Discussion: Cats Falling From Great Distances

[Nyan Cat]

Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with a cat falling from a great height. I read online that cats have a very high survival rate, and some say the rate increases after a certain height, about 7 floors+. However I'm not ready to buy this information, and I think that the "pessimist" theory may be correct when it states that this is only true regarding cats which survived the fall: of those that DID survive the initial fall, the survival rate is quite high (but many or most do not survive the fall). I don't know what to believe, so I wonder if anyone has any personal experience with this.

In a few months I will be moving to a tall building on the 20th floor. I am concerned with the windows which open about 6 or 7 inches, but have no screen. I have two cats which LOVE to jump at flies, bugs, etc., and at my current residence (2nd floor) my cat loves to jump at the screen at birds, bugs, etc. I am afraid that if I opened the window, there may be a moment when one of my cats falls out the window, excited at a bug or something, or some other reason. So any ideas for perhaps some sort of elongatable mesh that I can install? Something like a screen? I don't think I can install an actual screen given the current setup. I would really prefer to not leave the windows closed 100% of the time.

Thanks

 

[Willowy]

When I was a kid, one of my friends had a cat who fell from the 6th-floor balcony and survived with just a broken tooth. I think it mostly depends whether the cat falls onto grass or onto concrete.

. . .But I think we shouldn't discuss falling so much as how to prevent falling, lol. In the US hardware stores sell screens that slide to fit any window. Like this:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Wood-Fra...35&wl11=local&wl12=20434385&wl13=2443&veh=sem
Look around to see if those are available in your area. If not, I'm sure you could build something or get removable bars or something similar.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi, Welcome!!
Here's a recent thread about a similar issue, with some tips as well
How High Is Too High For An Open Window..?

 

[tabbysia]

Is simply keeping your windows closed not an option? Do you not have air conditioning in your building or something? As far as screens go, I wouldn't necessarily trust them to keep a cat safely inside. An excited cat can easily bust through a screen. This happened to me several years ago. My cat went right through a brand new screen. Fortunately, it was a ground floor window, so he was unharmed, and I was able to get him safely back inside. I kept the windows closed from that day forward. I just leave the blinds up for the cats I have now and put perches in front of the windows so the they can look out. At twenty floors up, I would be afraid to risk it, unless you can find a REALLY heavy duty screen or are able to install some metal bars that the cats can't squeeze through.

As far as distances go, a cat doesn't necessarily have to fall from a great height to get seriously injured. It can depend on how or on what they land. I have a cat recovering from a broken hip and hip surgery. His injury occurred sometime during the middle of the night, so I'm not sure exactly how he broke his hip, but the tallest piece of furniture he had access to was only five or six feet off the ground. Of course I do have concrete floors though.

 

[Katie M]

When I was fourteen, my dad left the upstairs bathroom window open, and one of the kittens fell out of it onto the sidewalk. Belle sprained a paw and scraped up her face-it could've been worse.

My apartment is on the second floor of my building. Selene started picking at the screens, so now I keep the windows just barely cracked. I don't need one of the cats making a hole big enough to squeeze through, and I also don't want to have to get a screen replaced.

 

[duckpond]

Some cats can survive falls from fairly high placed, but many do not, it can kill them just like us, or cause severe damage. I dont think any cat would survive a fall from 20 stories high. I think that would be a death sentence.

I might open the windows 2 or 3 inches, just enough for air flow, but not enough they could get their heads out. and i would only do that if i was right there to watch. I would also kind of be concerned about what might fly in? I think in our area i would have all kinds of bugs, birds and who knows what fly or crawl in.

Enjoy your new apartment! Let us know what you come up with!