Keeping cats away from balconies

[Olegi]

Hello, I would be really happy if anyone could help me with keeping my cat away from the balconies.
I currently live on the fifth floor of an apartment building with three balconies. The balconies are accessible via "doors", the ones with a handle that are basically a big glass, that turn open, shut, and stay half open. They also have screens, but they are magnet operated and therefore could be easily opened.
Any suggestion would be helpful, thank you very much in advance.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! Screening the balcony would be your best bet. I would imagine most any handyman could accomplish it. I have attached a pic below of just one example. If you would like to look at other examples that might more suitable to your particular balcony sizes/shapes, just do an internet search on 'cat proof balconies'.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

That would have been my solution, as well. There may be a way of securing them that your landlord would approve.

 

[Olegi]

Thank you very much guys for your suggestions. I don't think I'll be able to utalise the netting though. I was thinking about trying to teach my cat to avoid the balcony, by generally putting them away when they are close at the balcony doors, or using some sort of repellent or some kind of safety that won't allow the screens to open as easily.
Thank you again for your help.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

If all else fails, you can get a can of compressed air that is especially for this. It does NOT make a loud noise, but it does blast air into a cat's face as it walks up to it. Doesn't hurt them a bit, but they HATE IT. You could position the cans JUST outside on the balcony so that they only get hit if they start to come out the door. The best one I've found it Stay Away. It makes a brief noise, then blasts the air. The cats learn that the noise means air is coming, and stop when they hear the noise pretty quickly, which saves you money on compressed air cans.

 

[Olegi]

If all else fails, you can get a can of compressed air that is especially for this. It does NOT make a loud noise, but it does blast air into a cat's face as it walks up to it. Doesn't hurt them a bit, but they HATE IT. You could position the cans JUST outside on the balcony so that they only get hit if they start to come out the door. The best one I've found it Stay Away. It makes a brief noise, then blasts the air. The cats learn that the noise means air is coming, and stop when they hear the noise pretty quickly, which saves you money on compressed air cans.

I see, I'll give it a chance. Thank you for your help!