cat balcony

[TaraBee123]

Hello. I have a flat roof outside my kitchen window at the front of the house where I have my flat, about 4 ft deep and 12ft across, which would be great for my two cats, apart from being on the fourth floor! If I could erect a cat safety net up there somehow, it would be perfect.

I am fairly basic at DIY so can't do anything fancy like encasing the roof with railing; not sure I'd get permit anyway (conservation area). Is it feasible to attach a mounting receptacle (like a rod or something) for the netting to the brickwork at each side of the window, ie the corners of the house? To reach the edge of the roof, the rods would have to jut out to a length of nearly 5 feet. What could I use that is that long but wouldn't be too heavy for the brickwork or outrage the conservationism?

Has anyone any idea of an alternative way to mount the cat net? I would just run it from the edge of the roof straight to the top of the house so it slants ACROSS the roof at an angle, rather than run AROUND the roof, but my window opens outwards so would hit the netting.

Thank you for any suggestions.

 

[Burnerman]

This may be completely corny (I'm noted for it ) but how about a golf practice net?
John

 

[OwainDIYer]

"Kee Klamp" fittings and weld-mesh.

It's like scaffold tube. Once you've kut it to length the klips just tighten with an allen key.

Alternatively a blackmith could weld up some frames in angle iron with mesh infill, that could just bolt together.

 

[TaraBee123]

Thank you. I don't even understand what any of that means, and i didn't think there were any blacksmiths anymore, but shall look it all up and do it.

 

[Burnerman]

Kee clamp stuff is often used for hand rails, access ramps and the like.....its heavy duty steel tubing that is cut to length.
There are also corners, tees, feet and so on that are used to create a structure - the parts connect together and then are clamped by allen screws.
Its an excellent, industrial product - heavy and expensive.
Weld mesh is a steel diamond shaped mesh, to prevent moggies escaping!
John

 

[Deleted2797112]

The flat roof does actually belong to your flat, it's not clear from your post? If so, I think it would be wise to clear your plan with the Council. I'd be surprised if they'd be happy with your plans - better to find out before you spend the cash!

 

[AlphaTeamBuilder]

I'm not entirely sure but I dont think cats are subject to the same falls from height regulations as humans. The main reason for this is that cats are well known to have 9 lives. The first 8 lives teach the cat 8 very, very important lessons. These newly attained life skills actually mean that a cat is highly unlikely to fall off a roof.

However, im not a cat expert, perhaps there is a vet here that could shed some light on how many cats are brought in with injuries sustained from falling off a roof.

I have a 12 year old cat that is practically blind, yet he still manages to manouvre chairs and getting down from tables even though he sometimes bumps into the chair leg when racing to get his food.

Anyway, to sum up. im pretty sure cats dont do what they cant manage.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

In actual fact cats survive falls from much greater heights because they have a very high weight to surface area ratio meaning they reach a much slower terminal speed when falling under gravity than us humans for instance, add to that their natural instinct to land feet down and the same extraordinary muscles that allow them to jump to seemingly physics deifying heights also work as massive shock absorbers when they land. I love cats.

 

[OwainDIYer]

Cats rarely fall off roofs but they do occasionally jump for a bird not realising that in doing so they are not going to land back on the roof.

 

[TaraBee123]

Cats do jump/fall off balconies all the time. In fact, last summer vets sent out a warning, following a spate of feline broken limbs resulting from falls from open windows and balconies, when we had that big patch of sunny days, but that MIGHT have been kittens, if I remember correctly. I'm certain my girls would survive an ill-advised leap, but I wouldn't look forward to the vets' bills and sulking over confinement while they healed!

 

[footprints]

Very interesting video about cat falls here here, well worth watching.

http://video.nationalgeographic.co.uk/video/animals/mammals-animals/cats/cats_domestic_ninelives/

Is there a danger your cat will get claws caught up in a net and panic?

Regards,
footprints

 

[TaraBee123]

Very interesting video about cat falls here here, well worth watching.

http://video.nationalgeographic.co.uk/video/animals/mammals-animals/cats/cats_domestic_ninelives/

Is there a danger your cat will get claws caught up in a net and panic?

Regards,
footprints

VERY interesting about the high rise syndrome... Thank you very much. I wish they'd some data about at what height the relaxed effect begins... One of the reasons I'm concerned is because there is a huge, birdy-party tree just by the roof.

Yes, I wouldn't leave them unsupervised (luckily my kitchen has a nice reading nook by the window) with a net. They have a tiny terrace (an enclosed window-sill) at the back of the house, but that was much more manageable and I used chicken-wire, which they don't get paws caught in. I wanted to use same to enclose this one, but it really didn't work on such a large space, mainly because there was no way to anchor it properly. Also a bit visible and Colditz-y for the neighbourhood.