Does Anyone Let Their Cat On Their Balcony?

[freyaandzelda]

I recently moved to a second floor apartment with a balcony. The cats have recently been showing interest in the balcony, but I'm too freaked to let them out on it. One of my co-workers has criticized me for not letting my cats outside, but I just worry about what can happen. But her pestering does have me wondering if there was a way I could make the balcony safe for my girls? (Picture of balcony included for reference)

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

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freyaandzelda - First off, bravo, and kudos for wishing to keep your girls safe and secure. Given the appearance, it wouldn't be too daunting a task to build a simple wooden frame covered in pet-resistant screening to fit just inside the railing, and in fact, it might even be secured to the railing by dint of zip ties - a very handy solution if your leasing, and don't want to make any permanent alterations to the structure.
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[dustydiamond1]

Do not allow your coworker to guilt you into letting your girls out until you have gotten some sort of protection over the openings. It is a beautiful porch, I hope you will post a picture of your lovelies for us and pics of the porch when you get it cat safe. I'd do a web search for material ideas & prices. Good luck!

 

[lavishsqualor]

One of the most frightening moments of my life was catching a glimpse of something sitting on the handrail of my fourteenth floor balcony, thinking it was a bird, and then realizing it was Thirteen, my female tuxedo cat. My heart absolutely jumped into my mouth. Fortunately I had the foresight not to scare her. Once I opened the door to the balcony all the way she looked over at me and then jumped down and ran into the house. My daughter, who is not allowed on the balcony unsupervised, had left the door open! Needless to say, after that the balcony doors became permanently locked and no one other than an adult can open them.

 

[freyaandzelda]

One of the most frightening moments of my life was catching a glimpse of something sitting on the handrail of my fourteenth floor balcony, thinking it was a bird, and then realizing it was Thirteen, my female tuxedo cat. My heart absolutely jumped into my mouth. Fortunately I had the foresight not to scare her. Once I opened the door to the balcony all the way she looked over at me and then jumped down and ran into the house. My daughter, who is not allowed on the balcony unsupervised, had left the door open! Needless to say, after that the balcony doors became permanently locked and no one other than an adult can open them.

Freya decided to do something she Has NEVER done before- she bolted out the front door as I was coming in, which I only notices because my door hit something as it closed. I drop all my things and fling open the door, certain I'm going to have to corner this monster, only to find her crouched, pupils blown, scared out of her wits. She immediately bolted back inside. Her entire adventure lasted approximately 20 seconds.

 

[elliesvictim]

I let my 18mth fem onto both my first floor balconies. She loves jumping up, walking on the railing and surveying the backyard. She has only fallen once. The fall seems to put her off being outside. I guess the question is more "are they a flight risk". I let my girl on the balconies as a compromise coz she used to be an outside cat and this seemed to appease her. If your cats has never been outside I wouldn't encourage it. They don't know what they're missing, if they don't know what they're missing.
As for "cat proofing"?!? I can't see it working. like I said if they haven't been outside leave them inside. Put some shelves or ledges where they can stare out the window and watch "cat tv".

 

[artiemom]

I have a balcony, also. I began by putting a leash on Artie, with a short lead.
I never leave him out there, alone. I am always with him.

I am fortunate that he is did not care about sitting on the railing. He did attempt to get to the edge of the balcony. A firm, "NO", along with pulling on the leash, got him out of the habit.

Now that he is a few years older, and a senior cat. Artie does not care much for the balcony. He prefers an open window, sitting on the windowsill.

When he is outside, it has to be sunny, windless. He usually sits under my chair..

 

[ReallySleepy]

Or the reverse question: Does anyone notice cats coming in from the balcony? The neighbor's cat Schnurri used to do that when he lived here. The balcony is one floor above the ground floor. He was a born climber who took any obstacle as a challenge.

 

[dahli6]

Funny story, I wish I had pictures. Years ago I lived in an apartment with a balcony overlooking a deep wooded gully. It was probably a good 60 ft to the bottom. At the time I had a long haired Siamese cat. I was 15 at the time and I never thought to close the door leading to the balcony so Jolsie came and went as she pleased.
One afternoon I saw her dragging a shirt that my sister had left at the apartment out onto the balcony, she was out there a few minutes and then came back inside. Then I saw her dragging another article of clothing belonging to my sister out to the balcony. Again she was outside a few minutes and then returned. The third time I followed her and watched her put the clothing through the bars. She pushed it through until it fell and then she just watched it. I didn't let her out again until I had bagged up all my sister's things to return to her.

 

[Blakeney Green]

It's definitely good to be cautious about this. Cats will jump or fall off balconies - obviously not every cat every time, but all it takes is one distraction like a bird on the railing and the cat can make a very poor choice. It's wise to make sure your balcony area is secured before you let your cats out on it.

 

[Freedom]

Wow, what a lovely balcony! I bet you enjoy sitting out there. And the cat wants to be as close to all those fluttery things as possible, lol.

When I lived in a 3rd floor walk up, my cats had access to the balcony; my vet said it was unlikely they would jump more than 2 floors. That means you are in the range that they could jump down. Getting back in could be an issue.

The photo suggests it would be quite easy for you to screen this is so it is cat safe. Then I us2 x 2ed one of the panels with a pet door in the bottom, so the cats could go in and out at their leisure WHEN I WAS HOME. Once I left for grocery shopping or what not, they had to be inside and the balcony was off limits.

You could use heavy 2x2's along the bottom, wrap the screening under that and let that hold it in place so they can slip underneath. And zip ties as someone suggested. Need to think how to secure the top of the screen, I'm sure there is a way. Let us see after pics, if you do decide to screen it in!

And forget about the coworker. You must know by now that letting cats out is a controversial issue for cat owners, and each of us must decide for ourselves. My cats are always indoor only, for their safety and my sanity. Not to mention the vet bills if something happened while they were outdoors.

 

[Elfilou]

YES! you can definitely cat-proof your balcony with a net or chicken wire, and where I live there are even online places that sell kits to cat-proof balconies. One of my friends did this to her balcony, has a cat flap in the door, and 1 out of 2 litterboxes out there - along with cat-friendly plants and grass, a scratching post and other stuff. It's basically an outdoor enclosure. They go in an out as they please. I plan to do this with my yard once I move next year.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Wow, what a lovely balcony! I bet you enjoy sitting out there. And the cat wants to be as close to all those fluttery things as possible, lol.

When I lived in a 3rd floor walk up, my cats had access to the balcony; my vet said it was unlikely they would jump more than 2 floors. That means you are in the range that they could jump down. Getting back in could be an issue.

The photo suggests it would be quite easy for you to screen this is so it is cat safe. Then I us2 x 2ed one of the panels with a pet door in the bottom, so the cats could go in and out at their leisure WHEN I WAS HOME. Once I left for grocery shopping or what not, they had to be inside and the balcony was off limits.

You could use heavy 2x2's along the bottom, wrap the screening under that and let that hold it in place so they can slip underneath. And zip ties as someone suggested. Need to think how to secure the top of the screen, I'm sure there is a way. Let us see after pics, if you do decide to screen it in!

And forget about the coworker. You must know by now that letting cats out is a controversial issue for cat owners, and each of us must decide for ourselves. My cats are always indoor only, for their safety and my sanity. Not to mention the vet bills if something happened while they were outdoors.

 

[dustydiamond1]

YES! you can definitely cat-proof your balcony with a net or chicken wire, and where I live there are even online places that sell kits to cat-proof balconies. One of my friends did this to her balcony, has a cat flap in the door, and 1 out of 2 litterboxes out there - along with cat-friendly plants and grass, a scratching post and other stuff. It's basically an outdoor enclosure. They go in an out as they please. I plan to do this with my yard once I move next year.

View attachment 198671 View attachment 198672 View attachment 198673 View attachment 198674

Very safe looking but it looks like the poor kitty's have no place to climb, scratch,potty or lounge

 

[Purr-fect]

NO NO NO NO.

Years ago our neighbours siamese fell off a 3rd floor balcony and died slowly when it hit concrete stairs below.

It was still alive when I found it.

While I am an advocate of letting cats outdoors, safely, I would not let a cat out onto an upper floor balcony.....unless the area was fully enclosed with STRONG meshing.

 

[golondrina]

I fully agree with Purrfect. I wouldn't take the risk. Covering with mesh the balcony would not stop a cat jumping up to the handrail A lady I know had done that (cover with mesh) and it worked for her for some time until one day her cat jumped to the top railing,lost his balance and fell on to the street from her 4th floor. He did not survive. Cats don't only jump, they also climb.

I have enormous double windows on rails which means that when you open the interior window you still have the exterior one closed. The exterior window is divided horizontally into two superposed glass panes, the bottom pane being fixed so that when you open the top part you have a hand railing like in a balcony. I have this eternal discussion with friends and family members some of which tell me "cats are not stupid, she won't fall". I don't take any chances. The air condition takes care of that. I live on a 6th floor and when the window cleaner comes every few weeks I make sure Cucumella remains in a small room with the door closed until the window cleaner has finished.

 

[Elfilou]

If it's properly enclosed I don't see why it's any different than an outdoor enclosure. Freak accidents happen every day, but no need to be irrationally hesitant. It's great enrichment to allow your cats some fresh air, safely

 

[golondrina]

The difference of course is that an outdoor enclosure is not at a height from which a cat could fall as could be the case from a balcony.

 

[explorador]

Make the balcony fully cat proof so they can't go out. Also, keep in mind what can get in. Sometimes evil people trow stuff that can harm them or intoxicate them. Other than that, good for you for protecting them.

 

[jcat]

That second photo Elfilou posted is of our back balcony, which has been secured with so-called "cat net" since 2000. It's open at the top because we don't have much of an overhang. The netting is not only reinforced with steel threads for durability, but has enough "give" that an adult cat can't climb it. I've replaced the netting four or five times and the adjustable rods once; I check it once or twice a week. The zip ties have to be replaced more often (which I'd just done before taking the picture; the ends were cut off afterwards). The rods aren't necessary if the balcony is fully roofed. As 1CatOverTheLine said, you could make a wooden frame and use something like chicken wire, provided you enclosed the top, too, since cats could climb it. Some people here who have roofed balconies use regular fencing.

This type of set-up is extremely common in Germany. In fact, our shelter will only adopt indoor cats to people who secure their balconies or decks in such a manner.

We don't leave the door open when we're not home, but Mowgli often spends all night out there. He's got a table and chair with cushions to lie on and a big pot of cat grass. We never installed a cat flap, but simply use thermal drapes to keep hot or cold air from coming in through the partially open door, which is held in place using two heavy doorstops. Both doors to the balcony have roll-down shutters, too, which can be left open at the bottom for him to go in and out at will.