Heights Question

My Baylee moved to my boyfriend's apartment last night, a 2 story loft apartment... her first experience with dealing with more than one floor. The bedroom upstairs has an opening to the downstairs - 2 steel railings caddycornered together. I have this huge fear that she'll jump down and fall the 12 feet (or however far down it is) and hurt herself.

Yesterday she was exploring and half "fell" onto the top of the bookshelf that is below... I'm not sure how intentional that was but she couldn't figure out how to get either back down or up so she reached up for me and I had to help her back up.

My question is... how likely is it that she'll fall? Last night she had to sleep downstairs because I was nervous that she would... I know that cats can handle heights pretty well, but what are the odds that she'll reach out and then just fall? Does that make sense?

Thanks... I need something to help me sleep at night, as I'm really worried!

my cat loves to climb and quite often pretends to get stuck (i've seen her make her own way down!) for a little fuss and attention. one time she got 'stuck' on the shed roof and was crying so piteously i went to get a ladder only to turn round and see her following me to find out why i wasnt paying her any attention!

she's climbed to the top of our conservatory which is about 9 or 10 ft high on a tiny ledge and has never fallen. she also likes to climb on doors and a wobbly as they are hasnt fallen down yet.

if you have a look at the structure of this house on my faveroite website http://www.thecatshouse.com/ and consider they've only had one cat fall off in ten years i think baylee should be ok.

i dont think baylee will fall but maybe you supervise her for the first week going up and down to make sure?

the little beasts are hardier than we give them credit for and personally i think they get a kick out of scaring us!

Aw that's so cute about Maverick!

And last night when I was tossing and turning, I DID think about that house with all the beams so high up in the air and how not that many cats fell off. But then I couldn't remember how badly hurt the cats were that DID fall off...

We nailed a sports flag against one of the railings but it's the one where she could have landed on the bookshelf so the other one is wide open... and she was intrigued by the flag and reached up and leaned against it, and it looked like she could've fallen (even though it was nailed). So I think that scared me too.

I think I'm definitely gonna keep my eye on her, and upstairs is off limits when no one is home, but even though I *think* she'll be okay, I'm not *sure*... ya know?

the cat that fell off did break its leg but one cat in ten years when they have so many is good odds!

i'm sure she'll be ok once she gets used to it

Could you maybe put up a child proof gate?

I'm not sure... it's a pretty big railing and there'd be no place to attach the gate.

We tried putting blankets, pillows and boxes in front of the railing but that just seemed to make it more appealing to her, giving me more heart attacks!

Hopefully my boyfriend's gonna get a dresser to put in front one of the railings, but that won't be for a while (maybe within a week) and that still leaves the other railing...

I hate loft apartments now!

I live in a studio apartment with a 6' loft bed. Hunter and Cougar (15 weeks) sleep up there with me. They also like to tumble and wrestle up there. A couple of nights ago the jumble of intertwined kittens took a free fall from bed to floor. They were only startled, not hurt at all.

Carolina, glad to hear they were okay! Your kittens sure are cute! How far did they fall though?

Baylee has taken to jumping up ON the balcony and now running across it. I think I might be okay with it, if only she wouldn't do it when she was hyper because I'm more scared she's gonna fall.

It's to the point where we either lock her out of the room at night which leads to her incessant crying (dang loft apartments!) or we let her in so she can run all over the place.

Since the move she's started (well it's been 2 nights) running all over the place during the night. Ever since I've gotten her she's been hyper at night but she always used to kind of know when it was time to sleep and she would usually sleep. Now she wakes up every few hours and runs all over the place. Due to the move?

Sounds like your loft apartment is exactly like mine. The 'railing' is one inch square iron bars spaced about 6-8 inches apart. I have ten cats, and have only witnessed one that fell down. After I got over the shock I fell on the floor laughing!! I was just standing there doing dishes when I heard some cats 'fighting' upstairs, then a second later down went the cat right on the other side of the bar! When I looked over at her she just looked so funny all wide eyed and staring at me, then the loft, then me again, I couldn't help but laugh. She was fine and its a good 12 foot drop. Also added a little bit of fun while doing the dishes!!
I even have one cat, baby girl, that jumps up an hangs on with her front feet and somehow hauls the rest of her back end up(sometimes taking up to a full minuit to gain purchase with her back feet!) and walks along the 1" rail!!! She can even turn around on it!! Cats' ballancing abilities amaze me.
Just try to move anything directly bellow the railing that could impail them, or has sharp angles, and they should be fine!!

Thanks, you've definitely reassured me - I need to hear from someone who's been in my shoes and has had a cat fall to know that they'll be okay! I mean, I *know* deep down she's a cat, not a human baby, and should be fine, but at the same time, she's still my baby so I get nervous. But the only thing below her is the recliner (which is another item that makes me nervous and thankfully she doesn't hide under there yet) so if she lands on that, she'll be okay.

Yeah Baylee walks along the railing too, batting at the flag that we've hung below - we might have to remove it as that makes me extra nervous. I swear she KNOWS she's stressing out because after she does that, she comes over to see me and headbutts me, as if to say "Don't worry mom, I'm okay!"

how are you dealing with Bay moving in with your bf?? Or did you 'move in' as well?

Originally Posted by Ali012281

how are you dealing with Bay moving in with your bf?? Or did you 'move in' as well?

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Shh don't tell anyone! I miss my apartment though, I think it's cuter! Plus she's discovered some hiding places... that with the heights are keeping us very stressed!

Oh and Bay still loves me... comes and gives me headbutts, rubs against my legs... makes my bf jealous, even though now he sees her a bit more than me!

Originally Posted by pinkdaisy226

Carolina, glad to hear they were okay! Your kittens sure are cute! How far did they fall though?

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They fell six feet. One time, Cougar fell about two feet into a bag of stuff I had on a shelf... I laughed so hard. He wasn't physically hurt, but I bet his cat's pride was wounded.

Since the move she's started (well it's been 2 nights) running all over the place during the night. Ever since I've gotten her she's been hyper at night but she always used to kind of know when it was time to sleep and she would usually sleep. Now she wakes up every few hours and runs all over the place. Due to the move?

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My kittens do the same thing. If I can't stand it, I do confine them to their safe room (a dressing room/bathroom suite). Most of the time, I can sleep through it, and they wake up cuddled up against me.

Confining them to the safe room works because they are two and can keep each other entertained. I still hear wrestling and playing throught the door, but no crying. Again, I hear only the piteous mewing when I try to separate them.

Originally Posted by portdevoix

They fell six feet. One time, Cougar fell about two feet into a bag of stuff I had on a shelf... I laughed so hard. He wasn't physically hurt, but I bet his cat's pride was wounded.

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Ah. Last night Baylee climbed on top of the railing and was looking like she wanted to jump the 5 feet to the window. I'm not sure why either, the only thing she would have had to cling to was the blinds, there's no sill... and that would've been maybe a 15 foot drop. So now I'm back to being nervous again... and my boyfriend, who had been reassuring me that everything would be fine, is also getting stressed!

Originally Posted by portdevoix

My kittens do the same thing. If I can't stand it, I do confine them to their safe room (a dressing room/bathroom suite). Most of the time, I can sleep through it, and they wake up cuddled up against me.

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See that's why I wish I had another kitten for her! Lol. Every night Baylee decides that the bedroom means playtime, so we have to banish her from the room - as much as I love sleeping with her, on the weekends I only have time to have 6 hours of sleep before I have to be back at work, if I'm lucky. She sleeps for a few hours, then wakes up crying. But if we let her back in... she starts playing again!

Originally Posted by pinkdaisy226

Baylee has taken to jumping up ON the balcony and now running across it. I think I might be okay with it, if only she wouldn't do it when she was hyper because I'm more scared she's gonna fall.

It's to the point where we either lock her out of the room at night which leads to her incessant crying (dang loft apartments!) or we let her in so she can run all over the place.

Since the move she's started (well it's been 2 nights) running all over the place during the night. Ever since I've gotten her she's been hyper at night but she always used to kind of know when it was time to sleep and she would usually sleep. Now she wakes up every few hours and runs all over the place. Due to the move?

Click to expand...

Interesting observation about her activity starting after the move. Before we moved we also had a routine where the cats knew when it was bedtime and all moved into the bedroom and settled to go to sleep. Of course, they woke up about 4 for a one to two hours of playing on their own, then back on to bed to go to sleep again. When we moved here - to a bigger house but on one floor without their favourite play area the stairwell - they started to stay awake and play all night - and coming to call for me to join them. I had to start closing the bedroom door just so we could get some uninterrupted sleep.
I wondered about the timing of that as well.

In our old place we had a stairwell that had a railing around the hallway at the top. It was a good 20 feet from the top of the railing to the bottom of the stair. It was the only place large enough where I could put my tent ridgepole - which was a wooden 2 x 4 x 10, and it went from half way up the stairs and leaned against the railing. Well, this was kitty heaven! They spent hours racing up the ridgepole, jumping on the railing, racing along the railing and back down the stairs to repeat it. My heart was in my mouth innumerable times, especially as I did have to do some quick grabs at paws to pull one or two of them back to the top after they slipped and were hanging on to the railing! I only ever saw one of them actually fall once - and she was fine -landed on two stairs - fortunately not with her head hitting, which was my concern - raced back upstairs and repeated her run, this time safely, along the railing. I sure wish I had something like that for them here - it would make a lot of things so much easier - the cat tree just isn't the same.

Kathryn

Maybe cats just need time, not only to get used to their new house but also to get used to sleep patterns? And eating patterns apparently... Baylee's still not eating as much as she used to... she's almost there, but not enough. I mean, I know moves are stressful on cats but I guess I never realized how much, ya know?

Kathryn, it sounds like you know exactly that I'm going through, being nervous after they nearly fell. I guess they learned after they fell, or nearly fell, but I don't want to take that chance! I mean, if she fell onto the bookcase below I'd be fine, that's only 4 feet down. But she keeps hanging on the other balcony and crouching like she wants to jump... but there's nothing to jump TO... no stairs or anything to break her fall. Hopefully the novelty will wear off? I'm going to try to make a cardboard box "castle" for her to see if that'll be somewhat interesting for her... who knows if she'll even go in it, let alone find it a better replacement than balancing on a balcony!

Oh Ari! I didn't see this!

I hope things are calming down a bit now and you are feeling less stressed! I know it can be extremely scary when cats play at heights! I found Tibby once standing on the tiny window ledge on the outside of my first floor flat

I think thay are definitely more confident of their judgement and skills than we are!!

The play thing, Tibby and Molly get a bit hyper everytime we go to my parents and everytime we come back!! I think it is the excitement of finding new smells and hidey holes!!

Good luck with your castle too, I am sure Baylee will love it!!

Hey Sarah... I certainly wish cats would care a bit more about how dangerous it could be to play so high up in the air!

Last night Baylee started playing on the balcony and we kicked her out. A bit later she started crying so we had her between us, petting her. When it was time for bed she stayed calm and stayed the night, sleeping like the little angel she pretends to be! I'm very proud of her... and I hope she keeps it up!

Still scary though!

good Baylee!

I am glad she's getting accustomed to the balcony now and calming down! I think it is probably the excitment of moving!! New things to smell, climb on, see etc!! I am so pleased that she is behaving better now!!

Are you still working on the play area for Bay? If you like, I can have a work on some ideas (or drag some from my sketch book and send them to you!! I just wish I could make and send you a condo like mine (I could try to make a smaller one with instructions if you would like - I would REALLY enjoy doing it for you!!) Let me know if you would want anything!!

My boyfriend wants to get to work on the cardboard thing tonight... but I'd love to see what you've done Sarah... either the plans or pictures if you'd like to show them!