are cats ok with hights?

Hello. My 2 kittens are 2 months old. I live on the 3rd floor and have a big porch that is the roof of the downstairs neighbor that built an extention out of his house. This is a very dangerious porch, for it has no gate around it. Only I use it for hanging cloths or just sitting to watch the stars. I don't let any kids out there, for they can fall.

I wanted to know if I can let the cats out there to play. Some people told me that cats won't fall because they are very carfull with hights. Is this true? I want them to expirience the outside a little but I am so scared they might fall. I just want to know if it is ok to let them out there?

Thank you.

Not sure about when they are older, but my two are three months old and still don't have full co-ordination. Put on a roof I wouldn't be surprised if they fell off whilst playing.

Can you not put a fence around it?

Thank you for the reply.

Maybe a fence would be good, but it is a rented appartment and I don't realy want to spend money.

The truth is, accross the street, I see another porch just like mine, that has a wild cat (street cat) with newborn kittens and they have been there for a few months now. I watch them from my windows and the kittens NEVER fell off. Only the mother can get down and she goes off only to bring them food. When she leaves to get food, I see the kittens peek over the ledge, but I guess they sence the hight and don't try to jump off with their mother. That is why I thought that maybe mine won't either.

If the kittens are very young then they probably won't stray too far, but once they get into full on kitten mode (two, three, four months old) they start getting more energetic and running around everywhere. My two are constantly playing and often fall from heights, but land on soft carpet and haven't actually hurt themselves yet!!

I may be completely wrong, I'm sure someone more knowledgable can confirm whether or not it'd be ok! Cats have a definate sense of danger, so they may well stay away from the edges.

My ex-boyfriend's cat once jumped on the handrail of the stairs going to the second floor of his parents house and lost his balance and fell breaking his legs. I think sometimes cats are not aware of the danger and though they might not jump down on purpose they do stupid things like the above which causes them to fall...

Zvi, I would not let your kittens on that porch. If it is not enclosed, they can fall. Though cats love to sit up high, they have poor depth perception and often injure themselves because they misjudge the height. Cats are also easily distracted by birds, butterflies, etc., and while chasing one could go right over the side of the porch.

Even if you do decide to enclose the porch with a railing, you will still need to watch the kittens carefully to make sure they do not jump up onto the railing and go over, or slip between the banisters.

On another note, is there any way you can get help for the mom cat and kittens you see across the street? I know that Israel has a large feral cat population, but there are several organizations that have formed to offer spay/neuter. Would you be able to contact one in order to have the mom cat spayed and get the kittens adopted?

Cats can definitely fall from heights. They aren't perfect. Even though they know they're up high, they can still fall off and injure or kill themselves. There's even a veterinarian term for this "High-Rise Syndrome" -- google it -- you'll get lots of hits.

It sounds like you should keep your cats indoors for now. Maybe you can try window perches to give them a view?

When a cat gets older and you've spent more time with them as your pet, you can begin to sense what they can (or can't) handle. After six months with Nano (who was already a mature adult), I can make a good prediction of how she will react to a new situation.

Kittens especially have difficulty with the perception of heights so it is best to keep them in until they ar full grown. Even then, I allow mine on the deck - which is high - only supervised on a leash.

That said, she is a Siamese and climbs to the highestpossible point she can find in the house, lol