Am I overprotective?

No I don't think you are overprotective, cats do fall. And you furbaby could be hurt. I would suggest just keeping them inside and not letting them out at all. That way they don't get used to being outside.

whoa! i would prolly do the same even though cats arent my favorite but i could see your boyfriend saying that to another incident but i agree that you arent

We just started letting our cats outside on the balcony and we have been in our apartment for about a year and a half LOL We are on the second floor. The only time I have seen one of the jump up, I pulled her down and she never did it again. I figure from the 2nd floor that she would be okay if she jumped down, but I would rather not take that chance.

I don't think your being overprotective at all! You are just being cautious. It would scare the bejesus out of me! I don't know if I would even let my pets out on a balcony if there was a chance of them falling off, especially 3 floors down!

no you are certainly doing the right thing. The possibility of him falling downstairs is pretty high. Imagine a bird or insect flying by. Or maybe some loud noise that startled him. Or he simply lost his footing. The possibilities are endless. The part about ALL cats can survive fall from heights are plain rubbish. Yes it's a given that cats have a better chance of surviving compared to other animal. But that doesn't mean they WILL survive such falls. I've lost my darling boy to this and now I basically live in a big cage as I grilled up every single opening of my home.

Not to scare you or anything but sometimes cats don't have the greatest balance after all. A friend of mine had a cat named Oreo. She called me freaking out and crying and I had to calm her down. When she finally caught her breath she told me that Oreo was on the edge of her balcony beam and he lost his balance and fell twenty floors down. I went to her place many times and seen her cat outside on the balcony and would often wonder if he would ever work up the nerve and jump on the beams and asked her one night and she said no he never does that. I guess curiousity got the best of Oreo. She saw him fall and hit the ground, and said he landed on his feet, fell over and all you could see was a puddle of blood. Poor Oreo As far as you being overprotective? Nope I don't believe you are, you're just looking out for your kitties because you don't want an accident.

My sister had a cat that leaped out a third story window that a roommate left open. The cat got brain damage and was never the same. It's an old wives tale that cats always land on their feet!

Yikes! 3 stories down is right! I would be a basket case if my furbabies ever did that. There is a type of fencing on the market just for balconies that prevents cats and dogs from jumping up on the railing or over. After extensive searching, I'm hoping this link may help you out... http://www.petplace.com/cats/selecting-a-cat-enclosure/page1.aspx I've requested brochures on a cat enclosure system for my own cats so they can come in and out as they please yet be able to stay put w/o putting a permanent fence up. Maybe they will stop pestering me to go out..I hope. lol Good luck!

i have 5 cats and am fortunate enough to live in a house with a garden. but years ago , when i was living with my ma in law, one of my cats went upstairs, balanced on the window ledge and fell out!! i was outside over the other side of the road and nearly bust a gut trying to get to her. luckily, she landed and walked away, but god it frightened the life out of me. At the moment my cats live in the kitchen , greenhouse and garden. my partners got a bit of a bee in his bonnet about the cats getting in the rest of the house. all my cats are very old , the youngest is 12 and the oldest is 18 but one of them messed on the stairs. and that is why they have been banished. but having said all that, i still made sure they couldnt get near any upstairs windows, just in case they jumped out. you've got to remember , cats love chasing birds and if they are up on the balcony , they are that much nearer to their prey !! but please dont feel guilty whatever you do, if you werent concerned, you wouldnt be on mylot asking the question would you ?. so lots of luck with your cats and just do what you think is best.

I don't think you're being overprotective at all.. I would allow my cats onto the balcony, but I would watch them carefully. We often let our cats sit on the outside windowsill, even on the first floor. One day, both our cats were on the windowsill of an upstairs bedroom. I look back a while later and our male cat was on the windowsill lying in the sun, and our female cat was down in the front garden, looking up at me and miaowing! It scared me so much, but she wasn't hurt at all. In fact, she still goes out onto that windowsill. But as for us, we think our other cat pushed her!!

I would be exactly the same I must say!! I would be really scared of them falling off, I think that I would just keep having to take them too.

I've been on a patio, on the second floor, and the kitten fell. I couldn't believe it. It was okay, but OMG. And that cat was mean. I don't think you're over protective...I freak when my cat steps near the door, and yet I think she needs to go outside...and I'll let her explore a little.... you just love 'em..

Absolutely not! If one of them got hurt it would be horrible. (Guys have no sense sometimes!)

HECK NO, I would of done the same thing, I had two cats, two brothers and now I am down to one, and I'm the same way, but I'm a bit luckier, my finacee loves my cat as much as me. So, we both are over protective but good parents. Lish

Cats have better sense of balance than human, so they wont fall down so easy and if they do fall down 3 stories they wont get hurt (thats unless your cat is overweight).

You have a valid concern, cats do have good jumping skills but not to the third floor down. There was an intern at Johns Hopkins Hospital who did what you do and her cat started going over the edge. She tried to reach over after it and fell, she ened up being a paradraplegic. The more you let them get used to the outside, the more they want. Your boyfriend is not helping your situation, your best bet is to stop this practice completely and try to instil some fear in them so that they do not cry or attempt escape from this door. The cats can lose their balance or attempt to go down not realizing how far the jump or leap is. Cats are much safer indoors from predators, mean people, people who think they should be indoors and keep them indoors from themselves, predators and outside toxins and diseases ie: fluids from cars are sweet and deadly). It is not too late to fix this. Good luck.

being over protective in this matter is out of the question. you got to do what you got to do. anything may happen. that it is a cat does not mean it cant fall. and men! come to think of it, 3 stories is a long way down.

i am more overprotective than you. my cat is indoor only. he is a spoiled indoor cat who lives the human life.

i'm also like you lol so i guess you're not that over protective. sometimes cats tend to act stupid when they do something like that

Absolutely NOT! Better safe than sorry!