Kitties and balconies - a recipe for disaster?

Question
Dear Tabbi,
My two furries and I (and our bloke) have moved into a new apartment.  
We have a large rooftop terrace, located on the ninth floor of the building, and a smaller balcony on the eighth floor.
The two furries are really keen to get outside and explore their new space.  
We've taken them onto the balcony on supervised excursions, however they've shown an eagerness to jump onto the balcony ledge without knowing what's on the other side (an eight storey plummet to the ground).
We've taken the braver one out on a harness, but he rolls onto his back and won't move.  When out of the harness, he wants to jump onto the ledge.
I seek your advice on how to handle this situation, or indeed if we should be encouraging them to safely explore their wonderful outdoor space.


Answer
Rachel,

Cats LOVE to be up high to look around and to sun themselves. It will be hard to keep them off of the ledge so you have to do what you can to make it safe for them.

BUT you need to show the cat the danger of jumping or falling off the wall. Cats do not have any reasoning ability. A cat does not understand that if jumps or falls off the wall that he could be hurt...or worse, so you need to show them. A cat goes by association, habit, or experience.

To 'educate' them sounds scary or cruel, but they need to understand the danger. Hold each cat SECURELY, making sure you have a GOOD grip on them, and dip them (or swing them) swiftly head first off the balcony in the air (like they are falling) while saying "NO!" firmly. Then set the cat back on the ledge and pet it. Then do it again. It should scare the cats enough that they will not want to ever go over the edge and will be careful when they are on top of it. It is all in the association of going off the edge and the fear they felt when you did that. Do it to them periodically so they don't forget the feeling and the fear. They should be careful on the wall after that. You may want to do the same thing with jumping ON the wall to teach the cats not to overshoot the ledge when they jump up on it. Once they know they are pretty careful.

Some other suggestions:

Get some sturdy chicken wire fencing and attach it to the OUTSIDE of the ledge, then at the top, bend it forward so if they tried to climb it at the top it would have a 'roof' and they couldn't go past that. That way with it on the outside, they can still sit on the ledge, but safely.

You may want to get a tall kitty tree or kitty condo scratching post that is tall enough for the cats to see over the wall and wide enough so they can lay on it, but far enough from the wall that they can't jump on to the ledge from the kitty perch. Then attach some chicken wire IN FRONT the ledge, bending it forward at the top (making an "overhang" type bend).

Unfortunately when you have animals accidents DO happen, so the only thing you can do is try to anticipate them, prevent them, and hope for the best.

Tabbi