Hey everyone,

We're wanting to let Fionna sit outside on the perch on the window sill. We're on the second floor so we need something that's secure. I want her to be able to go on the wide perch outside the window if she wants to but still be as safe as possible.

Any ideas on how to go about this?

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Fionna & Finn

You would need to totally enclose the whole window aperture to keep her safe.

Wooden frame with strong wire mesh very securely fixed to the wall might do it, but she may hurt her feet by climbing it still.


Heather

Definitely has to be completely enclosed with some type of fencing to keep her safe from jumping or falling off. Have you considered walking her outside on a harness and leash? That way she could experience the true outdoors. It's a great time for just the two of you to spend together. They do get used to the daily walks and want to go all the time. Currently, I brought the cat trees from our cat enclosure inside and Raiden loves to sit on them and look out the window. Once the weather improves, they will go back out into the covered cat enclosure. I know cats love being outside and it's great that you want your kitty to be safe. I don't know if you rent or own your place or whether you can make modifications to the window. There doesn't appear to be a screen on the window to where you could open the window and make sure the screen is secure.

We aren't walking her mainly because we live in a city, in the middle of London actually. The second reason is that she is a frightened cat, she does not enjoy being anywhere outside the house one bit, she is scared of strangers and just generally a cat that personally I don't see being able to be walked. She'd have to be comfortable with dogs, and people don't walk their dogs here with a leash, which means there's a possibility of a dog attacking her, both in a park and outside our house. The guy on the groundfloor does not take care of his garden and that's not gonna change any time soon, so we can't ask him to let us borrow it to walk her. We asked if he'd swap flat with us but he doesn't want to so we have to respect that of course.

I just really want to give her that kind of feel of the wind and being able to observe everyone from there. She's actually been on there once, by accident, scared the living crap out of me lol but luckily she walked back in when I spotted her.

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Fionna & Finn

If she is able to go outside the window at that height, she certainly will have the ability to jump down (I've seen cats do it, non-bengals in fact). And depending on where the room is, she may have access to the roof as well.

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The little monsters 3

Hmmm difficult one.
What about putting a mesh on the window frame?
Yes, she won't be able to go out of the window and sit outside as you wanted , but she would be able to see and explore through the mesh? Plus being secure of course.

I didn't realize you were in the heart of London. I can understand completely. If you are unable to add an enclosure around the window or at least a screen to keep her from going through, I'm not sure what you can do. It may pain you to see her wanting that fresh air, but for her safety, she may just have to settle for sitting and looking through the window. There are some people who drive their cats to a more secluded area and walk them. That is a lot of work and travel time. Do you not have rights to the garden as well?

something a little like this:

We've two windows that I see her being able to use, we have one window that overlooks the roof, and I was wondering about getting a cat flap installed or opening the window and creating a secure outdoor space for her there. But it will of course cost us a lot of money as we'll need someone to do it for us I think. I am not sure.

Thanks for understanding why I don't walk her. Taking her out isn't much of an option as she is deeply afraid, I tried a few times and she howls like she's about to die. I can't access the playground unless I walk around the buildings, also I don't want to because that is a troubled area with a lot of bad families, I wouldn't even go there myself. I do not either have the rights to the garden it's owned by the guy on the ground floor fully.

I will have a look at the mesh so I at least can have something to secure the window etc :) Altho I'd love to build her something even better.

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Fionna & Finn

I have a treadmill that Raiden will stand on, but it's really noisy and I'm sure he would be scared once it's running. He leaves the entire area of the house when I'm on it. I think the picture that was provided with a wider ledge on the outside of the window and then screening or wire fencing that attaches to the house would be the cheapest and safest way to go. I'd loved to see the kitty go out in to the garden area. It may be worth it to clean it up, especially if it is there to be shared between you and the person living below. BengalDaddy has some of the best ideas and advice on this forum. We are all very devoted bengal owners and you are trying to do a wonderful thing for your kitty. I really hope you find a solution that works for you.

I appreciate the posts about everything else we could do but I was really just wondering about the window and ideas around what to do there.

I cannot fit a treadmill, sorry. London flats have extremely limited space. But it is fine, I will buy some mesh for the windows first and then I'll see what I can do for the roof.

Thanks!

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Fionna & Finn