Conference misery::feline_v1

    Geez - in this weather you can't exactly keep the windows shut,
    can you.  I'd start with the squirt gun anytime you catch him in
    the act.  If he wants out that badly you might also try him on
    a leash.  Never leave him unattended, tho.
      I haven't come up with any good ideas of how to keep the window
    open and keep him from pushing out the screen tho - except to nail
    a piece of strapping across the screen frame so he can't push
    it out.  I don't think your husband would like that too much either.
     Hope someone else has a better idea.
      Nancy DC
    

How about opening the window from the top instead of the bottom?    

Also, you can get a screen thingie (I forget what you call them) from 
Grossman's or your local hardware store for about $4 - $5. It is not a 
full size screen but is about 12 inches high and the width is adjustable 
to fit the width of your window. You open the window, insert the screen 
under it, pull the ends out to the proper width, then pull the window 
down to the top of the screen. Your cat might have a harder time pushing 
through one of these and might even get discouraged if he finds he has 
two barriers to go through. With one of these you could open the window 
from the top and the bottom so you'd be getting the same amount of air as 
if you only opened the bottom of the window.

Linda

    I guess I'd better explain what my windows look like.
    
    We live in an apartment complex on the bottom floor and the windows are 
    approximately 72" long x 48" high.  They are sliding windows and you can 
    open either end, but not at the same time.  We have a screen on the end 
    we open all the time and it covers approximately 1/2 of the whole window.  
    We tried to put up 2 screens side by side but both don't fit together.
    
    Thanks for any help,
    Paula
    
    

    I've got the same problem with a couple of my windows and Alex the
    escape artist. The problem is that some screen frames are just a bit too
    small to be a tight fit. What you've got to do is measure what the
    frame size should be very carefully and have a new screen made (and
    tell the person making the screen not to approximate).
    
    New screens with frames aren't very expensive; a 36x80 cost me $22
    
    Deb

    Is the problem that he pushes the screen out of the window frame and
    slips out?  If so, just drill a small hole through the screen frame and
    the window frame at each side, and insert a long pin (nail, piece cut 
    from a coat hangar, etc.) through both to fasten the screen to the frame. 
    If you have to take the screen out, just "pull the pins".
    
    Gary

    You could go to your local grain store (i.e. Agway) and purchase
    some heavier gauge wire screening (like the rabbit cage kind). 
    A large roll of this is about $6.00.  Then build a simple wooden
    frame to fit in the window securely, and staple-gun the wire to
    it.  A crude but viable and cheap solution.
                 
    On this same subject, our cat Ninja escaped out a window this summer
    by discovering an unlatched window screen.  I was a basket case!!!
    He was loose for 3 days.  We used 2 traps and caught every cat in
    the neighborhood twice before we finally caught Ninja.  That was
    quite an adventure.  Now we keep the windows open only 3 inches...

    This is Winston's favorite trick!  We haven't found a good solution
    yet, sorry to say.  What we do is only open the window about 2 inches
    (anything more than that and he can get through), or leave the window
    shut.  We installed ceilings fans in the rooms that get the most
    heat during the day, that way we can leave the windows closed.
    
    The Home Depot has do it yourself screen fixings.  We have done
    our own screens several times.  You tell them what size the window
    is, and they give you everything you need to replace the screen.
    The was an initial outlay of about $5.00 for a screen tool, the
    thing that puts the screen into the frame, and then about $10.00
    for the steel frame and screen.  It was easy.
    
    We have thought of trying to secure the screen somehow, but our
    frames are such that we couldn't find anywhere to drill the necessary
    wholes.
    
    Jo

    How about some sort of folding gate in front of the screen.  Maybe
    something like a wooden accordian gate but not so tall.  So far my
    babies haven't learned this trick.
    
    Sandi (mom to Lightning, DejaVu, Thunder & Storm)
    
    

    Couldn't a cat get caught (and strangled.....) in an accordian
    type gate?  I believe they are no longer recommended for households
    with children for that reason.
    

Okay, I've been there with the kitty escape artists and I found the solution!!
Get some industrial strength silver or black tape approx. 2" - 3" wide.  On
the outside of the window, securely tape the screen to the building/window
frame by taping all along the screen frame.  If you need to, use two strips 
of tape on each side and top and bottom.  Once the screen is taped in
securely, no problem.  I found the silver tape, a kind of cloth, was the
best.  I simply went to the hardware store and said I needed a strong tape
that would adhere well to metal and withstand sun.

    Re: .10
    
    You probably got what is called "duct tape".  That would keep in
    an elephant.
    

>    You probably got what is called "duct tape".  That would keep in
>    an elephant.
    
Yep!  Thats what it is...it even keeps "el porko" Sam in - his favorite
trick is to lean against the window screen and simply "bow" out the
screen until the bottom comes loose.  He can't do it anymore.

    Alexandra the Greatest could probably stand to loose about a pound, but
    I'd hardly call her an elephant! Basicly, she kept working at it and
    and finally succeded.
    
    In all fairness, though. I think she might have had some helpl from
    neighborhood vanels since I noticed nearby that the duct tape securing
    the air conditioner cover appeared to be partly pulled off.
    
    Deb

    re: .13
    
    I wonder if duct tape smells like something edible to squirrels or
    whatever....
    

    Thanks for all of the suggestions!
    
    I tried one of those security gates, but it was the wrong size so I had
    to return it.
    
    What we wound up doing is purchasing a couple of boards 2" x 72" and
    cutting a piece off of each the same length as the window's height,
    approximately 47".  (We have 2 separate windows to secure).  We took 
    the piece and pounded it in place with a hammer against the unsecured 
    side of the screen.  This pushes the side of the screen up tight and
    you cannot push the screen out from inside our apartment.  Now Spooky can 
    no longer push himself up against the screen and squeeze out the opening 
    between the window and screen.
    
    What made the problem hard to solve is that the screen is on the
    outside of the window and the window slides open behind the screen.
    There didn't seem to be a way to secure one side of the screen, except 
    with the board as described above.
    
    Thanks again,
    Paula
    

    That is a great idea!  I think that I will have to try that with
    Winston's favorite window and see how it works.
    
    Jo