Alley's new freedom!

I live in a townhome with three floors and two balconies. I have one aggressive and one timid cat. The timid cat is Alley. Yesterday, I saw her looking at me through the glass door as she always does when I am sitting out on the balcony, acting like she wanted out. I never let her out for fear she could squeeze between the bars and fall to her death. But yesterday I opened the door and she stood in the open doorway trying to think whether she should make the venture outside. Let me explain that Alley was rescued from the streets, living in a dumpster. So she has outside experience. After about an hour (it seemed) she started putting her paw out the door as if to test whether things were safe.

All of a sudden she ran out and starting rolling over and over on her back (like a dog) on the cement floor of the balcony. She acted absolutely emotianally exhuberant. And then a noisy car came down the alley below the balcony and she retreated into the house rapidly.

So, my question to you cat psychiatrists (damn, I wish TCS had a spellchecker), what was going on here? Was she basking in being outside again after being an inside only cat for two years? Would a cat really try to squeeze through bars and jump three stories to a cement driveway?

I am thrilled that she found such nirvana but I am still afraid if she really connected with being outside again, she might jump. Whatcha think?

She is probably happy with her current living situation, but I wouldn't let her out unsupervised.

You might see if you can get some of that stuff that nets in your balcony - some type of safety netting if it is feasible and allowed at your building. My uncle had a cat in NYC that fell to its death from a 14th floor balcony when someone left the door open and it snuck out. It was tragic and he was devastated - so yes, that kind of stuff does happen.

Originally Posted by straymagnet

You might see if you can get some of that stuff that nets in your balcony - some type of safety netting if it is feasible and allowed at your building. My uncle had a cat in NYC that fell to its death from a 14th floor balcony when someone left the door open and it snuck out. It was tragic and he was devastated - so yes, that kind of stuff does happen.

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People have told me this before (safety netting) but I have ignored it. Your mention of the poor cat falling from the 14th floor has shaken me to the point that I now know I must do something to make the balcony safe before letting Alley out again. We also have an elevator in our house that has a wide opening since it is round, where cats could fall all the way down to the bottom. Just last night Persi was playing with a toy that he stole from the top of the chest of drawers and batted it down that open space to 24 feet below. I could just imagine him chasing that and falling down.

I need to put some kind of netting there, too. I love my cats so much and it is hard to imagine that sometimes we just overlook the obvious.