Flat Cats

EB_Prophet · 4 Jun 2018 at 22:34

So about a year ago I got a little kitten, super cute silver Bengal, he's a menace but lovely! Anyway, as I live in a flat I was a bit concerned with windows and as such am suffering the heat with the windows just on the open latch as it were. Now I know there is a cat pic thread so I assume there are a few owners who have them, does anyone have any creative ideas to keep said kitten in the flat and not 3 stories down? Generally when he sits on the sils he just gazes out and meows a little at the outside world (Spiders on the outside of the window and birds I guess) but he doesn't jump up the windows really. He's not much of a climber but will happily jump up on top of a door if he feels like it...

I have seen a product called flat cats which looks pretty neat and they're not overly expensive. Has anyone tried these, Will they hold up to some gentle abuse from kitty I wonder? Obviously they cover themselves saying don't leave cat unattended but there is a pic in the review of a cat climbing up one and it seems pretty secure once in position!

Recommendations appreciated!

Prophet.

XeNoN89 · 4 Jun 2018 at 22:44

My flatmate has a cat, I feel sorry for it. She's always out and it gets so bored and meows at me all the time. It's wrong keeping a cat locked up imo, and the fact yours is a Bengal makes it even worse. They are a lot closer to wild cats than a lot of domestic breeds they really need to be outside.

neil_g · 4 Jun 2018 at 22:44

In before standard gd jokes about running cats over.

Interesting idea. I'd like to know how those would hold up to 5kg of cat climbing up them..

nemesisuk2 · 4 Jun 2018 at 22:55

We use flat cats and they hold up well to a 5kg cat. Have two of them and they hang off them all the time.

EB_Prophet · 4 Jun 2018 at 23:01

XeNoN89 said:
My flatmate has a cat, I feel sorry for it. She's always out and it gets so bored and meows at me all the time. It's wrong keeping a cat locked up imo, and the fact yours is a Bengal makes it even worse. They are a lot closer to wild cats than a lot of domestic breeds they really need to be outside.

Cats are more than happy inside provided they get plenty of love and attention and he does. He's got lots of activities around the place, climbing frames, toys and has free run of the flat which is a nice size. I never leave him alone more than I have to but I know he doesn't make noise when I'm out. I've lived with bengals before and had other indoor cats myself and never had problems. The biggest problem is at my parents who have had their last 3 cats unfortunately hit by cars and they live in the middle of nowhere on a quiet estate. He's far safer inside and more than happy thanks. If he displayed any kind of symptoms of being unhappy I would reconsider and I am looking at moving in to a house in the not too distant future where he will be able to roam outside if we decide it's a safe enough area. But anyways it's not a discussion on that I was after some suggestions for letting some fresh air in to the warmer rooms e.g - the PC room!

EB_Prophet · 4 Jun 2018 at 23:08

neil_g said:
In before standard gd jokes about running cats over.

Interesting idea. I'd like to know how those would hold up to 5kg of cat climbing up them..

Made me laugh, Didn't really think about that till you mentioned it haha.

nemesisuk2 said:
We use flat cats and they hold up well to a 5kg cat. Have two of them and they hang off them all the time.

Sounds positive thanks.

Malevolence · 4 Jun 2018 at 23:29

Still think it's cruel keeping a cat locked in a flat. They need to be able to get out and roam.

Tefal · 4 Jun 2018 at 23:37

My friend adopted a cat, and it now lives in a flat it has no interest in ever going outside again.

With the window open it once went to look out and immediately came back and fell asleep in the wardrobe.

I think after being abandoned she just likes to be home

Agent_Smith357 · 5 Jun 2018 at 00:00

Malevolence said:
Still think it's cruel keeping a cat locked in a flat. They need to be able to get out and roam.

Cats probably look back at us and think 8-10 hours sat in an office is cruel.

Lopéz · 5 Jun 2018 at 00:08

XeNoN89 said:
My flatmate has a cat, I feel sorry for it. She's always out and it gets so bored and meows at me all the time. It's wrong keeping a cat locked up imo, and the fact yours is a Bengal makes it even worse. They are a lot closer to wild cats than a lot of domestic breeds they really need to be outside.

You really don't want to be letting a Bengal wander about outdoors. Despite their strength and agility, they have disastrous traffic awareness and are extremely prone to getting run over. I adopted an outdoor Bengal and he got run over twice while I had him, lucky he was a tough dude and survived.
The other big risk with an outdoor Bengal is theft.

I've used Flat cats with a Bengal and they work very well, especially in the summer. The Velcro is very strong, just make sure you measure accurately and thoroughly clean and dry the window frame before you apply them.

EB_Prophet · 5 Jun 2018 at 00:22

Yea as I said, even on a quiet country housing estate my parents have lost 3 cats (2 bengals) to cars

The cat they have now is a Bengal she has a bit more sense and thankfully only wanders the back garden and roof of the house, she doesn't tend to go out front unless one of my parents are out there and she just stays near to them. As I said before, more than happy indoor and I have more floor space in this place than your average 2 bedroom house so it's not like he's kept in a small room.

Good advice on preparing the frame thanks, I think I'm gonna give it a try, in the video the guy is putting a lot of force trying to tear it off and it doesn't budge yet when peeled down it comes straight off, magic!

adolf hamster · 5 Jun 2018 at 00:28

i just open the windows enough so the gap is too small for the cat to fit through, he hasn't figured out he can push them open further yet.

that said, mine goes outside daily so he probably doesn't have the same motivation.

neil_g · 5 Jun 2018 at 07:08

nemesisuk2 said:
We use flat cats and they hold up well to a 5kg cat. Have two of them and they hang off them all the time.

Interesting thanks. At the moment we've got those catches on our upstairs windows that stop them opening beyond a few inches and it's a pain this time of year.

EB_Prophet · 5 Jun 2018 at 07:11

neil_g said:
Interesting thanks. At the moment we've got those catches on our upstairs windows that stop them opening beyond a few inches and it's a pain this time of year.

https://youtu.be/f-BXL8NY1hU Check out that video at 1min50. He's putting some force on the thing and doesn't budge!

MooMoo444 · 5 Jun 2018 at 07:25

XeNoN89 said:
My flatmate has a cat, I feel sorry for it. She's always out and it gets so bored and meows at me all the time. It's wrong keeping a cat locked up imo, and the fact yours is a Bengal makes it even worse. They are a lot closer to wild cats than a lot of domestic breeds they really need to be outside.

That's why you get two cats, so they can keep themselves amused

neil_g · 5 Jun 2018 at 07:36

MooMoo444 said:
That's why you get two cats, so they can keep themselves amused

Usually at 4am

neil_g · 5 Jun 2018 at 07:36

EB_Prophet said:
https://youtu.be/f-BXL8NY1hU Check out that video at 1min50. He's putting some force on the thing and doesn't budge!

Might get one and try it, cheers

Puzzled · 5 Jun 2018 at 09:06

Would a cat jump out the window?

Our old cats at home would often have a look out the open windows upstairs but would never jump out as they knew it was too high. They'd just go downstairs and outside that way.

Perhaps a kitten might be a bit clumsy but an older cat should have the sense to stay in.

MikeTheNative · 5 Jun 2018 at 09:30

As someone who suffers from my neighbours cats crapping in my plant pots and scratching up other stuff I support keeping it inside. I don't understand why it's acceptable to let cats roam outside on their own but not any other pet.

Lopéz · 5 Jun 2018 at 09:40

MikeTheNative said:
As someone who suffers from my neighbours cats crapping in my plant pots and scratching up other stuff I support keeping it inside. I don't understand why it's acceptable to let cats roam outside on their own but not any other pet.

Cats are ringfenced under a "right to roam" law, they aren't considered to be the same as other pet animals.