High-rise syndrome: cats falling from balconies and windows, and how to prevent it
“Cats always land on their feet” is one of those sayings that does real harm. Every spring and summer, city vet clinics treat many cats that have fallen from balconies and windows, with serious injuries. Almost all of those falls can be prevented with netting.
Why they fall
Cats have extraordinary balance, and that is exactly why they get overconfident. They sit on the railing, the windowsill or the edge of a planter, and then a bird, a fly, a loud noise or a sudden movement is enough for them to leap on instinct or lose their footing. They also fall while chasing something during play, when startled, while dozing in a narrow spot or, in unneutered males and females, while trying to get out to find a mate. Most falls happen in spring and summer, when windows are open and there are more insects and birds. Young cats under two years old fall most often.
Landing on their feet, with caveats
Cats have a righting reflex that lets them twist in mid-air and turn their paws towards the ground, and they do it very well. But landing on your feet is not landing unhurt. The impact travels up the legs into the body, and the chest and chin hit the ground. It is sometimes said that cats falling from very high floors suffer fewer injuries than those falling from medium heights, because of how they relax their bodies in a long fall, but those figures are heavily biased: cats that die on the spot never reach the clinic. Serious injuries already occur from a second floor.
Typical injuries
Vets recognise a very characteristic pattern. Chest injuries, such as pneumothorax, which is air around the lungs, or lung bruising, which cause breathing difficulties. Facial injuries: a fractured hard palate, separation of the lower jaw at its central joint, broken teeth and wounds on the chin. And fractures or dislocations in the legs, especially the front ones. There can also be internal injuries in the abdomen and, in some cases, head trauma. Many of these injuries cannot be seen with the naked eye, and a cat that seems fine after a fall may be bleeding internally.
What to do if it has fallen
If your cat has fallen, even if it seems fine, take it to the vet as soon as you can. Pick it up carefully, without forcing it if it cries out, wrapped in a towel, and put it in a carrier or a box. Do not give it food or water until it has been seen, in case it needs an anaesthetic. The warning signs are open-mouth or very rapid breathing, pale gums, blood from the nose or mouth, not putting weight on a leg, or marked listlessness. Many chest injuries get worse over the following hours. If you cannot find it after the fall, search very close by: an injured, frightened cat hides in the first gap it finds.
Tilt-and-turn windows, a hidden danger
Windows that tilt open, with the top leaning inwards, are very common in Spain and very dangerous for cats. The cat tries to get out through the gap at the top, slides down into the narrow V-shaped part and gets trapped by the waist. As it struggles to free itself, it sinks further in. The pressure on the abdomen and spine can cause paralysis of the hind legs, damage to the kidneys or liver, and even death if nobody helps in time. If you have this type of window, do not leave it tilted without protection when the cat is alone. There are purpose-made side and top guards that stop the cat getting into the gap.
The solution: netting
The most effective way to protect a balcony or terrace is to fit cat safety netting, made of strong nylon or with braided wire, that closes off the whole open area, including the top if the cat can climb the net or the walls. For windows, reinforced screens made for pets, because an ordinary insect screen will not hold the weight of a cat jumping at it. They must be firmly fixed, checked regularly and checked for gaps at the sides. Transparent netting is barely visible from outside and is usually accepted by residents’ associations, although it is worth asking first in case the building rules say anything about the façade.
What it costs to protect your home
In Spain, a balcony net bought to fit yourself costs between €20 and €80 depending on size and material, plus fixings. A professional installation, with good-quality netting fixed to the façade without visible drill holes, can cost €150 to €600 depending on the size of the terrace and how difficult it is. Reinforced pet screens cost around €30 to €100 per window, and guards for tilt-and-turn windows €20 to €50. That is far less than a single operation for a fractured palate or leg, which can easily exceed a thousand euros, and it prevents something money cannot pay for.
Until you have protection
If you have not yet protected the balcony or windows, do not leave the cat alone in those spaces, not for a minute, even if it is an older, calm cat. Close windows without a reinforced screen when you are not in the room. Do not leave furniture, plant pots or boxes next to windows or railings that it could use as a step. Watch kitchen and bathroom windows when airing the room, too. And take care in summer: hot nights, with everything open, see the most falls. A single forgotten window is enough.
Indoor cats that can see outside
Netting does not mean depriving the cat of the outdoors: quite the opposite, a protected balcony is one of the best forms of enrichment for an indoor cat. It can sunbathe, smell the air, watch birds and amuse itself for hours without risk. Add a bed or a shelf, a cat-safe plant such as catnip or cat grass, and a scratching post. There are even “catio” structures, enclosed areas on terraces or in gardens, that let a cat go outside safely. If you have to choose between a protected balcony and nothing, the protected balcony always wins.
Responsibility, legal too
In Spain, the 2023 animal welfare law includes among owners’ obligations the duty to protect their animals and prevent them from escaping or suffering foreseeable harm, and an unprotected balcony with a cat that goes out onto it is about as foreseeable a risk as there is. A cat that falls into the street or a neighbour’s yard can also cause an accident or damage something, and the responsibility is yours. But the real reason is a different one: almost all these falls are avoidable, and netting solves the problem for good.
Cats do fall from balconies and windows, and landing on their feet does not prevent serious chest, face and leg injuries. Protect balconies with netting and windows with reinforced screens, take care with tilt-and-turn windows, and if it falls, go to the vet even if it seems fine.
Educational content from Michipedia, translated from the Spanish original. It does not replace the advice of a vet or a feline behaviour specialist. Every cat is an individual.