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*sings* Don't fence me in ...

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  • *sings* Don't fence me in ...

    I've got a balcony. I live on the 14th floor.

    Fuzzy Pumpkin would just LUVVVVV to go out on the balcony, but we also have the occasional marauding pigeon sitting meditatively on the railing. Fuzzy Pumpkin is a middle-aged kitty, but still has the occasional burst of energy. I don't want him making a lunge at a pigeon and going over the railings ... at that height, all 9 of his lives would go out at once.

    So I am debating between chain-link fencing and chicken wire to, basically, turn the balcony into a large cage, LOL. (Yes, I could just cage the cat but ...)

    I was thinking chain-link fencing because it's strong. I'm worried with the chicken wire he might make a jump for it and his weight might bend it enough that he can crawl over the bent part and ... there we are, right where I don't want to be ...

    So ... chicken wire or chain-link fencing?

    All advice and suggestions gratefully received.
    Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
    ~ Mr Hero

  • #2
    First thing is to check with the landlord to see if they will permit this in the first place They might not want it (aesthetic concerns despite being so far up??), or they may have an alternative solution/material to use that they prefer.



    If so, see if this is something they'd be willing to do for you, or maybe deduct from the rent if you do it yourself. Chicken wire is probably less obtrusive, though chainlink is stronger by far.
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    • #3
      As EricKei said, speek to the landlord.

      Also mote, chain link is heavy.
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      • #4
        If you check with your local pet store or hardware store, they might have some stuff already that is used to help keep cats "caged in" so to speak and could offer some recommendations.

        The other alternative could be something like a flyscreen-like material.

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        • #5
          Several firms make nets especially for cats and balconies. Try googling cat net.
          They are made both with and without reinforcement. I think it will be better for the cat than chicken wire.

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          • #6
            Hardware cloth is a potential option as well. It's much stronger than chicken wire, but not nearly as heavy or hard to work with as chain link would likely be. We had a covered deck enclosed with the stuff years back and the cats LOVED it.
            You're only delaying the inevitable, you run at your own expense. The repo man gets paid to chase you. ~Argabarga

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            • #7
              Note that cats can climb pretty well. We have a lot of trouble keeping kittens in the "exercise pen" at the small satellite location of the animal shelter I volunteer for. They can jump most of the way up the fence part, and climb the rest...
              “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
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              • #8
                I had a kitten I kept on a screened in porch. It managed to climb to the top of the screen wall.
                And it couldn't get down by itself.
                "I don't have to be petty. The Universe does that for me."

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                • #9
                  Agreed, Nunavut Pants and Ironclad Alibi, but both of you are referencing kittens in your posts. Kittens are basically fuzzy neutrinos.

                  Both of my cats are long past kittenhood.

                  Having said that, one of them is considerably more adventurous than the other; I plan to keep him on a leash and harness even with the barrier in place, and it's unlikely I will ever leave him out on the balcony alone. I did that once, with four other cats that I had at the time, but I was only on the third floor. And I had seen them all wander out on the balcony, watch the world go by, and wander back in. None showed the slightest interest in the local bird population (of course the birds, small wonder, gave the balcony a wide berth ...)

                  If I feel that he is a little too adventurous even with the barrier in place, I will talk to my pet supplies place to get some of the cages they use for their kitties that are up for adoption. The cages allow the cats lots of room to move plus they are two-"storey" cages, so the cats can hop up and down as they please. I will get a two or three and put them together to give Mr. Adventurous a fair amount of room to move around, but without any chance he will end up doing something stupid and dangerous.

                  The second cat, to be quite honest ... I'll be surprised if he ever ventures out onto the balcony at all.
                  Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
                  ~ Mr Hero

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                  • #10
                    *fuzzy pussies and balconies*.... the urge is too much to type something...must not succumb
                    The Copyright Monster has made me tell you that my avatar is courtesy of the wonderful Alice XZ.And you don't want to annoy the Copyright Monster.

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                    • #11
                      Quoth Pixelated View Post
                      . Kittens are basically fuzzy neutrinos.

                      .
                      Great description =) We have a barn turned into a dwelling, the top floor has these reverse dormer windows and our tiny apex predator loves watching birds and such out the window, so we are building a cat screen porch from one of these dormers and putting a cat flap in so we don't pour the air conditioning out the window. Rob is using simple wood and chicken wire.

                      We are prepping to move to Nevada [provided the property we look at next month works out we will be out of Connecticut into the western NY house around the first of the year, then a year to flip this property and off to Nevada] and Rob wants to build the cat walkways, hammocks, shelves and nooks around the new house that we keep seeing online, and the structure that is to become our roomies 'tiny house' is getting the floor space doubled as we add a screen porch on the front of the place with a cat flap in the door. We don't want her more elderly kitties running free and becoming coyote snacks, but the place is *tiny* and she can put a really great cat tree and all the litter pans on the porch, and have a great table set up for hanging out and reading at.
                      EVE Online: 99% of the time you sit around waiting for something to happen, but that 1% of action is what hooks people like crack, you don't get interviewed by the BBC for a WoW raid.

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                      • #12
                        Quoth AccountingDrone View Post
                        ... becoming coyote snacks...
                        But then Wiley (beep beep) will starve!
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