Open windows/kitten safety

[tonkfamily]

Hello!  Two Tonkinese kittens will be joining our family in August!  We live in an high-rise apt building, so my question relates to kitten safety and windows.

All of our windows have child safety locks and can only slide open (horizontally) to a maximum width of 2.5 inches.   Right now we do not have screens. The attached photo is representative of all the windows in our place (window in photo is open on right).  Could a 12-week old kitten squeeze though that small a space?  If so, we will have to take extra precautions, and I would like to be prepared.

Thank you!

window.JPG

• tonkfamily
• Jun 2, 2014

 

[red top rescue]

You might try fitting baby gates to your windows.  That's what I have in my rescue room, even though we DO have screens, because a cat can push out or rip a screen easily.

 

[ritz]

The general rule of thumb is, if a cat can fit its head through an opening, it can fit its entire body.
My windows had screens that opened sideways and were about four feet tall. So I put cooling racks to discourage Ritz to push through the screens. Maybe you could put something similar, although I know the width might be aproblem. She never pushed throught he screen--and like you, I lived on the top floor of a condo building.
PS: she did push through a hole in the screen leading to the balcony. Thankfully she didn't try to run after the birds that flew from tall tree to tall tree. Certainly I made sure that hole was patched and then the entire screen replaced.

 

[luv2cats]

When I got my first cat at 5 months old (she was not that small, like a tiny kitten),  she crawled up between the screen and window.  That was very scary, I grabbed her tail and pulled her down, there wasn't any other option to removing her from between screen and window.  It was a heart stopping moment because she could have fallen out along with the screen (3 stories) or got stuck because trying to open the window would jam her into the screen.  Cats can do some crazy stuff and get into really small spaces - the smaller the space the more they like it.  Now I have portable screens that I put in when the window is open and they can't push the "real" screen out or scratch it - my windows do open up and down not vertically.  Kittens are curious and can get into all kinds of mischief, I believe Tonks are superior jumpers too.  Your windows are very large so your work is cut out for you.

You will definitely have to figure out some type of extra safety measures for these kittens.  You might contact the breed website and ask for suggestions.

Congratulations on your new family members.