Cats and Balconies

mirage_202

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Now that's it's summer and excruciatingly hot out my poor cats are just ridiculously hot.

I want to let them out on the balcony (I'm on the third floor), but I'm terrified that they're going to jump off!
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can put up that would cover my entire balcony from floor to ceiling in order to prevent my boys from jumping off?
I've heard of people using chicken wire - has anyone used this before? Feedback?

Thanks for any responses!!
 

hunnysuckle

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I live on the 9th floor of my building and my little one comes out there with me and won't go near the end of the balcony. I have picked her up out there and she totally freaks out like I am going to throw her off or something haha.
 

katkisses

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Please NEVER let any cat on a balcony unsupervised, unless it is properly enclosed like the above poster said. No matter how smart you think your cat is, instincts WILL kick in when a bird lands on the rail.

You could leash train her too, but even then there is a chance that she could slip out of it, so you best bet is to enclose the balcony. And yes, I am an advocate of using chicken wire.
 

hunnysuckle

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Originally Posted by KatKisses

Please NEVER let any cat on a balcony unsupervised, unless it is properly enclosed like the above poster said. No matter how smart you think your cat is, instincts WILL kick in when a bird lands on the rail.

You could leash train her too, but even then there is a chance that she could slip out of it, so you best bet is to enclose the balcony. And yes, I am an advocate of using chicken wire.
I don't let her on the balcony by herself she follows me everywhere hehe I wouldn't leave her out there.
 
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mirage_202

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If I invested in the chicken wire I would basically have it enclosing the entire balcony. For now, I think I'm just going to have some screen doors put in. :p
 

saundby

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You can also use plastic fencing material, often sold as "snow fence." It comes in different colors, orange is the most common. Make sure you get a mesh size small enough that the kitty can't get their head into it. 1-3/4" squares is a good size.

One advantage of the plastic material is that it doesn't have sharp edges. If you've got a balcony that turns into an oven at some times during the day (like ours) it also provides enough shade to cool things a lot.

You can see the stuff I mean here:
http://www.discountfence.com/snowfen...ence_index.htm
(I don't know anything about this company, this is just a page I found that shows different varieties of the fencing material.)

If you use chicken wire, you can take care of sharp ends by dipping the edges in latex "tool dip" or building the supports to fully enclose the edges of the wire fabric (e.g. one slat on each side of the edge.). You can also make the wire less obtrusive visually by painting it flat black (nontoxic paint, of course. The cats will test their teeth on the fence.

-Mark
http://catyarns.blogspot.com/
 

mzjazz2u

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I used to have a balcony in the condo I lived in for 3 years. My cats went out on it all the time and never tried to jump. But there were lazy Persian's.


I know you can get stuff at home depot or lowes that you attach to the railings of the balcony and it encloses it a bit more so they can't jump out. I'm not sure what they call it but I bet they could help you at home depot if you describe what you're trying to do.
 

jcat

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You could use fishing net, though it wouldn't be as stable as chicken wire. Latticework/trellises would also work.
Our balcony is secured with something called "cat net", which is readily available in Germany, and very similar to fishing net:
 

lmunsie

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as with mjazzu, my cats go out on the balcony all the time. When I'm home I have a window open that lets them out. I was paranoid at first, but they are 8 years old and really laid back. I did put lattice around the bottom because my only fear was kismet rolling off in the sun


I don't worry about them falling/jumping off at all. There are tons of birds around and they never show any interest in going after them. I am only on the second floor, although will be moving higher later in the year.
 
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