How Can I Make My Windows Safe for My Cats?

Since we have been having a really hot summer already, it is becoming more important for us to have the windows open so that we can get some cool air in the house (no AC). There is bug screen on the windows that we do open, but I worry about our cats pushing these screens out.  When our cats roughhouse, they will jump at the screens. They also jump against the screen when chasing the bugs that get inside. Neither cat has hit the screens full on yet, so they haven't popped out. These are simple screens that have a metal piece that pushes in to put them in place, but can be pushed out. Our Malamute once escaped through one by accident when she was chasing a moth.

How do I make my windows secure so that the cats don't have to be constantly supervised when the windows are open? Are there special screens I can buy to make the windows more cat proof?

I don't want to keep them away from the windows entirely by locking them in one room, partially because of the heat, and also since it gives my cat no way of escaping from the kitten's bothering when she wants to play and he doesn't.

I have window screens that are similar. My solution is to only keep the windows open no more than 3 inches whenever I am not home. I may keep the sliding door in the bedroom open all the way but I keep the bedroom door closed.

Are your windows single hung or double hung? If they are double hung, open the windows from the top. so there's less chance of the cats pushing the screens out.

Some people install child / pet window safety guards. If you own your own home, you can easily do this.

You can double up on your screens by buying one of the adjustable, portable screens and putting it in your window. Because the edges fit into the side of the window, and with the weight of the window on top of it, they actually are pretty snug.
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i:aps,k:adjustable window screens&tag=&tag=thecatsite

My windows are single hung, They open by sliding to one slide. I have been leaving them open just a little, which works, but not ideal. They are also gigantic windows (take up most of each wall that they are on). I could try the window guards. Any suggestions on brand or anything like that? I don't know if they'd even make them as big as these windows.

If you put an adjustable screen up sideways, couldn't you just get a dowel to tightly prop it open?

Try the One Step Ahead website for window guards.  Or Amazon.  One Step Ahead had the gates that worked for my odd sized door openings back when my 5 year old was learning to walk.  

Another thing you could do is cut flower trellises to size and wedge them over the screens (from the inside).If the frames themselves are sturdy, I can recommend PetScreen.

These all sound like great ideas. I will have to see what works well for our situation. Thank you.

At various times and for various places I have gotten good use out of spring-loaded tension mount curtain rods.  I currently have a couple of these in one window that we open on occasion.  I still don't leave it open when we are not home but it does make me feel a little better about leaving it open wider when we are not in that room to watch. I have a normal vertical double hung window, but in a slider these should still work.  Although, they may not be that convenient when you want to close them.  Depends upon if your window design would allow for enough clearance; in mine I am able to leave the rods there and close the window.

I'm not sure if it's a 100% solution, but with these rods in front of the screen I'm pretty confident my cats would not be able to crawl through and push out the screen, climb on the screen or otherwise accidentally fall out.  With the rods tight enough, I don't think a typical cat would be able to put enough downward pressure (the most likely direction) on it to overcome the tension.

Could be worth a try, as these only cost a few bucks each.  Although given that your windows slide sideways it means you could need several per window to cover a suitable height.  Also, depending upon just how wide you mean, it may be beyond the width of a tension rod, or it may mean you need a thicker bar which again would make it not convenient.  But probably the opening is not wider than 4 feet so should be well within the reach of a tension rod.

Who knows, just another possibility.  If the opening is really huge top to bottom, like door-sized, you'll likely be best served by something like the trellis if you are handy and are not bothered by the looks.  (I'm thinking of wood trellis or I guess it probably comes in vinyl, although you could use any number of fencing type products I suppose as long as a cat doesn't fit through the openings.)  You could probably semi-permanently mount that kind of thing to the wall in such a way that still allowed you to operate the window.

The good metal screening (PetScreen and the like) will keep claws from tearing it, but that alone will not keep simple force from pushing the whole screen unit out.  Heck, my cat some years ago crashed headlong into an old-style (but almost brand new) wood screen door I was using inside (to keep her out but get airflow).  The impact pushed a hole through the door that she could have easily gotten through!  And the screening of that was metal.  So it's often the frame that is the weak link with metal screens, and even a seemingly solid setup could be vulnerable to the wrong situation.

You could also consider some kind of purpose made window/door safety that mounts to the outside, if you don't mind it being permanent or the outside appearance.  Usually for it to look nice this gets expensive, but I know there are railing-type products for this, for when there's a large sliding door on an upper floor with no balcony, that sort of thing.  The trick there is making sure the rails are close enough together to stop a cat; normally it would be made to stop a child at smallest I would guess.

Good luck!

@2bcat  can you post a picture of what you mean? I'm having trouble visualizing it.

The larger windows in my house are 36 inches by 56.

I'm trying to find some way to reinforce them more than the actual screen part. The cats don't mess with the screens, but jump at the windows in general while playing, which worries me. Neither of them tears the screen or scratches it. 

Since the screens are a type that pop out easily, reinforcing them to get them to stay in the windows is all that is really needed, I'm just not sure how to do that.

This is a picture of the cats with one of the huge windows.

Nice view outside the windows I'm sure your cats enjoy watching birds and other animals from the windows. I have no idea how you would cat-proof such large indows like that. Maybe contact a window screen or patio company to see if they have any suggestions?

My fiance is thinking that we can build an extra lip for the window with small boards. This would create a lip outside the window that would be right up against the screen on at least two sides. That would make it impossible to push out the screen without breaking through the middle. 

The view outside is definitely perfect for cats. Lots of birds, insects, and rodents to watch. Of course this is part of the problem!

Also living in the forest with five acre minimum properties all around makes indoor cats escaping even more dangerous for the cat. No neighbors who think twice if a cat is just wandering lose and lots of dangerous predators and places to hide that would make finding an escaped cat almost impossible! I'm not so worried about my older cat since he escaped once (from a harness, not the window), but I was able to retrieve him promptly with a bag of his favorite treats. He comes when he's called. The little one is far too ADHD for that.

Not sure how you could work this in given the size of your windows, but I remember my father reinforcing the screen doors with chicken fence wiring because the cats climbed the normal screening and tore it up. It worked beautifully. If you and your so are handy, you might be able to use this stuff. Just a thought. It's really sturdy stuff.

EDIT: I'm sorry. After looking up chicken wire online, I realized what my dad used wasn't the typical chicken fence wiring at all. It was screen, but with heavier mesh every inch or so. Not sure what it was, to be honest.

misterwhiskers said:

Not sure how you could work this in given the size of your windows, but I remember my father reinforcing the screen doors with chicken fence wiring because the cats climbed the normal screening and tore it up. It worked beautifully. If you and your so are handy, you might be able to use this stuff. Just a thought. It's really sturdy stuff.

Click to expand...

Yes, that reminds me that my father did something similar for our porch using hardware cloth, which is also sturdy and worked very well to keep our (small but active!) dogs from ruining or going through the screen.

Here's a link to an old thread on the subject:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/230356/reinforcing-screens

I can try to get a pic of my window tomorrow.  Here in the dark I don't think it's going to work too well. ;-)  Although, I'm looking at your pic and it's easily possible that your sideways-operating windows won't really have a good spot for the one side of the tension rod to land.  It may work but may be somewhat more precarious than my setup.  It's such a large screen that the tension rods on the inside probably isn't enough protection if they get a good jump at it.  So I would back away from that idea anyway.

In looking at the pics I think you would be best served by reinforcing with something semi-permanent, probably on the outside given that these appear to be facing mainly the back (?) of the house where appearance of the house may not be so much of a factor.  Depending upon how much you care about blocking view and appearance, you may not need to overthink this.  Pieces of wood running vertically would work without having to block the non-screen side of the window.  Just run some pieces of wood vertically on the outside to hold the screen in place better, starting with at least the two edges of the screen frame.  Probably exactly what your fiance is thinking.

You may still want to switch to metal screen if it isn't already.  Unless you run a few more pieces somewhat blocking the view, the cats may still be able to tear or punch a hole in the fabric screening material and thus fall out

Appearance definitely isn't a big deal in that back window, and isn't really in the others either. The whole house is surrounded by forest like that. I think using the wood to hold in the screens will work. I may also put some kind of reinforcing metal piece in the middle of each window screen to hold it even better. 

If we start having problems with the cats messing with the screens in any way other than just jumping up at bugs, I will switch to the Pet Screen. At our local hardware store we can buy that screen in a size big enough. Now to convince my fiance that we need to start the project sooner rather than later. 

Thank you for all the suggestions! @2bcat   I still would love to see those pictures when you get a chance. It sounds like an interesting solution.

Totally forgot about this!  I'll see if I can get a pic when I get home.  Heh.