… and am making my balconies even uglier than they were before.
But it’s all in the name of kitteh protection. Livia from the cat shelter warned me that the (ugly) green plastic mesh I had going across the balcony railings wasn’t going to be enough protection for Loki, and I can see her point. He’s still a bit small to jump up that high, but it won’t be long before he can and I don’t want curiosity – or a stray pigeon – to cause him to inadvertently leap to his death.
So I have attached a second piece of mesh that goes from the top of the railing to the wall at a 45º angle, which ought to do the trick. Am now waiting for the owners of newly opened posh hotel next door to complain…
casa azahar 
If a cat can get into trouble, a cat will get in trouble. Better safe than sorry.
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The plastic mesh around the railings was enough for Azar when I brought him home… with his hockey-stick front leg he wasn’t much for leaping into the unknown anyhow. And he showed less interest in “the great outdoors” than either Sunny or Lua. I guess after having lived under a car for the first five months of his life he reckoned that soft duvets and warm comfy surroundings beat the heck out of whatever might be “out there”.
But when Sunny was young he had a penchant for being tall, and once I came into the room to find him – eep! – sitting on top of the balcony railing. I walked slowly towards him, softly calling his name and talking to him, and then grabbed him tight and told him NO! And this was the weird thing about Sunny … he really understood that no meant no. So he never tried that stunt again, though I would still find him up on top of the water heater, crying to be saved.
Loki is a whole other ballgame. If it’s there he either wants to climb it, eat it, play with it or otherwise unravel its mysteries. At the moment he seems a bit daunted by all the outside noise when he’s been out on the balcony (under supervision). But I know it won’t take long before his curiosity outweighs any nervousness. In any case, I always err on the side of caution when it comes to being protective about the cats. I mean, how are they to know that they are three floors up (four floors US & CAN)?
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I would be scared too, although deep down I believe cats wouldn’t do this sort of acrobat trick and fall down three stories*. But I would hate to find out that my cat was special in this regard after all.
* Mmmh, and yet I have seen often enough me moggy try to jump on a table or something, miserably fail, and pretend that she never wanted to be up there anyway.
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When I lived across the street, again on the third floor but with a terrace, I watched in horror one day as a six-week old Sunny came barreling out the back door and ran straight out into thin air, falling two floors down (landing on a glass ceiling of the restaurant below). Luckily nothing was broken or bleeding – at worst he just got the wind knocked out of him. But it was the same deal. They don’t actually KNOW they are three floors up.
A few months later Lua also slipped and fell off the terrace. She wasn’t so lucky – instead of landing on a flat glass surface two floors down, she fell the entire three floors, hitting edge of a metal spiral staircase at the bottom and breaking her hip – she also ended up with a lot of internal bleeding.
When I took Lua in to the vet’s he told me that cats fall like this ALL THE TIME. That this whole Walt Disney “cats running along rooftops” thing was just fantasy.
For the past few years I doubt the plastic mesh was even necessary anymore, with the three older cats. But every now and then a pigeon would land on the railing and they would go mental trying to catch it.
I even want to put some mesh at the bottom of the railing on my floor around the stairwell just outside my front door… imagine if Loki streaked out the door when one of us came home. He’d totally “do a Sunny”.
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Papapishu! That’s quite scary. I’ll be more careful then if I ever move up a few floors with a cat then :shudder:
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Cats are pretty durable and good fliers, but its better to never test their ability and luck to land just right. I had a kitten I named Amelia Earhart because of her penchant for taking flying leaps into mid air. She always survived but there was one night when she had internal bleeding. Fortunately it was short lived and nothing was broken. But still. The mesh is a good idea. Now why would the hotel complain, anyway?
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I still get the whibbies when Mr. Ferguson jumps up on the banister, and that only drops to a single flight of steps. He does it to be bad, I swear. It leads to his being banished from the upstairs for days at a time.
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When I lived in an apartment building downtown, the building behinds us was 8 storeys high and one day were heard someone screaming. Their cat had fallen off the windowsill on the eight into the parking lot below. I don’t know if the kitty was okay or not.
Luckily, we have never lived anywhere high up with Benjamin (third floor but the porch was on the second floor). I wold be terrified.
I say that if the “posh hotel” has a problem with your precautions, they can just go stuff themselves.
You COULD invest in some lattice and paint it white but I think that would be even more obvious.
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I should say, too, that the windows on out third floor apartment had screens and even WE couldn’t get them open and the glass parts had to be held open with chop sticks of various lengths. Even IF Benjamin had opposable thumbs, he’d have had difficulties with the windows.
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Yeah, one of my students lost her cat that way when he fell nine floors. He used to always sit on the window sill, then one day a bird flew by too close and instinct took over. She was devastated. I just thought – duh! When I lived next door I also put mesh over the windows that opened into the interior patios (light shafts). Will be doing that here too if Loki ever discovers the kitchen counter (so far he’s still too small to jump that high).
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Either the hotel or the neighbours could complain. It really does look ugly and I live in the old historical centre where people take pride in keeping their balconies clean and often filled with fresh geraniums. You can’t actually see the extra mesh looking up from the street, but the neighbours who live directly across and above can see down into my balconies, likewise from the new hotel’s rooftop terrace.
Sometimes foreign tenants staying next door would hang towels out to try over the balcony railings and my landlady told me that they could get fined for doing that. Don’t know if that’s true, but I know it is something that just isn’t done here.
Nog still has a lot to learn about kitteh safety. Yesterday he stepped back right onto Loki’s tail or paw (wearing heavy soled slippers) – the SHRIEK from the little guy made me jump out of my skin and come running. And this morning Nog almost shut the bathroom door on Loki’s outstretched neck while he was peeking in. Lucky I saw this was about to happen and called out DON’T CLOSE THE DOOR!!!! just in time. Talk about nerve wracking. Nog’s tendency to space out could end up with him causing serious damage because with a kitten you’ve simply got to be constantly aware that they can be everywhere and anywhere all the time.
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Nets and balconies can be tricky. My (at the 7th floor) is very unsafe for cats, and so far my landlord has denied anything I’ve suggested to make it safe for the cats. 😦
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Heh, I sidestepped that problem by not consulting the landlord first. He’s never said anything about the old mesh, though he did complain about me hanging plants on the balconies (weirdo). Given that he lives downstairs I’m not exactly being sneaky. I reckon if he doesn’t like it he’ll let me know … and then I can ignore him and leave it up anyhow.
Have you seen this stuff? Livia sent me this link the other day. As they are transparent, maybe you could rig something up that your landlord wouldn’t mind.
transparent nets
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There are two main problems:
My balcony hangs like a box at the wall, no roof, pillar or anything to fasten the net at. That means ther must probably be som attachment to the walls which the landlord refuses. Secondly since I live at the top floor of the house at the top of the hill, facing the riverside my balcony is “very visible” so there are “esthetical considerations” as well.
I care more about my cats than about walls or looks…
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All you need to fasten the net are a few hooks drilled into the wall, which can be removed and the holes filled in later if/when you move. Can’t see why your landlord would object to that. You could put up two posts at the outside corners of your “balcony box”, then drape the netting over the posts, fastening the net to the balcony and the wall.
As for aesthetic considerations you could get some ivy and have it grow along the sides of the netting, leaving a space for you to still enjoy your fabulous view…
Also – check your lease! Does it say anywhere that you cannot put netting on your balcony? If not, then your landlord cannot stop you.
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Duct tape. Problem solved.
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Knowing you, you mean duct tape the cats to the balcony …
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