ASPCA:Finding Balance: Keep Your Cats Safe from High-Rise Syndrome

Finding Balance: Keep Your Cats Safe from High-Rise Syndrome

Even though your cat might seem like a good candidate for Cirque du Soleil, he’s no acrobat. Cats have excellent survival skills, but sometimes their sense of balance doesn’t jibe with their need to perch. Enter high-rise syndrome, a mostly urban condition that can result in catastrophe for your curious kitty.

During the warmer months of the year, when people tend to open their windows, cats can accidentally fall through unscreened windows and suffer shattered jaws, punctured lungs, broken limbs and head injuries. Pet parents often leave their lounging kitties undisturbed, assuming that they can take care of themselves. But cats can get distracted by a fleeting bird or a passing sound and easily lose their balance. Although the condition is named for its high-rise victims, greater injury often comes from shorter distance falls, say from one- or two-story buildings.

The ASPCA offers some advice to help you keep your cat’s feet on the ground until fall rolls around:

• Keep out the bugs; keep in the cats. Install snug window screens, and make sure they are tightly wedged into their frames.
• Some guards are better than others. Childproof window guards are not an adequate deterrent for cats, who can slip right through them.
• Discover the great indoors. Cats should always be kept inside to protect them from cars, other animals and contagious diseases.
• Accidents do happen. If your cat is a victim of high-rise syndrome, bring him to the vet immediately for emergency care.

“This syndrome is entirely preventable,” says Dr. Louise Murray, Director of Medicine at the ASPCA Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital, which treats several cases of high-rise syndrome per week during the summer months. “We recently saw two dogs who fell from fire escapes, so it’s important to remember that windows aren’t the only problem—balconies and fire escapes are also unsafe for cats and dogs.”

The good news is there’s a 90-percent survival rate for the syndrome’s feline victims if they receive immediate and proper medical attention. For more information about this seasonal bummer, please read our high-rise survival tips, and have a safe and summery August!