Window guards?

Hiya
have not posted in a while but ronnie and reggie are doing really well :) we have just built a 8ft by 4ft by 6ft high cat run for them to safely enjoy some fresh air when we are in garden :)
question now is for those of you that have there maines as house cats like me how do you tackle the windows bein open???
with summer coming up obviously we need windows open but i dont want the boys getting out either do you put anything on your windows if so what and were can i buy
thx

awwww your babies are soooo cuuuuuute! love the pics!
I actually have the same question - I'm hesitating to put up some chickenwire up...
however also, I worry about bees and hornets getting in (which would mean the Pirate would HAVE to give chase... it's not that she wants to, it's just something she has to do, keeps order in the house...) so it would have to be rather slim stuff, sturdy enough to resist the pirate's hooks (the ones at the end of her paws... you know... see what I did there? ;-))

We just had all new windows installed in our house last year. They all have screen in them. Ginger does not mess with the window screens yet but she does want to scratch the patio door screen. I am guessing that your homes do not have screens on the windows? With as hot as it gets here in the summer 35 Celsius, we have to let air in. The bugs here would eat us and carry our bodies away hahaha no really just annoy us ;)

nah no point having screens in the UK generally, it's not really a "done" thing... I know, in America it's pretty much a requirement, from the look of all the films I see picturing countryside houses there, but here, it's quite an "exotic" thing :-D
bit like shutters in France - you don't really see houses without them, there... French people are very private people, and it shocked me when I arrived in the UK to see people not even closing their curtains at night and anyone passing in the streets could see what they were doing... (now I've been here a while, so it doesn't shock me so much any more) It's so much so, in France, that it is now a requirement for home insurance: funny thing there, if you are burgled while you're out and about and your shutters are opened, insurance company is entitled to refuse to pay up, it's in most policies!

The shutter info in France is really interesting. Thanks for sharing. Do you have screen material available in the UK? It can be found here at Home Depot and in hardware stores. If so, maybe you could make a couple of screens for your windows by attaching the screening to a frame the size of the window and then securing the frame to the inside or outside of the house. When we lived in Colorado, we would remove the screens in the winter and put them back on for spring and summer. We leave our screens on year round in Phoenix... great for keeping cats in and bugs out!

I don't think I've ever seen screen material in the UK hardware stores, but then again I haven't really been looking for it. I'd like to see how sturdy it is first - I can see my Neevie already stretching casually against it with claws out and rip it like it's paper... She likes a good stetch... preferably followed by a good scratching of whatever it is she was stretching on....

Alekto, here it comes in plastic and aluminum. I wonder if you can buy it on amazon? hmmmm gonna have to check it out!

check this out!

http://www.amazon.com/New-York-Wire-...ywords=screens

cool I'll check that.... thanks, might actually be able to open my windows this year! let's see! :-)

Hi Clairiscrazy cant offer any advise because I have the same problem to I love my doors and windows open in summer but when Dylan comes I dont want him getting out either.

Thanks Donna for that link will see if we can get it here, Alekto if you find any please let me know, thanks so much x

Well I tried to make something up with some square plastic mesh I got from the garden center, it has roughly 2cm x 2cm squares. Now I tried attaching it with gaffa tape and that failed because it was so hot on the windows it pealed off.

So I am now going to try it with velcro. I am going to get long strips of it and stick one side of it in a long strip to the window. I am then going to loop the other side of the velcro round the squares in the mesh and see if this will hold up!!

Will let you know how I go lol.

EDIT: Oooo just had a look on amazon and found some screen mesh!! - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Window-Scree...bxgy_diy_img_y

Ive been looking around there is special screens you can get from PAH these are attached useing velcro but ive seen the way my boys climbed across there outdoor run and there claws and weight id be scared they would pull away the velcro and screen,
someone said try a net curtain make your own screen again this would involve velcro again,
at the moment my windows are only open slighty there rather stiff so no chance of them pushing them open they have been outside in there run a lot aswell so really it hasnt been such a problem as i thought it would :) they have been loving this sunshine we have had lately which is very rare in the uk LOL

Yeah I found something similar to that Clairiscrazy and now you have said that the MC's would probably tear it down you have me thinking again of what I could do lol.

I did see this though that might be better as it seems to be a more robust screen that is on hinges etc, what do you think:

Home Page | Flyscreen Queen

But they are not cheap though.

I saw these advertised on tv the other day i watched the dog go through them with ease and i thought yep the boys put pressure on them and they will easily open for them once they realise if they put there weight behind it although another thought could the screen material just be attached permantly to the window no magnets but then i wouldnt be able to open the window then as the screen would cover the handle lol

Here are instructions on making wooden window screens. Maybe this will help.
How to Make Wooden Window Screens | eHow
If the link doesn't work, just Google "how to make window screens". When we lived in Brasil, we made something like this for some of our windows. We had to attach them semi permanently to the outside so they didn't interfere with the function of opening and closing the window. We used screws and bolts (I'm not sure what the specific name is for the hardware). They were sturdy. Good luck - it will be worth it.

let us know if it resists Monster Kitties! if Neevie decides to go through that screen it looks like she'd have no trouble at all, but I may be wrong....