Kitty on balconly on third floor apartment?

Question

My husband and I moved into a third floor apartment with a cute little balcony. Kitty is dying to go on it (especially when we do) but we are aftraid she will fall off or jump off or something like that; she can definitely fit between or below the rails. We've taken her out on it a few times and she loves it and is all inquisitive around the edges but it makes us really uncomfortable and always after her trying to make sure she doesn't go over. She's also only got 3 legs due to the need to amputate one front leg last year because of cancer. She's really sweet and we want her to have fun with us on the balcony, but are there any good ways you can think of to make it safer for her? She hates cages and we've never tried a leash on her.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I think it's most likely that if you let it out there you'll end up with a kitty pancake just so it can sit on a balcony with you......

Answer 2

In a word--DON'T.  Cats can be immensly stupid about heights, thinking they're closer to the ground than they really are and will try to jump down.  They also think they can sit on the balcony edging, which they can easily fall off of.  

I'd only do it if she was on a harness and leash and you were there with her the whole time.  Otherwise it's not safe.

I was on the second floor.  I had to grab my cat's tail to keep him from going over the edge when he thought he could just jump down a few feet (it was a 20' drop to concrete).  Same problem with my other cat at a different house, he couldn't judge how high up we were and tried it too. I was there and stopped him, fortunately.