[Coleskii]

Hi, Im thinking of getting a burmese kitten and I live in an apartment.....i have only ever had dogs so im new to all of this!
I have a balcony which is on the 3rd floor so about 20metres high is it safe to have a kitten out on the balcony or should i keep him inside all the time?
Aslo, I have 2 siamese fighting fish....any tips? will the kitten be interested in them?

thanks for any help you can give me

Lisa

[Advert]

---

[Patricia L]

NO, definitely do not let them out on the balcony, they will need to be indoor only, unless you build a fully enclosed cage for the cat out there.
Kittens are like human babies - silly and playful, and no common sense, if the kitten is running and playing, it can easily go over the edge.

[Linda K]

Hopefully Candice (About Taya), will be along, as she has the most gorgeous burmese girl in an apartment too, with balcony, & I am pretty sure Taya is purely just inside the apartment, but has lots of cat toys to keep her entertained

[Mist]

My little girl lives with me in a first floor unit. She's occasionally allowed out on the balcony but only under the strictest supervision. We're also not very high so if the worst does happen, it's not too disastrous. I didn't let her out when she was a playful kitten though, only when she turned into a "I just want to snooze in the sun spots, mum!" cat.

[aboutTaya]

Hopefully Candice (About Taya), will be along, as she has the most gorgeous burmese girl in an apartment too, with balcony, & I am pretty sure Taya is purely just inside the apartment, but has lots of cat toys to keep her entertained

Oh yes Taya is purely inside - we're 17 floors up and not allowed to enclose the balcony. I would never trust our darling out there even if it was only a few floors up. One of the things you will learn about is the burmese zoomies, imagine a blur of fur bouncing around madly for a short spell before curling up into the sweetest purry ball ever. However during these zoomy moments, the brain doesn't always seem to work as fast at the legs LOL!! Honestly the odds of Taya trying to jump up on the balcony railing and completely missing it would be huge, sometimes even just during play she will miss landing on the back of the couch. Hilariously she has skidded right off several surfaces when she's been moving too fast to stop. She is also not beyond bouncing around for her toys and smacking into walls, stools etc etc - it's a good thing she's a solid little girl.

However Taya is a very typical burmese who is incredibly people oriented - she could care less about what's outside the glass doors if we're inside. She loves interactive play (we do have a lot of toys). She loves cuddles and is very much a lap cat - sometimes she sleeps stretched across both our laps. She is pretty good at entertaining herself too though. We have a peek-a-boo box that she will work all the toys out of, oodles of different kinds of balls that she will chase all around the house (ping pong balls are a must) and when she's ready for a bit of timeout she'll curl up on a cushion (see my avatar photo) beside the warm glass in summer (or under the doona in winter) and chill out.

At the moment we have a lot of flies outside on the glass doors (I think it's the heat) and Taya has been chirruping at them and occasionally patting the ones that move. It's gorgeous but she's easily distracted from them by what we're doing. I think your fighting fish may be treated fairly similarly. If the tank is on a sturdy surface where it can not be pushed off and with a lid, your kitten may want to pat the glass but will get a little bored with them if they don't play back or make any noises. We also have a cat dvd we turn on sometimes when we go out. The flicking of mouses running across the screen and the chirping of crickets keeps her entertained for a while.

I think if there's enough stimulation inside you kitten won't be concerned about lack of access to the balcony. We just love our little burmese princess she's everything we could have hoped for in a meow and so very much more, I look forward to seeing piccies of yours.

[Beama's Slave]

I'm quite new to cat ownership. We have a burmese kitten who is 8 months old. He's quite active and will do silly things like zip around the house in a frenzy then go to jump on my bed, change his mind mid-flight and decide to go under the bed instead of over it...unfortunately he's left it too late and instead of over or under he rams bang smack right into the solid wooden frame.
If we had a balcony he'd be over it! He escapes on a regular basis, usually visitors who can't wait 3 seconds for us to grab him before they open the door (grr).
I'm sure you'll enjoy your new baby! We love ours so much we have decided to get two - I'd advise that if you can afford it - wish we could have when we bought Beama. Only 3 weeks today until we collect our new baby :-)

[aboutTaya]

Ooo Beama's Slave another burmese baby - you're soooo lucky!!! We almost nearly brought home a devine blue burmese little girl but unfortunately Taya had just started showing Orijien symptoms (cat biscuits that caused paralysis in cats) and couldn't risk any stress to her till we had an idea that she was going to make it. Now she's pretty good and we do entertain the thoughts of another, maybe a little red or cream or lilac or blue....They are very morish LOL!!

We used ssscat http://www.ozpetshop...products_id/702 to teach Taya not to jump on our kitchen counters (much), it may be worth setting one up by your front door to teach Beama to stay away from there.

[Coleskii]

Thanks sooooo much for all your help! Really helpful since I really was not sure, so I'm definately thinking while he is a kitten keep him inside all the time with lots of toys...the peek a boo box sounds like a good idea too. I'm so excited to get him, Burmese sound like the best breed from what everyone is saying and very entertaining LOL

I am hoping to get a blue, brown or chocolate boy and will post up the pics of him as soon as he gets home

Thanks again guys,

Lisa

[Trifon]

How exciting, a little burmese baby. Burmese are so adorable.

I would also be keeping him inside 24/7, even as an adult so he will be safe from cars, dogs, other cats (injuries and disease) and nasty/cruel neighbours.

I hope we get to see lots of pics of your baby.

[oriental cats]

unless you an totally enclose the balcony with netting keep the kitty inside only.
Beamas Slave, I know what you mean about people not waiting to open the door, with 4 here I am the door NAZI, I double door at ALL times and I tell people JUST WAIT and I will make sure the cats are in BEFORE I OPEN THE DOOR, I actually lock the doors so they have to wait for me to get the key paranoid I know, you know what is funny though that DD has here teenage friends here and they all are really respectful about double dooring and are really aware of the cats NEVER GOING OUT EVER, but adults just seem to think it is ok to not wait cos I am over zealous. so know I lock them in

[Patricia L]

I had the plumber here on Friday both cats were locked in their respective carriers, I have had tradesmen not quite "get it" in the past, so now I just lock the cats away.
I did catch Millie, lying on her back trying to kick the carrier door down...lol

[monty_dweezil]

We've got 2 beautiful year old boys who are still as playful as they were as youngsters at times, and we're on the ground floor in a 3 storey apartment complex, with a balcony at the front and rear, and even though of course they definitely wouldn't be hurt if they got out onto the balcony and jumped over it, but we never let them outside, ever. It's too risky. They could be attacked or harrassed by the seemingly billion other cats that live in and around the building (all HUGE too!), or stolen, or hurt by some weirdo (there are a lot of drunken idiots around here at night), or run over (also a lot of hoonish drivers) or attacked by birds or possums, or drown in the apartment pool, or wander away and get lost and scared or hurt, or even just bother someone else in the building who happens to not like cats...so no, they're strictly inside and 100% happy.

[monty_dweezil]

I had the plumber here on Friday both cats were locked in their respective carriers, I have had tradesmen not quite "get it" in the past, so now I just lock the cats away.
I did catch Millie, lying on her back trying to kick the carrier door down...lol

Heheh, at first whenever contractors/plumbers etc came to our place for whatever reason we'd lock/hide the cats in our bedroom. Then we relaxed and let them be free as long as the people weren't requiring constant access in and out the front door. We had to have some parts of our kitchen repaired a few months ago and they were coming while we weren't home so we put the boys in our room with a big sign on the door saying DO NOT ENTER - KITTENS INSIDE. Just in case some guy didn't realise what room it was and inadvertently opened it thinking it was the bathroom or something. lol.

We've since had a plumber and a phone guy come to our place, and both times both cats (in particularly Dweezil) have been very curious and not scared at all of either of the guys. Dweezil kept putting his head into the plumber's bag/box and then ended up stealing an old plastic bottle with a long lead and running off with it!! LMAO (it wasn't dangerous or anything. I was watching him like a hawk, and only intervened, moving him gently away if he was sniffing or trying to pick up with his mouth tiny little instruments he could choke on)

When the phone guy was here Monty got INSIDE his bag. LMAO!!!! I'm glad our boys aren't too timid of strangers (both guys seemed delighted by their antics...they said they're cat people)

[Bibby]

I never let my youngest on the balcony- all activity and no common sense.
I didn't have screen doors when I brought him home- my sensible old girl was allowed on the balcony- so quickly had some cat proof ones intalled.
Be careful with the fish- my kittens main aim in life for a long time was to get at the fish in my aquarium- it has a secure cover- wonder if one or 2 died from stress.
I would make sure the fish are in secure aquarium- or well out of reach.

[oriental cats]

I too lock the cats in my bedroom when I have tradies in, I have a sign on the door too, and I never have tradies here when I am not home to supervise, rotty on the other hand once introduced is very friendly and follows them around.