Is it safe to let my cat walk on the roof?

Question

I have a cat, who is 8 months old and occasionally climbs out the window to the roof. Is it safe to let my cat wander on the roof?

Answer 1

No it is not safe for cats to go out the window and on to the roof. The obvious first concern is falling.

If your cat did not fall to it's death the first time, it is unlikely to fall next time. The bigger risk is that there is no place to hide, and the cat is very visible from the sky. Birds of prey can be a risk to small pets your cat is at risk of being dinner for a bird of prey.

Additional risks include:

• Accidentally getting locked out, being subject to direct sunlight with no shade or water all day while you are away.
• Seeking shelter on the roof when sick or injured, creating great difficulty for you to provide care.

Answer 2

It certainly depends on how high the roof is, but it's not inherently dangerous. Cats have good balance and the ability to right themselves during a fall.

What is potentially dangerous is your kitten being able to go wherever she wants without supervision. She is young and inexperienced. Her natural curiosity has the potential to put her in any number of situations she's unequipped to deal with; e.g., falling off the roof, hit by a car, locked in a space she's hiding in, eating something poisonous, etc.

Cats love to explore. They are territorial. Use these natural traits to train your cat to make good choices. I keep kittens for the first year of life, inside. Then I take them outside in the backyard supervised. I stay with them and encourage exploration while assuring them of their safety and "turf." I have trained all of my cats, ever, to come to a whistle. I have the backyard "escape-proof" to keep them in and unwanted visitors out.

Cats are less "trainable" than dogs but they can be trained to enable your comfort zone and their own safety.

Answer 3

yes it’s okay. if your roof isn’t far from the ground and you’ve supervised for a while before letting them go out alone. i have two cats and they both love going on the roof. they’re outside cats but when it’s dark outside and dangerous, i don’t like letting them roam the neighbourhood. instead i let them on the roof where they like to sit and smell the outside. they’ve both safely been going on my roof for about a year and a half and nothing has happened. Another tip is to be 100% sure you know where they are before you close the window to the roof. if you don’t, there’s a chance they’ll be stuck on the roof for who knows how long and may resort to jumping off which could injure or kill them.