oh, help, Maddie wants to escape!

Okay, I've calmed down a little since last night but when I got home my boyfriend told me that Maddie was pawing at the screen in the window and he was keeping an eye on her, Next time he looked over there he saw half the screen out and Maddie ready to jump out. Luckily he got to her before she decided to jump, but we live on the second floor and I beleive Maddie would have taken an unexpected trip to Rainbow Bridge if she had jumped. This resulted all from me letting her sniff around for like five minutes the other day. Her first trip outside ever and I thought it would really scare her into not wanting to go outside again, at least until we have a house and can build something for them. What should I do? It's still too nice to close the windows, of course the screen is fixed now, but I'm paranoid that she will do it again even though Tim says the screen is in there tight she couldn't do it again, but how long will she be wanting to go outside? Will this stop in a week or so, does anybody know?
aaahhh! Fustrated mommy!

Heather

Is your kitty fixed? Most kitties that have the urge to roam are driven by the urge to mate.

Does she have a cat condo to climb and scratch on? Maybe a shelf to call her own? Are there lots of toys for her to play with? Sometimes a large box pith a few small balls will help keep her occupied. Maybe if you bring her a few things from outside, a few leaves from a tree and some small branches to pounce on? Make sure they are non-poisinous before bringing them into the house.

I wouldn't let her out at all if I were you - the more she gets to be outside, the more likely she is to want to do it again. Our cat Sulo was used to the great outdoors already when he came to us and it's been impossible to keep him locked inside. I mean, it's physically possible, but we don't have a heart to do that, because he visibly suffers - cries all the time, or if the confinement continues for long enough, he just gets all depressed and lethargic.

Anyway, I've read that if you want to keep your cat indoors, your best bet is to get her used to it from the start and not give her a taste of the outdoors at all - and I think this is probably very sound advice. It would probably help if you can spend some time playing with her and find the kind of toys and games that really interest her.

Does she have a good place by the window, to look outside and see maybe some trees and such? At the time when we did try to keep Sulo inside, that definitely made the difference for him - he was still frustrated, but not depressed and apathetic like he was earlier, when he was living in a place where the only things to watch were a few houses and a street, and not much greenery or animals to speak of.

They make special kitty screens for windows. I have even screwed the screens in place upstairs so that they won't open under a kitty's inquisitive pawing and playing. I finally put up some decorative lattice work over my windows. Allows for the air and the sunshine to come in and keeps the cat away from the screens. It will easily pop in and out for a human, as you can cut it to fit.

Thanks guys for the input! I think I will try to bring some outside things in, although I don't know if that will urge her want more to go outside. She has been spayed, of course!, and she has her kittie condo which she loves and plenty of cat toys to keep her occupied, although a walmart bag far outweighs the cat toys in her eyes! I really wish I wouldn't had let her out at all. This is my fault. I hope she doesn't become depressed. Again, thanks for the input and calming me down, the boyfriend wasn't much help!

Heather