wrry ur cat will be fine on a 3rd floor but no more floors higher
 

mimosa

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i had a cat on my balcony 3rd floor and nothing ever happened to her... i reeally had no choice but to leave her outside and bring her inside at nite time because of my mum but nothing happened to her and cats always land on their feet and cats are not dumb...
dont wrry ur cat will be fine on a 3rd floor but no more floors higher

I knew a cat that fell to his death from the 1st floor. Yes, cats often (not always) land on their feet but their legs often get broken and their jaws too because their head sometimes slams on the floor on impact. I know several people that have had to take their cats to an orthopedic surgeon to get the leg fixated  on the outside with six weeks to several months of confinement to a cage. I even know a cat that had to have his jaw fixated on the outside.

Please don't tell people not to worry, it is misinformation. You have just gotten lucky.

One of my fosters was allowed on the balcony by his owners because she thought he was to shy to jump down. He didn't, he fell off the railing because he was startled by someone tooting a car horn. He wasn't injured but he was lost until they got up the courage to inform us he was missing, in the end we caught him with a trap. He had been missing for 11 days in miserable weather and he had lost a lot of weight.

My former upstairs neighbour had a cat that almost fell on my head twice because it wanted to look at me while I was under his balcony. The balcony railing had a small gap on the underside, I still don't understand how that fat cat fell through it. First I would see some fur drifting down on me and then  the cat would follow. He would go sit in front of my neighbours door and howl to be let in because he was terrified of being outside


My former upstairs neighbours on the fifth floor have a cat that fell from the balcony, he had some wounds but fortunately he was otherwise all right. Even so, they realized they had to do something and came over the next day to look at the netting on our balcony. They put up a net themselves.
 

kozma beatrice

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Our cat just jumped from the 7th floor into the parking lot beneath. Gave us quite a scare, and, sustained some serious injuries, she´s limping at a front leg, and had some internal bleeding, we took her to the vet immediately, and recieved emergency treatment, doctors say the first 24 hours are critical, afterwards they will treat the injured leg.

She was sitting on the railing alongside some flowers, and got spooked when the phone rang. I really hope she will be ok.

The vet told us that he had cats that survived falls from the 10th floor, but anything over 5 floors and your cat will sustain serious injuries. 
 

furbum

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How terrifying I sure hope everything will be okay. Is kitty still at the vet? Any update on her condition? 
 

jcat

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That's really frightening! :vibes::vibes::vibes: that she'll be okay. There are way too many cats that fall victim to "high-rise syndrome", so it's extremely important to make sure all balconies and windows are secured.
 

kozma beatrice

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     She's doing a lot better, the vet gave her some medication to get her out of shock, and some other cocktail of medication. We were lucky to get her to the vet within 5 minutes after the fall. After treatment he sent us home and said if she has some massive internal bleeding there is nothing he can do, and the best thing for her is to feel safe and calm down at home. We were very concerned, but she survived the first 24 hours that were critical, the bleeding stopped, she is now eating again, and limping around the house. We went back for a check up, as told by the doctor, and she received some antibiotics, to avoid infection at the wounds.

    The concern now is that she is breathing a bit heavily, and more towards her stomach, the doctor suspects a Diaphragmatic Hernia, apparently this is a common problem with cats or dogs in car accidents, falls, or when they are kicked. Here is a link about Diaphragmatic hernia http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2139&aid=262  .

     Tomorrow morning we will be taking the cat for an X-ray and the doctor will be able to tell us, if a surgical intervention is necessary, and weather she has any broken bones.

    We really hope she will get better, It has been a horrible ordeal for us, it's hard to see your pet hurt so badly, but we're really glad she's doing better, and that she survived the fall at all. She missed a metal railing and some wooden spikes on the way down, and landed on a patch grass.
 

kozma beatrice

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X-rays came out, she survived without any broken bones, or other injuries, she´s one lucky cat :) . Doctor sais she will fully recover from bruises within a week. Thanks for the good wishes :)
 
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jcat

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X-rays came out, she survived without any broken bones, or other injuries, she´s one lucky cat :) . Doctor sais she will fully recover from bruises within a week. Thanks for the good wishes :)
That's great news! :clap:

The cat net Andrya posted a picture of is what we have. It's usually available in different colors, and olive green is really unobtrusive.
 

furbum

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Great that she is okay !  and with no injuries! What a blessing.. I like the idea of the net enclosure.. Be careful if you put one up!
 

renaru

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I had my 2nd story window open about 3 inches and Chiba jumped over the fan and behind it squeezed out the window (they open out not up) and jumped to the tree beside the house. Only time she was ever outside. I was blown away to find her out since I knew that was the only way she could have gotten out.
 

barbb

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I hope your kitty will be ok! I will send vibes that she survives 
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I know you already are aware that balconies are not safe for cats. Anyone else reading this should be aware that letting your cat out on any open balcony is risking its life :-(. Even if it is just one floor, the minute your cat is outside it is the same as if you have let your toddler wander out into the front yard unattended. That territory is claimed by outside critters, not to mention human and other predators who simply may not like cats. 

I have a friend who lets her cat out on her second floor balcony and we have this discussion all the time. She does not want to deny them the breezes and relaxation they have on her large open second floor porch and she has already had a few scares where one of them jumped onto a nearby tree bough and was stuck outside without her knowing. She recently built a new home and in her new neighborhood she has a next door neighbor who is basically crazy and has already thrown a sticky mousetrap with a live mouse on it over the fence onto her property. But she still lets them go on the balcony. They are not my pets but this drives me nuts because IMO it is a bad thing waiting to happen :-(.
 
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derek12

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Well I was never a cat person, always busy in my job or businesses, so not really much time to have a pet. A year ago my girlfriend moved in with me, and brought in two cats, after a few months I have to admit, I really got to love these beautiful animals. But then, the worst mistake I could ever made, we moved in this new building, my apartment is in the 10th floor, I love my new house but I was always concerned about the cats and the balcony. Yesterday I was in such hurry I left the balcony door half way open, I went out, did I had to and on the way back, stopped by my girlfriends job to give her a ride home. When we get there, one of the cats was missing... Oh my Gosh, the door is opened I said. Yes my friends, my cat fell off the 10th floor, I found her  :( ... poor thing must have still been alive because it seems like she crawled to a corner. Oh my God I have screwed up before in my life, but this time... Jesus... I cant even remember, how could I leave the door open, that was a priority before leaving the house everyday.... ****... My girlfriend has cried all night I wont dare to tell her, the cat probably survived the fall.....

My friends, do not let your cats in the balcony...

RIP Lua.
 
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aqualoon

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I have a large deck off the 2nd story of my house and always let my dogs and cats out on it.  In the spring/fall when it's not humid I leave the door open so my animals have free access to it during the day.  Been in my current location for over a year now and have had zero issues - not even scares.  This could be because the cats aren't able to get through the railing as I put chicken wire on it all (for that reason alone).  But all my animals love when they have access to the deck - I come home from lunch and find all of them sunning themselves and barely missing me.
 

barbb

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As someone in rescue I hear about cats falling from balconies all the time. Unless people are prepared to deal with the possible consequences, nobody should give balcony access and lofts should be blocked. There is child netting for things like this as well as placing scary looking (to cats lol) objects at the tops of railings. If this can save one life plus the grief of a meowmy and family it is worth my posting.
 

aqualoon

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BarbB mentioned something that I should have probably added in my post.  The top of my railing is rather thick - think at least a foot and a half wide which is probably why I haven't even had any scares when it comes to my cats and deck usage.
 
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