Biggest fear has happened!

I am not a cat expert but I wouldn't worry, I have seen cats jumping from the top of a tree and touching down without any problem. They seem to have a special sense to always touch down on their feet.

Every sympathy Rachel, that must be very frightening. I lived in a house with very old fashioned windows for a few months and despite being very careful one of mine did finally climb up and fall out from upstairs- I don't think I ever got downstairs and outside so fast, I nearly had a heartattack, but other than limping and being bruised and a quick confirmation from the vet, no harm was done. I hope you can find some deterrents that work! Can you fit any screen doors or anything to keep kitty away from the dangerzone?

best wishes

Ranger

If all else fails, I guess I could stack up baby gates to the ceiling so that he can't get up there anymore. I don't care if it looks unattractive, that's my baby's safety at risk!! He just thinks he is a super kitty or something...he tries to climb and get into anything he can find! I love him so much! I would just be devestated if something happened to him!!

I don't think I'd put that on it for sure it will slip then

I told you one of mine did that but it was carpeted below. I thought about it at the time, but the only thing that I can suggest is clear plastic or lucite panels so it doesn't stick out like baby gates. I'm sure someone makes a clear hard plastic.

There are companies that do make plastic sheets and cylinders for sale at reasonable rates and will even trim to your specs. Check the yellow pages and call around and find some clear acrillic (sp) sheeting maybe? Perhaps with a little wood and some plastic, a drill and some screws you can close that off from him.

However, I have heard plenty of stories of cats falling or jumping from heights of 2-4+ stories and coming out perfectly fine due to their great balance and landing on their feet so I would not worry to much. Also unless something is wrong with his eyes, theres a good chance he would not just leap out into space with a great distance if he felt he did not have at least a chance of making it safely.

Cats move their heads back and forth to judge distance, they are quite good as long as they have two eyes. We have a banister as well with quite a drop down to the lower floor.. to date no cat has ever jumped off it, thankfully.

Good luck!

Thanks...I guess I am just worried that he might slip or loose his gripping. It just scares me to think what if he has been doing this for the past month...and I just happened to come home early today and I came out of my room to discover him doing this. He could be perfectly fine and know what he is doing, but it just makes me feel like I am going to have a heart attack!! And then, I'm scared to move because I might startle him and then he will definitely slip.

Mine scare me to death on the balcony rails and slats made of wood - they love to walk along the top and climb down or up the outside, hanging on by their claws. But my daughter once said 'they are cats, they are designed to do that' and so far none has fallen. I think the danger would be if they were chasing each other and one jumped and missed the footing, but they don't chase each other out there, they are too interested in what is going on around them. And our balcony is only one story up above the garden, so in the worst case I don't think it would be too serious if they fell.

My mom's condo is similar to what you're talking about. She doesn't have a banister with slats but has a plant ledge looking down into the first floor.

Her cat Flash, who is sort of like your average Super American Hero, kept getting up there and winging himself down from the ledge. She was afraid he'd hurt himself! I told her cats are very agile, especially Flash... youthful and healthy as he is... and not to worry one bit, he's just testing the distance and having his jungle-time fun.

Well she finally got sick of him ambushing the dog & other cats from that ledge and jumping down & scaring her, so, she put fake plants all on that ledge. She used double-sided sticky tape and very thick, fluffy tall fake plants. He does not / can not get up on that ledge now. Won't even try.

Maybe you could do something similar? Besides the plastic baby gates? Put plants or vines there, intertwined in the banisters so he cannot get through them? If he's getting up on the railing, maybe put clear double-sided sticky tape down (I use this stuff alot), so when he jumps up he feels it and gets back down. After a while maybe he'll fear the 'sticky banister' and stop jumping on it, then you can remove the sticky tape.

Steph

Could you put a cat net from floor to ceiling inside the railing? Here's a link for cat net http://www.seamar.com/nets/cats.html , but you could just as easily using fishing net. I have the balcony secured with a green cat net, and have transparent net in the windows I like to have open in warm weather, or to air the place out. This is a picture of the net on the balcony, to give you an idea:

Here Jamie is sitting behind a transparent net:

Hi Rachel, we used to lived on the second floor in our old apartment, and my cat Simon managed to get out on the windowsill (don't ask how), and fell to parking area below. He bit his lip and was bleeding just a tiny bit, but other than that, he was fine (mad as hell, but fine). I, on the other hand, just about had a heart attack, but that's a different story.

Daniel

Hey, I just wanted to let you know that a month ago I was going through the exact same thing... my Baylee found the balcony the most interesting thing in the world and I was terrified she was gonna fall.

I lined the railing with all sorts of junk - candles, cups, trinkets, etc. Surprisingly that works, she usually doesn't go up there!

I had to lock Baylee in the bedroom all day for a few days when we were expecting the maintenance men over (I don't trust them to not accidentally let her out) and when I got home, she was fine. So I figure that since she was locked upstairs with the balcony for 8 hours or more and didn't try to jump/fall down... I shouldn't worry.

Try not to worry - I know that's easier said than done but believe me, I stressed out over it and now I realize that Baylee is a cat and will be fine, and so will Tiger!

Oh, FYI... Baylee fell from the window ledge from the second floor, which is higher up than the railing... and survived. Not even a hint at pain. Sometimes we need to give cats a bit more credit!