[sandyrivers]

Hi there,

I would really not let your cats out alone on the balcony!
I usually only allow 2 of them at the time, and ONLY if I am there to supervise. If I go in just to go to the bathroom or answer the phone, I make sure the cats are in and the door closed.

I too live on a 3rd floor apartment since last automn, and never taught it a big deal to let them out when I was not around. I taught they would have enough common sense to just lay in the sun and stay there.
Until the day I saw from my living room window, my cat Gino walking on the railing!
I was so panicked, I got up very fast and quietly walked to the balcony, in order not to spook him, and took him right off the railing.
Cats are very agile creatures, but I don't think walking on the railing of a 3rd floor balcony is a good idea!

Putting flower boxes on the railing will not keep your cats from going there...I grow all sorts of herbs and vegetables on my patio and my cats love to go explore in the boxes that are on the ground, I have no doubt they would be quite curious to see what's in the boxes on the railing as well!

I agree with Marko about making a home made enclosure with chicken wire. Making sure that the wire is nailed or tacked securely to the floor of your patio, going over the sides and all the way up on the wall.

I am very very bad at drawing, but I made this very basic sketch of a way you could make an enclosure for your cats to be safe.
Chicken wire is quite cheap, and you can drill in brick walls with no problem, you just need a special drill bit that you can also get at the hardware store for under 5$.
The whole thing should cost you about 40$ to make, and maybe make a weekend out of it, working slowly, and maybe inviting friends who are handy...
Depends on your skill level. I have a very LOW skill level, and I plan on doing such an enclosure for my cats around the end of April, so they can enjoy the sun and fresh air without risking falling off.

I hope this little sketch gives you a basic idea of what I mean!

You can go to a hardware Home depot type of place, but you can also maybe use recycled materials, if you know someone who lives in the country, they always have this type of chicken fence. Depending on your budget, and how pleasing to the eye your enclosure should look.

You can also check out some websites for things called ''cat runs'', a lot of cat breeders use them and some have very neat ones! That way you can get more ideas!

I also have some info from another pet website I am a member of, and they talk about this issue, as I don't know if I am allowed to link it in this forum, so until I contact Marko about this, better safe than sorry! You can PM me so I can give you the info, it talks about ''high-rise syndrome'', and the dangers of cats falling off balconies!

sandyrivers