Indoor cats and open windows

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Ruth B
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Indoor cats and open windows

Post by Ruth B »

I'm thinking ahead here and after a bit of advice and ideas.

My Mother is planning to move into sheltered accommodation early next year, once they have finished building the flats near me, and is planning on taking her cats with her, which is allowed. She has already decided that when she moves from a house to a flat the cats are going to have to learn to be indoor only cats.

Over the last few weeks I've been having some work done in the garden and my three have had to be kept in until it is finished. I realised i couldn't let them out at night or I wouldn't be able to get them in in the morning so they have been confined to barracks 24/7 for the last few weeks. This has meant that I can't open any of the windows more than a crack or they would push them open and escape. With the heat it has been a bit of a nightmare, and it hasn't really been that hot.

So it has made me start to think about when my Mother does move how do we go about keeping the cats in, but keeping the flat aired and the temperature comfortable. I have heard of window screens but don't really know anything about them. It seems like they have to be made specially fit a window and i' don't know how they fasten to the existing frame and if they can be used with all windows. Do any of you have experience of them or have any other ideas about how the problem could be solved.
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Re: Indoor cats and open windows

Post by Marla »

I really like these screens:
https://www.streme.co.uk/product/framed ... ows-small/

We made them for several of our windows and patio doors.

We bought the kits which weren't too difficult to put together, but they also supply them made to order.

Ours are fitted with flat magnets which are fine for our cats that don't try to escape. We asked them to supply magnets which went all the way around.

For more determined cats and definitely for a window that's at any height I would use the turn screen, but I'm sure you'd have to get permission from the landlord.
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Ruth B
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Re: Indoor cats and open windows

Post by Ruth B »

Thanks, they certainly look like a possibility. With the magnetic ones do you have to take the whole thing down to open and close the window or can it still be fitted with a hinge.

I might even get some for our windows, having a wasp phobia means mine tend to be kept shut a lot of the time unless the OH if around to deal with any insects while I cower in another room.
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Re: Indoor cats and open windows

Post by Marla »

I love window screens and wish they made windows with built-in screens like in the US. We certainly have enough bugs here!

On our windows which push out, the screen can only be used when the window is open a few inches to clear the handle. To adjust or close the window we take the screen off. When not in use, we hide them behind our doors.

I don't know how the hinged screens work. You'd need to call the company about that.

A few of our windows are the same size so we made one screen that fits all of them and move it around as needed.

You can ask for a sample of the material before you buy. The pet screen material is a durable black mesh which doesn't block the view too much.

If you think your cats will climb the screens, the magnets might not be sufficient (I'm not sure), but I didn't want to put turn-screws in the window frames.

Here's another company that does screens:
http://www.flat-cats.co.uk/
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Re: Indoor cats and open windows

Post by MarySkater »

After Rocky made a death-defying leap from my bedroom window, I bought this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

It's designed for windows opening inward, and mine open outward, so I couldn't fit it exactly as designed. What I did was to cut the frame pieces so that the screen frame is bigger than the window opening. I used stick-on Velcro to attach it to the window frame. (Magnets might be better - I didn't think of that, and I had the Velcro handy.) And I've cut hand-sized slits in the mesh, so I can reach through and adjust the window, without taking the screen down. I think (haven't tried) that I'd need to take it down to close the window altogether, but I usually have that window open at least an inch, which gives clearance for the handles.

With the slits in the mesh, bugs might be able to get through, although none have done so far. But mainly I wanted to let air in and keep cats in.
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Re: Indoor cats and open windows

Post by Lilith »

Just don't do what I did ...

This idea started out partly as an insect screen, partly as a Molly-deterrent. In her youth she did attempt to jump up to the open transom a couple of times but is far more sedate now (paws crossed) and I doubt if this would deter a determined cat, but my bed is directly beneath the bedroom window and I wake up for anything, and I thought it was worth having a go for the sake of some cool night air.

I had some stout white nylon insect proof netting (the sort you see protecting field crops.) Cut to size, with small velcro pads attached to it and the UPVC window frame, would it not be possible to fix a panel across the transom? The opaqueness I hoped would deter Molly; the netting would keep out those vile bluebottles who can smell a dish of wet food or a used tray from a hundred yards away. Also, if I needed to open/close the window, all I had to do was to pull velcro apart, and stick it back together afterwards.

Trial run. Perfect. And just to make extra sure, in case of any gaps, I decided to spray the screen with Ardap, a long-lasting insecticide similar to Indorex (contains permethrin but is safe once dry, even for reptiles - I'd originally bought it for zapping vivarium equipment after a case of snake mites.)

A chemical reaction occurred with the velcro adhesive and the damn screen dropped off!

Back to the drawing board :oops: :twisted: :x Grrr.
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Ruth B
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Re: Indoor cats and open windows

Post by Ruth B »

And that, Lilith, is why I thought I would ask for advice first.

I have double glazing and don't really want to screw anything into the frames if I can help it, and while the flats my Mum wants to go into are still being built I guess they will have too, hence why I am asking for suggestions in hope of finding something that can be fitted to the frames without being invasive.

The first summer we had Saturn he managed to get out of one of the bedroom windows and then fall off the window ledge. I ran down stairs and out the front dreading what I would find, only to find him wandering around the front lawn with that look of 'how did I get here?' on his face. We had just oiled the window hinges as they were a bit stiff and had the window only open about an inch to stop him getting out, I guess we made too good a job of oiling them and he could just push it open.
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Re: Indoor cats and open windows

Post by greenkitty »

I've got the flat-cats screens on my upstairs windows and they work perfectly for me plus they're not too expensive (and they keep bugs out). I'm in a rented house so can't permanently attach anything to the window frames, with the flat-cats you can just peel off the velcro stuff.
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Re: Indoor cats and open windows

Post by Crazycatz »

Great idea. We have had a nightmare this summer keeping the windows shut. We will be owned by another two cats this winter so that will be three indoor cats to worry about but this idea is fab !!!
Happy kitties happy owner :-)
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