The white one's going to jump!

Anybody remember that sweet, quiet, timid solid white cat that came to live with me about six months ago? Well, apparently, the lovely Claire has an adventurous side. With the weather being warm I've been letting my crew on the second floor porch. My older girls have never tried to jump and Peter appears to have learned his lesson after last year. I still keep a VERY close eye on him though. Last night I had the door open for just few minutes when I heard my neighbor next door calling my name frantically.
When I went to see what was wrong, he said, "The white one's going to jump." Sure enough, Claire had stepped through the railing and was standing on the edge of the gutter, poised to jump directly into a pine tree which is usually full of birds. I yelled "no" loud enough to scare her and she backed off. So, no more going out on the porch for Claire until I can rig some kind of sturdy screening around the railing. I should have been more careful about letting her out there.

Well I guess you can't call her a fraidy cat no more! I am glad she is safe!

Twitch tries to jump off high places, too. I think it's a white cat thing. Ophie jumped off the bookcase & fell flat on her face & got a snore nose. Twitch got the brilliant idea to try to jump off the deck. I always have Twitch on a harness & leash because I know she'll try to jump.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Twitch tries to jump off high places, too. I think it's a white cat thing. Ophie jumped off the bookcase & fell flat on her face & got a snore nose. Twitch got the brilliant idea to try to jump off the deck. I always have Twitch on a harness & leash because I know she'll try to jump.

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Sounds like they have adventurous sides too! Guess I'd going to have keep an eye on Claire. She has such a delicate, angelic appearance, but looks can be deceiving!

Is there any way you can secure the balcony with chicken wire or fish nets? Our back balcony (third floor) is secured with "cat net", but a guy down the street recently made a sort of enclosure out of lumber and chicken wire to protect his young child and cat from falls. It has two sides, a front, and a "roof", and is just set against the wall. He has bicycle chains attached to the balcony railing that prevent the toddler or cat from pushing it aside. It's absolutely ingenious.

Originally Posted by jcat

Is there any way you can secure the balcony with chicken wire or fish nets? Our back balcony (third floor) is secured with "cat net", but a guy down the street recently made a sort of enclosure out of lumber and chicken wire to protect his young child and cat from falls. It has two sides, a front, and a "roof", and is just set against the wall. He has bicycle chains attached to the balcony railing that prevent the toddler or cat from pushing it aside. It's absolutely ingenious.

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That's exactly what I had in mind! Thanks!

The telescopic rods, netting, screws, etc., cost us about $200 a little over 6 years ago, but it was well worth the price, in terms of Jamie's safety and my peace of mind. I recently (i.e., about two months ago) replaced the netting, and the cost was < $60. Most people here in Germany live in apartments, so "cat nets" for balconies are quite common, and there are quite a few suppliers to choose from. The guy down the street told me he spent < $100, and only needed about 3 hours to make his enclosure.