Cats on Balcony

Good Afternoon!
I have another question for you fellow kitty parents!

I live in an apartment on the second floor. I have a balcony, and I'm wondering about letting my kitties hang out there with me. Here are my concerns:

• Can they still get fleas, even if we're on the 2nd floor?
• Will they be susceptible to all of the other diseases and dangers of being an outdoor cat?
• Will they jump off the balcony? Or fall through the slats? :lol: I know that's a crazy thought, but there are a TON of birds flying around the balcony, and I fear they may get too excited and have an accident.

Any thoughts?

 

I had a balcony the last 6yrs of Latte's life, and I made it work for her to be out there. Keep in mind, she could not jump up (or at least had me to believe so.

Never had problems with fleas or anything like that.

Other dangers...well, she did chase a squirrel into the house once. :shock: After that she was not allowed outside unless supervised, and I always kept my eyes out for the squirrels. I also had a slight concern about raptors. I guess you just need to consider where you live and the wildlife you have around you.

As for going through the slots...First balcony I used chicken wire. Second balcony, I got the wood lattice (home depot or garden places should have it). Took some work, but totally worth it.

I grew plants outside and put them on the railing or a large table. I built a small raised garden, just for grass...so she would have a bed of grass to lay in (it was probably one of her most favorite things in the world ...to lay around in it...and eat the grass). I grew grass and catnip in a few other large pots that she could access.

Such fond memories. :mrgreen: Many of our best moments were the two of us just relaxing on the balcony. I hope you can figure out a way to make it safe for your cats!!!

I have had two fosters since Latte. Even if they were "allowed" outside in a situation like a balcony, I would not dare. Both of them could have easily jumped.

 

we have the pigeon netting around ours, and at first they were allowed to be out there supervised, but now after seeing they just lay there all day sunning themselves, they come and go as they please.
It's nice for them, no fleas or bug problems (6th floor) no jumping around trying to bolt, but they are good at scaring the pigeons away! :lol:
I would be concerned about how low you are on the 2nd floor, maybe easy to jump off, but they should be ok if u supervise.

 

Here are some photos:

 

Thanks ya'll!

Carolyn, what fun! And adventures! I agree--I enjoy my balcony SO much; having my kitties out there with me would be the icing on the cake! And they always stare at me pitifully through the window when I'm out there, like I'm being the most neglectful mom ever! :sad: ...or, this happens:
[youtube]kiAZxExAxJQ[/youtube]


Thanks too for the pictures! I so enjoy them!
And I love the grass! If I were a cat, I'd want you as my mom!
What, exactly, is a raptor?! You have dinosaurs on your balcony?! :lol:

I fear that even if I put some sort of protection over the railing, my kitties might try to perch on top of the balcony railing. And possibly fall off! :?
Guess I'll need to do a lot of supervising.

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
That video is funny! My fosters stared at me through the window. It was pure torture and made it difficult to enjoy the balcony like I had with Latte. I no longer have a balcony (which I miss!), so these encounters no longer happen.

Raptors are 'birds' that eat animals...eagles, hawks, owls, osprey, falcons, owls, vultures, and more! More than a dozen times I saw a small raptor dive into my neighbors vines and fly off with a chipmunk. I know they could not take Latte, but I still worried of an encounter. One time I found a VERY large bird on another neighbors roof. I swooped Latte up and brought her inside immediately. It was a Blue Heron or Stork. Obviously it could not take her away either...but the chance encounter, well, um... And I live in a CITY!!!! :lol:

I was talking with a friend of mine about how to make the balcony work for my first foster. If you can invent some sort of vertical extension that could be drilled into the backside of the railing??? I'm sure with some creativity and work, it can be done. And, the end results would TOTALLY be worth it. You will never leave your balcony, nor will the cats! :lol:

Oh- the first time I tried Latte on the balcony, I thought I could "make" a leash. ohmygod_smile Ya, that did not go over so well for a cat who was 13 and never wore a collar. Then to connect some rope to it???? Oh she wanted to hurt me!!!! :twisted: :lol: HOWEVER, if you felt your cats could tolerate it, maybe try a harness and put a leash on it long enough for them to roam, but not jump.

 

I should add, back when i was a young kitty momma and not very knowledgeable... I had no screens in my windows (those college days!). I was in the southern half of the U.S., so the windows HAD to be open most of the time. To make matters worse, my roommate and I sat on the roof often (our balcony), and allowed Latte to sit out there with us (she was actually very good with this). Ok, and to make matters EVEN worse, I had a summer job that kept me away for 1 week at a time. I was able to come home 1-2x/week to check on her, add food/fresh water, etc.

Well, that ONE time...you guessed it. She was gone. She jumped off the roof. Or climbed down the tree. Or who knows???? She took that secret to her grave. We were very VERY lucky to find her in a DUMPSTER, 1 block away after searching all night.

I can't believe I am admitting to this story! :shock: It's shameful. But it is also a reminder of how fast it can happen, unsupervised or even supervised.

 

No balcony unless its fully enclosed with something strong enough to stop them from falling.

Google High Rise Syndrome please. And the injuries from lower heights are frequently worse than from higher up. It only takes one misstep, or one bird chase off the balcony. Cats do not have any depth perception. They do not "get" heights in that sense.

There is no "Monitoring" . It only takes one second for it to be too late. Unless monitoring is putting a harness and leash on them, too short a leash to reach the walls.

 

I agree with the others... I would never let a cat out onto a balcony without putting it on a short, secure leash (definitely too short to reach any of the edges of the balcony so the cat can't fall over the edge and dangle from the leash), or unless the walls had openings too small for the cat to fit through, and if I knew for a fact that they were high enough that the cat could not jump on top of or over the wall. I think your concern about the kitty getting excited about birds, insects, etc. is right on. Of course then if they are tethered to a leash and out there alone, you have the concern about predators. To be honest I just wouldn't do it unless it was to put the cat on a short leash to come out for a bit while I was out there with him.

On a similar note, since I am thinking about things that make me paranoid... I also don't open my windows any wider than the size of our cats' heads. I've heard too many stories about cats leaning on the screens and the screens popping out, then having the cats jump or fall to the ground and escape. It's a big pain lately trying to keep the house cool but I figure that's just the price I pay for having indoor cats. Our cats have never been outdoors anyway, but we live on a busy road where people speed, and an off-leash pet would be toast in no time flat. A couple of years ago we were out in our yard when our neighbor's child let their dog out by accident, and the dog was hit by a car.

 

I let Bandit out on our balcony, but only if I'm there to keep an eye on him. One time I caught him up on the balcony ledge postured like he was about to attempt to jump to the ground from the second story--Bandit has NO depth perception whatsoever (he was born with crossed eyes--typical problem for Siamese cats, and it does not make for good perception).

As for fleas--cats can get fleas even if you don't let them out at all. You or your houseguests can track them in on your shoes or clothes. All it takes is for you to walk through an infested area, and you're done. This used to be a major problem at my old apartment because there were a ton of stray and feral cats--which made it impossible to prevent fleas from getting tracked in. Gabby had a bad flea allergy, so I just got in the habit of giving both Gabby and Bandit a preventative dose of Frontline Plus each month from May-Sept. Haven't had a flea problem in my current place yet, but dog ticks are very bad in my area this year and there's a ton of deer around my house so I still give the Frontline Plus because I'm really paranoid about them. One of my friend's dogs recently was diagnosed with a permanent, tick related disease. I've been checking Bandit closely for ticks every time he comes in from outside (he goes out on a leash), because they can still attach for up to 48 hrs even with the Frontline Plus.

 

I guess I'm weird, because my cats are not allowed outside, ever.

I know that sounds cruel, but I'd rather know they are safe inside then have to worry that they have become coyote lunch.

I live in a one-level single family house with an 8 foot tall block fence in the back yard, and I am still not comfortable letting this spoiled and pampered cats outside to deal with predators. But that is just me.

Suze

 

Many years ago I have a lovely and smart calico named Magic....we also lived on the second floor with a balcony which had a solid railing...well Miss Magic learned she could jump from our balcony to the landing of the second floor staircase (it had an open front and was about 3 ft higher than the top rail of our balcony) then jump back down to the balcony across the breezeway, where she would go play with their cats. Which wouldn't have been too bad, except once she figured out to get from the balcony to the landing she figured out from there she could take the steps to the ground floor...shortly after having two lovely kittens she went through the screen on the balcony door, down the stairs and was hit and killed by a car...and I got to bottle feed her kittens to raise them.

Now none of my cats go outside regardless of how safe the enclosure looks without one of their human parents in tow on the leash ...trust nothing cats are ingenius and if they want to escape they will including shredding a hole in a screen door.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette, Autumn & The Fur Gang

 

I agree. You should not let your cats outside on the balcony, even if it only a second floor balcony. A passing bird, a scary noise, etc can result in your cat leaping off the balcony and possibly injuring itself. Back in March, a local cat jumped off a 19th floor balcony going after a bird :shock: :shock:

The only way I would let a cat out on the balcony is to put it inside a large secure dog crate or enclosed cat playpen. You will still need to supervise.

That's my concern with my two active civies nailbite_smile My window screens are rather flimsy and just barely sit in the window tracks. I am so paranoid of my cats wrestling on the windowsills or flying into the window going after a bird and possibly pushing the screens out and falling out... from three floors up nailbite_smile I keep the windows open only a few inches when I am not home and at night. Someone suggested adjustable window screens as an extra layer of protection but they don't quite fit securely in my windows.

 

There were some great links on building a catio for your cat on Gracie's condo last week Everything from simple screening to very elaborate enclosures. I would think screening it in wouldn't be that difficult and in Louisiana, the screens might be nice for you too! Keeps the bugs out! :lol:

If Habitat for Humanity has a resale store near you, you might be able to find used, ready made porch screens really cheap.