Maxi and the near heart attack

[Michaelaw]

So I'm working hard on this project this morning and Maxi is doing that thing that small cats do..."Some invisible person or thing is ramming a hot poker up my butt every now and then causing me to run at top speed to the other end of the house where I stop but then they do it again!" Whatever gets in her way falls to the wayside. I just needed a half hour to get some critical work out of the way so when Maxi left the studio, I closed the door. I was hoping she'd sleep or find something to do for a while. I ignored the few meows intended to make me open the door and all was well. My room mate leaves her bedroom window open 24/7, my studio is right next to this room. My window is shut and it's a forty to fifty foot drop to the ground. I heard claws scratching at my window and look up to see Maxi meowing at me through the glass..."Let me in!" If there were a window ledge that she could perch on it would be one thing but our windows have a lower glass pane and a foot above that is the sliding part of the window, the track is maybe half an inch thick. So Maxi is perched on a half inch thick strip of aluminum and has curled herself around the six inch cement span between the windows while her claws are latched onto my outside window frame! One slip and down the hole you fall. Needless to say I went into my room mates room and called her name gently so as not to freak her out, somehow she reversed gears and came back in. The door will not be closed to her again!!! :eek:

[crystalb]

Yikes! I bet her heart was beating as fast as yours was....I'm glad that she is safe.

[Michaelaw]

Yikes! I bet her heart was beating as fast as yours was....I'm glad that she is safe.

Maxi was totally unconcerned:shrug: Scenes like that always remind me of how fearless life is when it's uninformed of the danger. I feel the urge to try and teach her the dangers but somehow, I believe she knows more than me on that front.

[QuietOne]

Just because she has 9 lives doesn't mean she should try and use them! Glad she's safe.

[Michaelaw]

Me too :thumbup:

[JAS_Photo]

Holy crap! That must have been nerve wracking! Glad it all worked out!

[Fortytwo]

Glad she's ok. :)

To give you a little comfort, I've known a number of cats that survived a 8 to 10 story drop without any serious injury. It really is true, they always land on their feet... :)

[Iguanasan]

Glad to hear Maxi's fine. :clap: You might want to consider a screen for that window that gets left open all the time. That might at least slow her down should the situation arise again.

[Bambi]

omg I would have had a heart attack. I second the screen option.

[casil403]

Ditto the screen.....I knew a girl in my building whose cat survived a 10 story drop from the penthouse patio railing...her cat lost a couple toes and the vet bill was over $3000 bucks! :eek:

[Marko]

I too am REALLY happy maxi is safe:highfive:

But make no mistake, and I speak from experience here, thousands of cats plunge to their deaths in the USA each year from this phenomenon. Cats do have an incredibly strong righting reflex and very shock absorbent paws...but a fifty foot fall will kill most cats straight up. (lower heights of 20-30 feet see less death and more injuries). We only hear the incredible stories of survival and rarely the fatalities.