Posted on 07/07/2011 12:58:41 AM PDT by shibumi
An amateur photographer has told how he managed to get this amazing picture of a cat balancing on a 17th floor balcony railing.
Ivo Berg, 22, a marketing engineer from Berlin, was visiting a friend who lived with his two pet cats in a high rise in Santiago, Chile.
He said: "As soon as I got to my friend's apartment I fell in love with the view but I was also very worried about the suicidal behaviour of his two cats.
"They would chase each other through the apartment, fighting and playing. But they would also jump on to the balcony and the railing.
"I was afraid that they could fall, but my friend told me that he tried stopping them from doing it several times, but that they wouldn't.
"It was incredibly frightening and I knew I needed to get a photograph of it, but the problem with cats is they never do what you want them to do.
"When I tried taking a photo they would sit on the railing until I had my equipment ready, then they would jump down and look at what I was doing.
"It was if they were intentionally trying to provoke me. Finally, it was my last evening in Chile and I was determined to get a photo.
"So I waited at the balcony for about 20 minutes, with my camera handy, for the cats to start playing.
"They didn't play, but Cereal jumped on the railing and sat there looking at me.
"I knew this was my chance - the background looked beautiful and I shot about 10 photos before she jumped down."
Gosh and by golly come to mind.
They aren’t small cages. The ones I’ve seen available are a good 8 feet high and 6 feet wide and ten feet long.
If you’re on the top floor of an apartment like that, I think it would be something good for the cat.
I can understand the sentiment, but if I were in a tall apartment like that, I wouldn’t want to take a chance like that. If I couldn’t put him in a fairly expansive cage, with a high perch, which is what cats really want anyway, it would be apartment bound.
My cat also loved jumping onto the railing of my 2nd floor patio. She’d perch on the railing and look around or pace along it.
Then one day, I was sitting on the patio, she came out and jumped up to the railing as she often did, but this time, she got just a tad out of balance.
It was like slow motion, she tried to correct her position, but eventually lost her balance, and in a flurry of scrambling paws, over she went.
I had tried to get to her before she fell, but just didn’t make it.
She was fine, but the look she gave me as she went over the railing was absolutely hilarious.
After that she still climbed on the railing, but she was a lot more cautious.
Pardon me while I emit an acrophobic shriek.
Damn right!!
Same goes for his cousin posterity. "Do it for the sake of posterity". Kiss my a$$!! What has posterity ever done for me?
And rightly so. Can’t believe a responsible pet owner would allow something so dangerous!! Truly, stupidity knows no bounds it would seem! Poor cats.
Irresponsible pet owner alert.
“I was afraid that they could fall, but my friend told me that he tried stopping them from doing it several times, but that they wouldn’t.”
I really really tried to get the children to stop playing in the street, but they wouldn’t./s.
Animals and children are dependent on those who should know better to protect them from dangerous situations. There are better options in this situation than allowing the cats who don’t comprehend the dangers of a 17 floor drop. Yes, cats like to be up high, but there are ways to achieve that without allowing them to be in danger. Idiot owner alert.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-rise_syndrome
Those sound like cat names. :-)
Bump
8 more lives to go...
Too much catnip.
Sad...one of these days they will fall. They do not understand the danger....
Monorail Cat loves the nightlife.
Monorail Cat reaches new heights...
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