Cat on the roof

[miskinsincap]

We just moved to a new house with a terrace balcony and my 15 year old cat Peanut discovered a shortcut to the roof. Peanut has never been into acrobatics, she's always been a lazy cat, and her favourite passtime was sitting comfortably in a chair at the balcony and falling asleep while watching the birds, she even refused to go out to the garden when we had access to one. Now she watches the birds, only by sitting at the middle of the roof. Luckily, there are no nests on the roof; the only places suitable to nest are chimney tops and they're covered by nets to prevent that (which is a good thing for birds, because the chimneys are used occasionally), but there are birds on the roof at daytime. 

In fact I'm not so much concerned about Peanut's safety, because the shortcut she discovered is safe for her to climb, and even if she falls from the roof, she would really have to try hard not to land on a balcony. Moreover, I did check the roof, and it seems to be safe for a cat to hang out. I am more concerned that she might try her luck at bird catching or decide to investigate neighbors' balconies (we have 3 neighbors she can get from the roof and since we're new we know none of them). So my plan is to buy a collar with an adress tag and a bird bell on it, and let her go up there. But before I do that, I decided to ask your opinions about the situation, because this is the first time I have a "cat on the roof" problem, so I'm not sure letting her up there is the right thing to do. So what do you say?

 

[mani]

Personally I'm for keeping cats inside.  Any collar concerns me.. even the ones that break.  And I feel that it's not a good place for Peanut to wander around.  All sorts of things could happen, including meeting up with another cat (fighting is common in outdoor cats and a big factor in injuries - it could be even more dangerous on a roof).  Why not just block the shortcut and keep her safe and you won't have to worry?

 

[jonesy]

i agree with Mani.. Block it off now before she gets used to having it and she will forget about it soon enough.. 

 

[miskinsincap]

Well, actually, the first thing we tried to do was to block the way. But as you all know, whatever solution you find, cats have a way of creating new problems; when she couldn't use that way, she tried to climb from the rain water pipes. They can't possibly bear the weight of her and they are located at a very dangerous spot. In order to block the way to the pipes we need some serious renovations, and apart from the cost, we need to take permission from everyone in the building. Anyway, I shooed her away from the pipes as a temporary solution, and before I had a chance to take her inside, she tried to leap to the roof from the very edge of the balcony. Oh, and she also tried to go up by using the balcony door on her way in. And you must know that Peanut is not a slim gymnast; she is a fluffy fat, lazy cat who hates jumping and climbing. 

These were all before I went up to the roof myself and inspected it (neighbours must have thought I am crazy). I just thought, maybe it would be safer just to let her go up there, instead of making her to find more weird places to climb. And I was also hoping that she'll grow tired of climbing all the way up there instead of sitting comfortably in a chair. 

Well, Mani, she actually can't meet any cats out there, the only way the cats have access to the roof is via one of the balconies and I know that neighbors don't have any cats. But it's a cat friendly neighborhood; people look after stray cats in the yards. I don't like collars either, but I thought an adress tag could be useful. But you're right of course; even if she doesn't get into any cat fights, humans can also startle her, and something might happen while trying to run away from some strangers. 

Oh well, perhaps it's better to keep her away from the balcony for now, and try to find ways to block the possible routes up there. Thank you all, and, do you know any harmless cat repellent that I can use at the edges of the balcony?