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Aw, cute kitty in luggage.

Do you have a Russian Blue? Your kitty looks like my cats.

Just wanted to add that this is a real concern. We had to go to the emergency vet (long story) last weekend where I was told that the majority of cat injuries are from cats who fall out of windows...

I think you need to look for childproof window guards. I think you can get these from any hardware store...sorry, I don't have anything more concrete...maybe someone else will.

We have this same problem (not the cat part). We made our own removable screens using 1x1's and mosquito netting. You just wrap the netting around the wood frame and use a staple gun to hold it in place. We only have them up in the summer.

the window manufacturer probably makes screens or a gate or something. My bldg has the same type of windows, and every year they ask each apt. if they want to order screens. You could ask your managing agent/ LL about it. In fact, I think there's a rule that if there's a small kid in the apartment, there has to be a safety gate.

AmyE - thanks so much for sharing that comment from the vet. I've often wondered (and worried) about that. I do have screens on my windows, but I sometimes wonder if they're enough. I'm going to look into improving the security when warm weather comes around again.

Your solution may be as simple as placing a fairly heavy object, e.g., a brick, in the swing path of the window. This will allow you to open the window just enough to allow ventilation but will prevent Kitty from escapting. I know there is also hardware for the hinges that can basically restrict the ability of the windows to swing open, but I don't know what these are called or where to get it.

My cats go out on the fire escape through a cut in the screen, but when I want to keep them inside I wedge a baby gate in between the window and the frame. It looks like your window opening is probably too small for that, but you get one of those temporary expandable screens like this and do the same thing with it (just put the screen in vertically). It won't prevent flies and stuff from coming in, but it should keep the cat safe and inside.

http://www.amazon.com/MARVIN-MFG-CO-1545-15x25-45Wind/dp/B00004Z13G/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1196179525&sr=8-1

Hello! Do you people have kitties? They can be very resourceful. My kitty would knock that screen thing out of the window in two seconds. The key is to find something (that brick idea is good) to stick in the window to keep it from closing, but it must be smaller than a kitty head.

Temporary expandable screens have worked with our cats -- but that was with double-hung windows, where the screen sits in the tracks that the window slides in, and the window closes on top of the screen. The result is that the cat has no leverage for moving the screen. You'd definitely want screens intended for your style of window.

If you go with the method of blocking the cat's access, you're going to get a very, very thin stream of air unless your cat has an especially wide head.

I like Riley's idea. Maybe you could hold the screen in place with velcro strips?

P.S. the cat is very cute.

If you go to home depot they sell all the materials you need to make your own screens at any size. It's inexpensive and easy to do. I would suggest finding some way to attach the screens to the inner area of your window so your cat can not pull them out. Also you want them to stay in place if the cat pushes against them.

Or if you're concerned about the brick idea, why not a latch screwed into the wall and an 'eye' screwed into the out-facing side of the window? Get a latch that measures just smaller than the size of the cat's head. Unless the kitty has opposable thumbs or can use a screwdriver, it should be safe and you'll benefit from that "fresh" New York City air.

Thank you all! Kline is indeed a Russian Blue and would leap over child-grates no problem. Maybe we can get away with that when he is old and slow. As for now, screens would have to go the entire height of the window, which, because of the sideways opening situation, is problematic. Velcro is a good idea (had also thought about rare-earth magnets, but the frames are not steel). Has anybody had any experiences with velcro screens? Does it hold up well or end up looking mangy?
--Chelsea and Kline

my dumbass herman-cat tried to commit suicide over the summer. we're on the top floor, the sixth, and our windows are so screwed - none of the springs work, so the windows are dead weight, propped open.

over the summer, we sometimes kept one particular window open from the bottom AND top, to aid in ventilation. the top part wasn't opened a lot, but still there's no screen that covers both the top and bottom of these standard nyc windows.

my cat was feeling emotionally neglected that day because i had company. he was prowling around meowing, knocking shit over, being the annoying feline that i adore. and so all of a sudden i hear behind me this clawing/grasping/scratching and my friend is horrified, pointing toward the window, saying "OH SHIT OH SHIT"

well, my cat jumped up to the open sliver of unscreened top window (not four inches open, all the way up by the ceiling), and the weight of his holding onto it forced the window down, collapsing beneath him, which caused him to pitch outside the window.

he had only a little bit of tail and foot still inside our apartment when i grabbed that sucker so fast and just threw him across the room. his whole body was poofed up and he ran under the table, scared shitless.

poor kitty! the window dropped under him and for a moment he was a freeflying suicidal emotionally distraught pussycat :(

and after all that, i still have no suggestions for you. except...i'm sure the window co. must have screens that go with the windows. right? i remember when i adopted my kitties, it was a dealbreaker if the apartment's windows had no screens.

i hope you figure something out, though, and enjoy the breeze! :)

Retractable window screens are the answer for you. These are popular in Europe but I haven't seen them in the US. Google turned up this:
http://www.screen-time.com/screens/window_screens.html
They're a little pricey -- but much cheaper than an emergency trip to the vet!

Temporary screens with velco and netting never really look good and become increasingly shabby with use. I've used them but chucked them in favor of said retractable screens.

I don't think a brick is a hot idea either. What if it gets pushed off the ledge onto someone's head?

PS I have a cat, live on the 4th floor, and have retractable screens. No problem.

chelsea, wow! I agree with the others in asking the managing agent/LL about the manufacturer of the window. This way you get a secure screen with the perfect fit.

If that's not an option you can have your own custom made. I recently was looking for better screen filtering and found groupweston. I emailed them and they will custom make a screen for your window or sell the filtering screen fabric alone.

Please let us know how you make out.

I had two kttens and a French door to a balcony when I lived on the UES. What I did was go to Gracious Homes, buy adhesive-backed heavy duty velcro (maybe it was called marine velcro), and stapled it around the edges to the screening material. I stuck the soft part on the removable screen and the loops ALL the way around the door frame. When I needed to go out on the balcony to water the plants, pick herbs, eat outside, I pulled on the velcro, and sealed it to keep my "kitty kids" on the inside. It was pretty inexpensive so if the screen looked bad it was cheap to get more screening materials and reuse the stuff stuck on the door frame. I did this from 1997 summer until 2003 and no kitties fell off the balcony, thank goodness.

I am flabbergasted that so many grown ups say "kitty."

If you want to create a perma-screen or sorts, here's what I did at my last rental and it worked amazingly (my landlady didn't mind the permanence of the screen):

*I purchased a roll of animal-proof screen at Home Depot - it looks like regular screen, will keep bugs out and kitties inside, is cheap and super resilient.
*Then I purchased a tube of liquid nails (it was the only thing I found that was weather-proof and water-proof and would solidly attach to the metal frame I needed to attach the screen to).

I did this over a weekend and it works amazingly. we could finally keep our garden door open in the summer without worrying about the cat. The screen attaches so strongly that our cat was climbing UP the screen door trying to get out, with no sucess!

God, I love liquid nails... :)

good luck!

It is so common for cats to fall out of windows the ASPCA calls it "high rise syndrome." If ordering custom screens or jiggering something safe enough is out of the question you can go the window guard route. Your building management or super is legally obligated to install window guards in any apartment where children under 6 reside or any apartment that request them. You can set them so that the window is only able to open an inch which will probably do the trick. I volunteer with a rescue a group - as kdkaboom said it is a dealbreaker if an adopter does not have screens - and the group recommends window guards for these types of situations.

p2-I knew you'd be weighing in on your favorite AT topic.

I have a similar problem with my apartment, and it gets worse when thats the only window in the place that opens. I went searching for a screen but couldn't afford a custom one, and the window is a strange shape, so I searched around home depot for something I could cut to fit... Deck Latticing! I bought the wood stuff but would recommend the plastic since the wood splinters a lot when you cut it. I cut a length to wedge into the window and added some hook-n-eyes to make sure its in place. Now the cats can stick their noses thou the holes, but there heads are too big to fit all of the way though. Bonus was I painted it to match the room, so it looks sweet

I have a young, stupid cat. I have regular vinyl suburban double-hung windows (I never open the top part, and if I did I'd stop after reading kdkaboom's story).

My screens have little latches in the corners that I'm sure are intended as childproofing. You have to pull them diagonally away from the corners to budge the screens at all. On the deck level where a falling screen would be no problem, I pushed against one screen as hard as I felt my cat could, and the corners held. I now have no qualms about letting him sleep in the windowsill of my third-floor bedroom with the window open.

That said, years ago I lived in a crappy old house with crappy old windows. In Florida. With no screens. We didn't have a cat to keep in, but we did have palmetto bugs to keep out. We went to Home Depot and made our own screens.

It was easy. You buy the frame (which can be cut with difficulty with a utility knife or easily with a miter box and an electric saw), the spline, the screen material, and the spline tool (like a roller to force the spline and screen into the frame). Nowadays I'm sure there is frame material that accepts those little corner latches.

I'm practically sneezing and itching as I type. I must flee to another thread.

Don't worry, Curtis, those Russian Blue kitties don't shed.

Chelsea and Kline,

Please don't even think about velcro! And no magnets, either. Unless I'm misunderstanding what you mean, you are inviting a disaster. In fact, putting a screen up can be *more* dangerous IF it is not completely immovable. Otherwise, the cat may get comfortable and sit against it, with his back leaning into the screen until the velcro/magnet slides off and he falls out.

You need something that can withstand more than the full weight of your cat. Also, I'm surprised no one's seems to have mentioned yet the option of installing a grate - that would be permanent, and maybe you could make room for some flowers. (Though personally I'd go for a strongly attached screen - the grate would be hard to look at all year.)

I totally relate to your problem. I have a dog and I even worry that she could knock out the screen. She has a strong prey instinct and focuses on squirrels that pass by (I'm on the second floor). She's really smart, but I'm completely over-protective and worried she'd try to jump....I take her hiking a lot and she's definitely not afraid of heights or ledges, much to my dismay.

Good luck with your window. I think the idea of a nice-looking grate is a good one. Something that looks more architectural rather than prison bars.

easy: velcro on the cat. velcro on the wall.

I once had a cat that chewed right through my metal window screen. Came home from work to find a round hole in the screen, w/her fur clinging to it. We were on the first floor, so no fatalities. I don't think too many cats would attempt it - this one had quite a personality - but just so you know, it's not impossible.

I like the deck lattice idea. Whatever you decide on, just make sure it's quite secure.

You're right to be careful. I was a vet tech for year (still am on a volunteer basis). Even here in Los Angeles, cats and dog tumbling off balconies and out of windows is a frequent cause of serious injury--or worse. Believe me; cats do not always land on their feet. Even when they do, however, broken legs and/or serious internal damage can result from the hard landing. Dogs fare even worse--even the little guys. I apologize if some (all?) of this is repetitive. I thought it best to simply give you my entire shpiel.

Many of the ideas here are great. Please keep in mind, however, that many cats love to jump on screens, latch onto them with their claws (those of you with declawed cats, don't think you've got nothing to worry--cats use their rear claws for this feat of strength) and literally just hang out there, belly to the breeze. In fact, one guy I know named his KITTY Spider Man because the cat spent more time suspended on screen than anywhere else. My cat Smidgen is also an aficionado. Her name is misleading ---she grew FAR more than expected and is really more of a Smudge now--demonstrated one more thing you must consider; her (generous) weight caused the screen to rip out of the frame and she tumbled outside. Fortunately, I live in a one story 1950's ranch and the screen was attached to my kitchen door. She only fell a foot or so and immediately ran back into the house (hence her newest nick name: Streak). Smidge was poofed for the rest of the day, but fine otherwise.
Cats are notoriously determined. If you choose to forego a screen and want to open your window just a little bit, be extra certain your cat can't force it open further or squeeze through the opening (I had a Siamese named Violet that must have mastered the art of osmosis--I still can't figure out how she got behind the kitchen counters). Industrial Velcro and heavy glues are great in many applications. I fear, however, they are not enough to guarantee you're pet's safety. One last thing--- The animal proof screening work well. We're using it with the sliding glass back door. Despite their very best efforts, my dogs have yet to destroy it. I don't know if it prevents cats from latching on. I'll have Smidgen test it out and let you all know. Please pat Kline for me.

Oops---I meant years. A vet tech for years. Sorry.

As a cat owner, I was reading many of these suggestions with horror. I have a fat, lazy, placid cat, and even she (with a disposition like an 85-year-old grandmother) has galloped, full-force, towards the regular screens that come with our windows when a pigeon decides to alight and taunt her. We have our regular screens AND those cheap expandable window screens for when the windows are open, because trust me, when you see the cat really run, you realize they would hurtle to their deaths extremely easily.

The only thing that sounds like a possibility to me is the retractable screens, which I'd couple with window guards to prevent the hurtle out of the screen. But don't just do the window guards alone...there was an awful story recently where a cat got past the window guards (no screen) and the owner's toddler followed and they both fell to their death. (Sorry to share that, but I just want to stress that window guards alone will not do the trick.)

I don't have a cat (I like them!) and don't live in New York (did once) but this thread reminds me of this great song (about a cat and a screen) by the Old 97s:

"Murder (or A Heart Attack)"

And the hole
In the screen is barely big enough for you
And not near enough for me to go

And the whole damn complicated
Situation could`ve been
Avoided if I`d only shut the window

CHORUS:
And I may be leavin` myself open
To a murder or a heart attack
But I`m leavin` the back door open
`Til you come back, `til you come back

And I may be movin` myself closer
To a real untimely end
But I`m leavin` the back door open
`Til you come home again, `til you come home again

And I told
The neighbors, I put pictures up
And handed out some flyers at the show

And the whole town speculating
Situation could`ve been
Avoided if I`d only shut the window

CHORUS

REPEAT CHORUS

OMG @ lilalahood!

That sounds like something Shel Silverstein would have written, LOL