Moving to a 2cnd floor flat, will zorro jump?

[jonro]

So me and my cat zorro are moving to a second floor apartment with a balcony.  the balcony is roughly 12ft up. I'm worried that if i let him out there he will try jumping off and badly hurt himself.

I suppose my main question is, are cats a good judge of the height they can safely jump from?

I wont be letting him out there just encase but im interested in the answer.

Big thanks for any help.

 

[di and bob]

My guess would be YES, he will jump. I've seen cats jump out of trees at that height and it was just plain lucky they didn't break anything. They usually meow a lot and pace back and forth and keep looking but eventually they will build up enough nerve to jump. So be careful! I myself would make the balcony off limits.

 

[ritz]

I lived on the top floor of a four story condo building; a jump from the balcony at that height would have meant a death sentence for Ritz. So I had the balcony off limits except for the three or four times I let her explore under my close supervision. She wasn't overly thrilled, luckily.
The balcony has vertical, metal poles all along the balcony (kind of hard to describe). The poles were wide enough apart that she could have gotten her head stuck and/or wide enough that she could have jumped. I (and cat mentor) did put up chicken wire along the perimeter. It may have saved Ritz' life when one day I came home and found her on the balcony looking at me. She had gotten through a small hole in the screen. Immediately called my brother who rushed over and patched the hole.
Remember, if a cat can fit its head into an opening, it can fit its entire body.

 

[jonro]

cheers for the reply's guys, much appreciated.

ok now the balcony will be 100% off limits

p.S Any tips on helping him settle into a "100% indoor life", from a "come and go as you please life"?

 oh and another thing, atleast now i wont have to worry all the time when he's away, that he's going to be hit by a car.

thanks

 

[silmarien]

YES the cat will jump.  My cousin is a vet tech and she said they see cats that jump from up to 10 story buildings ALL the time.  Falling injuries are quite common bc people let cats on their balconies.

Build her a cat fence and don't let her free roam on your balcony.  Please, she is a cat, not a psychic! Cats are naturally curious and will jump thinking they will be fine, when really it is much too high. 

Your cat may escape this way and come to harm from a car running her over or otherwise get hurt.