This new cat of mine is a real Houdini.
Last night he jumped up onto the window sill over my bed where I often
put a fan with the window open wide enough for the fan to pull in cool
air. He knocked the fan off and then pushed the screen out in one
corner and jumped down to the ground outside for a night on the town.
I wasn't too keen about his roaming around out there all night but
before I adopted him he was an outdoor only cat in the neighborhood so
I figured he'd come back in the morning for breakfast, which he did.
I was telling a friend about this and she was telling me about how she
was babysitting a neighbor's cats and one of them tore a hole in a
screen and escaped.
I'm a fresh air nut and like to keep my windows open as much as
possible.
I'm trying to think of ways of securing my place so he can't get out
the windows. One idea I have is to put something on the window sills
that would discourage him from getting on them. For example, something
with soft spikes that would be uncomfortable but wouldn't hurt him. My
sills are about 4 inches deep.
I'm hoping others might have some good suggestions.
jamie - 07 Oct 2004 07:05 GMT
> I'm trying to think of ways of securing my place so he can't get out
> the windows. One idea I have is to put something on the window sills
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> I'm hoping others might have some good suggestions.
It depends a lot on what kind of windows and sills you have.
If you have old-fashioned type sash windows and sills, you could either
try installing "kitty klips" on the sills (http://kittyklips.com)
or move the screens to the top and open the top instead of the bottom.

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jamie (jamiemck@newsguy.com)
"There's a seeker born every minute."
Rene - 07 Oct 2004 17:08 GMT
> This new cat of mine is a real Houdini.
>
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>
> I'm hoping others might have some good suggestions.
You could use some of the methods for preventing cats from jumping on
your counters, such as: tape sticky side up, carpet runner upside
down, some soda cans with pennies or rocks in them lining the sill (to
startle him), or tin foil.
Rene
Rusty Wright - 08 Oct 2004 02:12 GMT
Interesting and useful ideas; thanks. My place is pretty junky as it
is so having "junk" on the window sills will add to the ambiance.
What is "carpet runner"?
> > This new cat of mine is a real Houdini.
> >
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
>
> Rene
Rene - 08 Oct 2004 14:13 GMT
> Interesting and useful ideas; thanks. My place is pretty junky as it
> is so having "junk" on the window sills will add to the ambiance.
>
> What is "carpet runner"?
A carpet runner is what some people use to protect their carpets from
wear and tear. It is plastic, comes in a roll, and is about two feet
wide. The bottom has plastic "nubs" to hold the runner in place on the
carpet. Very inexpensive and easy to cut to size.
Rene
zuzu22@webtv.net - 07 Oct 2004 19:17 GMT
Many years ago one of my cats got out through a hole in the screen and
was gone for 9 days (I did get him back.) I dealt with the screen issue
by buying adjustable screens (w/metal screening) from Home Depot and
putting then in front of the regular screens. The edges fit perfectly in
the tracks for the windows and are easy to remove if needed. For the few
windows I have that don't have tracks I just used small nails nailed
into the wood in front of the adjustable screen (one near the top and
one near the bottom) on either side of it to make a sort of track and
keep it in place. You can see an example of this type of screen here:
http://doityourself.com/store/0543579.htm
I haven't had a single problem since and my cats can still enjoy sitting
in the windows *and * get some fresh air.
Megan

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Rusty Wright - 08 Oct 2004 02:09 GMT
Great, this sounds like the ticket. Many thanks.
> Many years ago one of my cats got out through a hole in the screen and
> was gone for 9 days (I did get him back.) I dealt with the screen issue
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>
> - W.H. Murray