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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / November 2003Need Help - Balcony Enclosure
Long time......no post. I guess that means everyone is well. Not to be fair weathered friend. We are moving to a condo on the 12th floor. The bldg is very particular about making any changes to the balcony, so an enclosure would have to "blend in". The space is long and narrow - probably 20ft long by 6 ft wide. The railing is new - clear plexiglass with a 6-8" gap at the bottom to allow for drainage. The top rail isn't wide enough for a cat to sit on (or try). I'm looking for any ideas or products on the market that would allow me to discretely fence in a portion of the balcony to allow my cat access. She currently has 24hr access to a 3rd floor wood balcony that I have been able to "cat proof". She seems to enjoy the fresh air and the ability to look out on what is going on beneath here. I don't want to make ANY chance of her falling off the balcony, so if there is anything such as a fool-proof cat proof balcony enclosures (that the Home Owners Association only notice) we would be forever grateful. We move on Thurs and she'll have to stay inside until we find (if) a solution. Many thanks. > x-no-archive: yes > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > me to discretely fence in a portion of the balcony to allow my cat > access. You might want to go to Home Depot and take at look at the construction screening. Its black, and hardly noticeable beyond 10-20 feet; its *made of nylon and *very* strong and flexible. Phil. Just let the cat out. he's not stupid enough to jump down from that high I would hope. We let our cats out on our second story balcony and they could have jumped down at any time if they were dumb enough. But that never happened. Can't imagine they woudl want to try from 12 stories up. >> x-no-archive: yes >> [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > >Phil. > Just let the cat out. he's not stupid enough to jump down from that high I would hope. Mine were (2nd floor). About 3 years ago, my poor, departed, sweet but stupid, Julian fell off trying to fit his fat a.s on the tiny ledge on the other side of the railing (he went through the grate/bars). A year later, the dork tried to jump on top of the inch-wide railing. He missed. I only turned my back an instant in both cases. He wasn't hurt, but he scared the holy hell out of me. Last year, Rowan came *this* close to going over. She was trying to catch a bird. If I hadn't caught her (literally), she'd have vaulted right over the railing. The thing is, Julian never *tried* to jump down. He fell, both times. Cats aren't always the brightest or the most agile. Some are more like Garfield. *g* The kids now have a nice enclosure on the balcony if they'd care to be out there. ------------------------------------------------- ~kaeli~ Jesus saves, Allah protects, and Cthulhu thinks you'd make a nice sandwich. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace ------------------------------------------------- >Just let the cat out. he's not stupid enough to jump down from that high I would hope. We let our >cats out on our second story balcony and they could have jumped down at any time if they were dumb >enough. But that never happened. Can't imagine they woudl want to try from 12 stories up. http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=companionlines_cats5 http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/4114/righting.html http://www.metpet.com/Reference/Cats/Behavior/highrise_syndrome.htm http://co.pinal.az.us/AnimalControl/column/archive/pdf/1999/01Sept99.pdf http://www.charmcats.org/highrise.html http://www.petplace.com/Articles/artShow.asp?artID=2570 etc., etc., etc. About 15 seconds in Google. >>> x-no-archive: yes >>> [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >> >>Phil. > Just let the cat out. he's not stupid enough to jump down from that high I would hope. We let our > cats out on our second story balcony and they could have jumped down at any time if they were dumb > enough. But that never happened. Can't imagine they woudl want to try from 12 stories up. I strongly disagree with this advice. Yes, cats are agile and intelligent; but many have jumped or fallen from great distances (sometimes with tragic consequences). By all means, please continue with your plans to find a way to make the balcony cat-proof. Here is one suggestion: my brother and sister-in-law enclosed their yard with fencing that is designed to keep deer out. It is a type of mesh that is barely visible. In fact, people who use it for deer (as they do) have to place a horizontal pole at the top so that it will be visible to the deer. You, of course, would not need to do that. I am attaching links to two sites that include a pictures. It can easily be cut, so you could "size" it for your cat. You can find other similar products by typing "deer fencing" for a google search. You might even be able to find a similar product at places like Loew's or Home Depot. http://www.bennersgardens.com/bg/ Also: http://www.deerxlandscape.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/BlankPage4.html?sid=8k@7qS0mc2qA4u2 or use this for a shorter URL: http://tinyurl.com/t9z2 MaryL > http://www.bennersgardens.com/bg/ > > Also: http://www.deerxlandscape.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/BlankPage4.html?sid=8k@7qS0mc 2qA4u2 > or use this for a shorter URL: http://tinyurl.com/t9z2 Exactly the same material I used for an on-the-ground enclosure. www.friendlyfence.com Hi . I had a cat in a flat with a balcony for 6 years. I had no screening and the cat was fine. Hmm. On further reading of this thread, maybe I /the cat was lucky. >We are moving to a condo on the 12th floor. The bldg is very >particular about making any changes to the balcony, so an enclosure [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >access. She currently has 24hr access to a 3rd floor wood balcony >that I have been able to "cat proof". I had a "kitty pen" made out of an upstairs deck (small, maybe 10' by 10') that has an aluminum roof. The carpenter built frames that slip under the railing, other ones that attach to the overhang. Insect-proofing was not a requirement, so we put 1/2 inch screening on the frames. The frames are removeable and the whole thing could be dismantled in maybe an hour. Cost was reasonable, and would have been even more so if I was handy enough to do it myself. The cats love being "outside" and I love them being safe! Hope this helps - Sara |
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