(I Don't Want My) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
April 10, 2007 9:26 AM   Subscribe

Can cats and balconies coexist in this crazy world?

We're moving to a brand new fourth-floor, non-street-facing apartment in about three weeks. Said brand new apartment has my first-ever balcony, which I couldn't be happier about. Said brand new apartment will also be occupied with our three cats; two females, one male. I'd like to both enjoy my balcony and keep my cats and maybe even enjoy my balcony with my cats, so I'm wondering about your cat/balcony experience.

Do you have suggestions for keeping them safe? I've thought about harnessing and leashing them (two of them will tolerate that, one probably not so much) to get them used to it. I'm assuming I can just be very careful when opening the screen door, but let's be honest here, they're going to get out there at some point (as well as probably claw up the screen door) and I'd like to be prepared for it. I'm sure I'm overthinking it, and I know My Cat Will Vary, but as this is the first time I'm going to have outdoor-access-while-home since I moved away from home, I'd just like any tips, tricks, ideas, and hopefully not too many "Rushed to the Vet" stories.
posted by atayah to Pets & Animals (29 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
One datapoint: I had a friend who had a cat and a 35th-floor balcony, and I think they mixed fairly well (with the cat sometimes allowed out, and not dying). I'm no expert though.
posted by grobstein at 9:32 AM on April 10, 2007


Best answer: As you said, it seems to depend on the cat. I live in a city which has a lot of cats and a lot of balconies, and stories range from cats jumping out of windows (thankfully this seems to be rare!) to cats being fine on balcony railings etc.

If there's any way you could put anti-pigeon netting over the balcony, that would be your best bet. Otherwise the only 100% safe way is constant supervision, as with small children. Cats have great balance, but they do sometimes fall. :-(
posted by different at 9:34 AM on April 10, 2007


I had a cat jump out a second story window. Fortunately he hit a piece of roof a little lower down and then landed on a parked car below so he was fine. I also saw two of my cats look very interested in jumping (you know, doing that bobbing and weaving thing they do to gauge distances) from a second floor balcony.

Maybe these second floor heights didn't impress my cats or maybe my cats are particularly dumb, but I wouldn't balconify them. Well, actually, I would, but I'm trying to thin out my cat population a little.
posted by DU at 9:36 AM on April 10, 2007


I lived in a fourth floor apartment-with-balcony for 2 years and my 7 yo male cat had free reign. We never had any issues.

I think cats, of all domestic animals, have a more pronounced sense of heights and are well aware that falling = danger. I would suggest you keep any railings clean and free of obstacles so they don't have to negotiate any tricky spots if they get adventurous.

Should it come to this, cats will frequently survive falls from surprising heights. In fact, a 3-6 storey fall offers a greater likelihood of survival than a 1-2 storey fall. The reason for this is that cats have a better chance of righting themselves and relaxing muscles in a longer fall.

Straight Dope on cats falling.
posted by OpinioNate at 9:39 AM on April 10, 2007


Mine just aren't allowed out. A friend of mine dedicated half the balcony to the cats, though, fencing it in with chicken-wire.

My concern about cats and height is that cats aren't programmed to understand the heights we've built buildings at -- the idea of being 400 feet up just doesn't work with their little kitty brains -- and that they're not programmed to understand height that they didn't climb themselves. Since the edge of the balcony has a floor on this side, it must have a floor on the other siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide.

(On top of that, a perfectly well-behaved balcony cat could easily become otherwise if a bird decided to stop by and then fly away.)

I don't know if there's anything to that, but for me the quality of life they're missing out on by having to lay inside the screen door is nothing compared to what would happen if they went over.
posted by mendel at 9:42 AM on April 10, 2007 [1 favorite]


I had 2 cats and a second-floor balcony (had the balcony, still have the cats). The door to the balcony had a cat-door, which was the Greatest Cat Amenity Ever. Our kitties went in and out as they pleased. In the 7 years we lived there, our wussy indoor cats never jumped off the balcony; 2 birds were killed, one of which was brought proudly into the house via the cat door; there was one mishap, in which a kitty jumped up onto an object precariously balanced on a railing, and both kitty and the object plunged to the yard below. Kitty was fine. (We also tried to adopt an outdoor cat for awhile. Outdoor cat escaped the confines of our home twice by jumping off the balcony, with no ill-effects.) Keep your railings clear and make sure they're sturdy enough to support your cats; the cats should be fine, and they will love the chance to go outside. However, you can't keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen gay Paree. Now that we've bought a house and left the kitty balcony behind, we've had to allow one of our cats to become indoor-outdoor. He was too miserable being cooped up inside all the time after getting to go outside before.
posted by junkbox at 9:46 AM on April 10, 2007


The only way to guarantee that they will be kept safe is to not allow them on the balcony. Cats are impulsive and all it could take is being excited by a bird or moth to have them forget the height and leap after their prey. Cats falling off balconies is by no means unheard of, and while it may be more likely for them to survive a 4th story floor fall than a 1st story floor fall, that doesn't mean that the fall wouldn't result in broken bones, pain for your cat, and expensive vet bills for you.

Why would you risk this?

I've never found it difficult to keep my cats off our 3rd story balcony. We have a screen door that we keep closed even if we keep the glass door open. This way the cats get to enjoy the view and the breeze (and they do enjoy it), and an awesome view of birds that land on the balcony, and we get to enjoy not having to worry about our cats taking a flying leap to their demise.

Furthermore, would you really keep your balcony door open for extended periods of time? Aren't you concerned about letting bugs & crap in? If you don't already have a screen door, I highly recommend seeing if you can install one.
posted by tastybrains at 9:47 AM on April 10, 2007


Response by poster: Thanks, everyone, for your input so far. I'm pleased by the successes, not surprised by the not-so-successful. The cats would never be out there without supervision, of course, and we do have a screen door on the balcony.
posted by atayah at 9:56 AM on April 10, 2007


If the door that leads to the balcony is a sliding glass door, get a pet door for the sliding glass door, and a kittywalk for kitty containment. Then your cats will get to enjoy the great outdoors whenever they want and you won't have to worry about them leaping to their death.
posted by necessitas at 10:14 AM on April 10, 2007


This is known as high-rise syndrome. I let my cat out onto my third floor balcony, but only when I'm there, and I keep her away from the edges. I'm also thinking of putting up some kind of barrier against the railing so she doesn't sneak out onto the very narrow, texture-free ledge on the other side.
posted by lhall at 10:47 AM on April 10, 2007


My older cat was okay on our second floor balcony, but I kept him under close supervision. I'd never trust the kitten out there. He'd see a bird fly by and I'm sure he'd be leaping to catch it. A friend's cat died after jumping out a second story window her young daughter had left open.

If I wanted to sit on the balcony with the cats, I'd get one of these.
posted by desjardins at 10:54 AM on April 10, 2007


I never let mine go on the balcony. In my old place I had a one-story-up deck, and I would let my cat go out on it, fully supervised, wearing a harness, for about 10 minutes at a time. Which I know is no life for a cat, but it was better than no deck time at all.
posted by matildaben at 11:26 AM on April 10, 2007


Another data point: my father's cat walked through the bars of his condo's third-story balcony, slipped, and plunged to her... well, actually she was just fine. But she narrowly missed several obstacles that might have hurt her if she had crashed into them.

I think that you need to address this issue on a cat-by-cat basis. My father's previous cat frequently walked on the outer edge of the balcony without falling. After seeing my kitty knock out the screen window and fall three stories in pursuit of a bird, I wouldn't risk it. (He was fine!)
posted by shaun at 11:40 AM on April 10, 2007


Seems to me it wouldn't be too difficult to screen in the balcony to make it more kitty safe. Looks like $100 and a weekend would do nicely.
posted by kc0dxh at 11:47 AM on April 10, 2007


My cat has been out on my third-story balcony many times and has never shown even the slightest interest in jumping off it, just as a data point.
posted by kindall at 12:21 PM on April 10, 2007


To be honest, I used to let my cats out on my second floor balcony when I was out there and nothing ever happened despite one of them having an affinity for walking on the teeny ledge around the balcony Cat's Eye- style.

Still, now that I've read a bit more about the dangers I don't think I'd let them out there now if I still lived in the same apartment.
posted by Jess the Mess at 1:28 PM on April 10, 2007


I didn't want to let my cat out on my 3rd-floor balcony, but things happen. Mostly he just liked to chase flies and roll around on the concrete to scratch his back. After I let him out there a few times he started clawing the screen door when stuck inside because he realized how much fun it was out there.

I never ever let him out unsupervised, mostly because the ledge surrounding the balcony was really low (knee height) and because I was nervous he'd try to jump onto a nearby tree when chasing a bird. Otherwise, he impressed me with his good behavior outside.
posted by awegz at 1:50 PM on April 10, 2007


I'll second the "it completely depends on the cat" idea. Most cats are pretty savvy when it comes to their footing, but some aren't. My half-siamese will often fall off the couch while stepping towards me (or food), just because he isn't paying attention (and he's not that smart). Needless to say, he never goes out onto balconies, window ledges, etc.

Another cat I had was fine for years, but then forgot where he was when a tempting birdy came a little too close. Found him three stories down and across the street under a stairwell, very upset and confused. I later discovered the divot in the grassy parking strip where he touched down. Lucky.

YMMV.
posted by Aquaman at 2:34 PM on April 10, 2007


We have a first-floor ('second story' in American) and the cat pokes his head out between the balcony rails, but doesn't seem tempted to go further. He's grown up with it, though, and is a scaredy-cat w/r/t heights. Other cats in the building seem to do the same, even those higher up. But we did once take in a hungry stray (most likely feral) which made a flying leap through the rails and landed safely.

So it completely depends on the cat.
posted by holgate at 2:53 PM on April 10, 2007


I let my cat out on to my balcony for a while... until I caught him jumping across a wide gap (risking a bellyflop onto cement) onto my neighbor's balcony, and then strolling through the open balcony door and, obviously, partying it up inside other apartments.

Yes, he was literally a cat burglar.

I don't allow him out there any more.
posted by Justinian at 3:00 PM on April 10, 2007 [1 favorite]


Best answer: They know when they're too high. Think of kittens crying in trees, big enough to get up that high suddenly not brave enough to get down. Can't remember one ever physically being stuck. But more holding by the scruff to make them let go enough so you can pick them off like a cicada shell sooky la las crying up in trees than you could poke a stick at.

If if were my exasperating, source of much frustration and grey hairs pair of utter ratbags. (There could be no worse any such would surely be gleefully ended) The only possible mishap would be slipping from the rail. If it's wide enough thats no danger at all.

They may not like the rail. A good way to encourage this would be marvelous perches that are higher than the rail. Appealing to their love of superiority. Also sabotage the rail if its rounded or triangular and precarious they're not stupid enough to try to use it at that height. I'm imagining pvc pipe cut in half or some kind of edging cladding type stuff.

You can show them how bad it is on the rail. With them securely in your arms let their feet touch it a few times. If you know your cat you will sense what it's thinking. Likely kitty unimpressed will be trying to escape. Head tucked low trying to get out under your arm aiming for the floor and straight in that door, the hell away from you!

Time it so kitty is free on the rail but it's momentum has it committed to heading for the couch. Either then or after a few times it will register it has no hope of balancing up there. Falling or looking stupid are not things kitties like. Making perches even more attractive unlike the oh so very low and stupid anyway rail.
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 3:15 PM on April 10, 2007


my cat fell 4 floors into a bush, couple cuts and bruises, no permanent damage
posted by Salvatorparadise at 3:51 PM on April 10, 2007


all it could take is being excited by a bird or moth to have them forget the height and leap

that applies to some humans, too.
posted by davidmsc at 3:57 PM on April 10, 2007


My father has an indoor-outdoor cat on a large farmlike piece of land. The house has a large 1-storey-high deck, and a smaller 2nd-storey balcony. The house also has a "catwalk" (no pun intended) area on the 2nd floor that's open on both sides to the 1st floor below with a smooth, flat wood railing on each side. His cat regularly chills out on the railing above the living room, watching him watch TV. The cat also hangs out on the deck/balcony railings.

I honestly can't conceive of -not- letting a cat enjoy this sort of thing. They're not made of glass, y'know? I suppose I'd be a bit more worried about a cat who's never been outside before, or in situations involving slimmer/metal railings (all our railings are about 5" wide, flat, and wooden) or higher heights, but this cat regularly climbs trees, kills birds, etc, and has yet to do herself any harm at age 4.
posted by Alterscape at 4:06 PM on April 10, 2007


In my mothers apartment complex there is a balcony that has been screened in for the cats.
posted by Sufi at 4:44 PM on April 10, 2007


I used to live in an apartment with a second story balcony with my cat. She was an indoor cat her whole life before that and never tried to jump off and run away (even though I think she could have easily done so). She loved to sit out on it and look at everything happening on the street. We would keep the sliding door open just wide enough so she could come and go as she pleased.
posted by koshka at 7:48 PM on April 10, 2007


The famous research on cats falling from multi-story building found that the majority of falls (that could be attributed to a known cause) were the result of the cat impulsively jumping after a bird. So one thing to consider is how large and nearby the bird population is.

I'm in a second-story apartment but my balcony in the rear is three-stories high. I don't let my cat on the balcony. It's less fun for her, but I want her to live a long life. Also, I'd worry too much about both the danger of her falling as well as her getting lost if she fell (and was unhurt).
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 7:36 AM on April 11, 2007


I thought my cats were fine out on our 3rd floor balcony. Then one day I came home from the gym and figured out that my stupider cat must have opened the screen door and then prompty fallen off the balcony (I found her on the neighbor's porch ground level, she was fine).
posted by Burritos Inc. at 8:26 PM on April 11, 2007


Best answer: I know I'm late to this but:

I had two cats that I let out onto a second floor (first-floor for Brits) balcony. For safety's sake, I screened in the inside of the railing from the top of the railing to the floor with chicken wire. They never made it to the top of the railing due to me having lots of potted plants on it and keeping an eye on the cats. There weren't any accidents.
posted by deborah at 4:00 PM on April 13, 2007


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