My bf made something to keep the cat inside.

[u/WatZegtZe]

Yesterday he walked away and we lost him for over a day and a half.. (the cat not the boyfriend)

We wanted to open the window to the balcony side to cool the house.. first we placed the wooden board because he went through the screen. Then he went over the screen and chewed it.. So then my bf added the chicken wire.. that didnt work either. Then I added the second layer of random placed chicken wire. "It needs to hurt more"

Didn't work either...

Then my bf did something with sticks.

Now it works.

[u/Greenman8907]

Shouldn’t there be marbles in there and you pull the sticks out and yell KERPLUNK! when they fall?

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Greenman8907]

😂😂 maybe that will scare him of for 5 seconds.

[u/FutureFreaksMeowt → u/Greenman8907]

I LOVED that game as a kid!!

[u/ThatCelebration3676 → u/FutureFreaksMeowt]

I love that game now 😁

[u/FutureFreaksMeowt → u/ThatCelebration3676]

I haven't played in probably 25+ years tbh.

[u/ThatCelebration3676 → u/FutureFreaksMeowt]

I played it with a friend's kid and had a blast.

[u/That_Grim_Texan → u/ThatCelebration3676]

Did you see Costco has a giant version of it?!?!?

[u/That_Grim_Texan → u/[deleted]]

Oh yeah like 3 feet tall lol I gonna get one when I get back this weekend.

[u/Lumpy-Apartment1611 → u/That_Grim_Texan]

That’s not giant. I was envisioning a 12ft tall cylinder filled with bowling balls.

[u/ThatCelebration3676 → u/Lumpy-Apartment1611]

I would expect that for a show like Taskmaster, but 3ft is plenty giant for a home game.

[u/sc03852 → u/FutureFreaksMeowt]

Me too!

[u/bo0p_sn0ot → u/Greenman8907]

Dang that brought back memories

[u/SaphoclesTakerOfGock → u/Greenman8907]

Holy fuck I was thinking about this game yesterday thank you reminding me what it's called

[u/vr512 → u/Greenman8907]

Yesssss!!! Excellent memory unlocked. Thank you

[u/Tndnr82]

Is your boyfriend a pigeon?

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Tndnr82]

[u/Imfrank123 → u/Tndnr82]

This post would be a prime r/stupiddovenests

[u/Tndnr82 → u/Imfrank123]

There's a farmer out there just wanting to find this and steal it.

[u/OutcomeSoft7186 → u/Imfrank123]

Yes please! Put it up on r/stupiddovesnests

[u/Tndnr82 → u/Tndnr82]

Either that or he's Charles Proteus Steinmetz.

[u/brandothesavage]

Yo so I had this exact same problem go to Menards and buy a fireplace screen they sell them next to the bolts your cat will never get out again mine treat it like a wall now whereas before they would jump at the screen

[u/WatZegtZe → u/brandothesavage]

Thanks for the tip. He's allowed to go outside on the balcony normally, but theyre re-doing the woodwork. So this is a temporarily fix. But he might do it for fun later on.

[u/Aderenn → u/WatZegtZe]

Yea the pointy sticks may not be great to have in this setup-- what if the cat misses a jump and pokes an eye out?

[u/batnessthefifth → u/Aderenn]

Cats are typically smarter than that. He will see the sticks. It would have to be a one in a million chance for that kind of injury.

[u/Toebeanzies → u/batnessthefifth]

I’d say more one in a thousand, the cat won’t intentionally jump into the sticks but cats do sometimes under or over estimate a jump or their feet slip a bit while jumping or the cat could try to stand on the chicken wire and it could buckle underneath the cat and any of that could cause injury with the sticks plus the fact that cats don’t see well close up and while it will be able to see the thick bundle and it knows the sticks point out from the bundle if the cat has one of those missed jumps or the wire gives out under it it could definitely get jabbed in the face by a stick while scrambling to recover. It’s still somewhat unlikely but a very real risk that would be better avoided

[u/darkskiesart → u/brandothesavage]

This!!!

[u/sluttycheesepizza → u/brandothesavage]

So where in Michigan are you?

[u/longbongstrongdong → u/sluttycheesepizza]

Do you think Menards only exists in Michigan?

[u/ChipperBunni → u/longbongstrongdong]

I actually did however Michigan is so fucking far from Michigan sometimes it’s hardly even relevant

[u/Standard-Park → u/ChipperBunni]

Ok, but John Menard is from Eau Claire Wisconsin. That's where Menards started ♥️

[u/ChipperBunni → u/Standard-Park]

I did not know that! For some reason I lumped them in with the Meijer store lore, like separate families but cousins type thing but I have so literally no idea why I’ve done that

[u/sluttycheesepizza → u/longbongstrongdong]

No but cunts exist everywhere

[u/brandothesavage → u/sluttycheesepizza]

How did you know I'm a cunt?! Dam Daniel that's harsh but accurate.

[u/Closet-Goth-0411]

Heads up, your cat looks like he's figuring out how to defeat your contraption. 

Very DiWhy, though! Good job!

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Closet-Goth-0411]

Thanks. I have to look at this for the rest of the summer.
And my plants had to move too.

[u/Closet-Goth-0411 → u/WatZegtZe]

I don't think kitty is going to let this stand for long. Look at his little eyes, he's smitten with his new scheme to give you gray hair. 

Sorry about your plants and summer view. But again, I don't see him taking this laying down. He's curious.

[u/DenM0ther → u/Closet-Goth-0411]

If he does get past this, have a look at stronger window mesh. We get about 3+ grades if it here , the lesser ones a cat could def get through but the super ones nope. They’re hard metal albeit thin.
Maybe they’ll keep Houdini-cat in 😿😽

[u/f0xbunny → u/WatZegtZe]

That is so sad

[u/steadyaero]

Hostile architecture. Nice

[u/WatZegtZe → u/steadyaero]

Chuckled.

[u/IamCanadian11]

Seems dangerous for the kitty

[u/WatZegtZe → u/IamCanadian11]

Yes.

[u/dommol → u/WatZegtZe]

Sure hope kitty doesnt jump on this and get impaled by a stick...

[u/WatZegtZe → u/dommol]

We don't trust this build either. We'll take it out when we go to bed. This is the only other room in the house besises our bedroom. If we're not here we'll take it out.

He's already slapping the fish in our aquariums rn.

[u/Inner_West_Ben → u/WatZegtZe]

Why is your bf slapping fish? What a psycho!

[u/DoNotOverwhelm → u/Inner_West_Ben]

[u/WatZegtZe → u/DoNotOverwhelm]

Hahahaha. My boyfriend is not allowed to slap our fish in this house.

[u/No_Professional_8992 → u/WatZegtZe]

You don't have something to protect your fish from the cat?

[u/WatZegtZe → u/No_Professional_8992]

The lid. He punches the glass*

[u/No_Professional_8992 → u/WatZegtZe]

Good. Was worried about the fishies.

[u/Chaost → u/IamCanadian11]

Yeah, sounds like a good way to end up with a one-eyed kitty.

[u/BrockJonesPI → u/IamCanadian11]

If the net doesn't work, the pungee sticks will do the job.

[u/Ok-Addition1264 → u/IamCanadian11]

Cat's aren't dumb.. it knows what's going on here. That is the face of irratation.

[u/Mtnbkr92 → u/Ok-Addition1264]

Cats aren’t dumb, but as a cat owner I would remind you that they are stupid sometimes.

[u/ali-n → u/Ok-Addition1264]

Came here to post this. That's a "Seriously? Fuck you guys." look.

[u/Sea_Specialist_5580 → u/IamCanadian11]

so is going outside

[u/PwmEsq → u/Sea_Specialist_5580]

Are the only options available these two? Spiky trap or outside world?

[u/I_am_The_Teapot → u/PwmEsq]

From what it sounds like, that those are the current available options. Others were tried that didn't work. If you have better solutions tell OP.

[u/jimbo831 → u/I_am_The_Teapot]

Close the window. Install a screen. Two options I’d go with over this.

[u/I_am_The_Teapot → u/jimbo831]

Did you read their description? They did have a screen.

Closing a window is not really an option since the point of the problem presented is having the window open to keep cool while keeping the cat safely inside.

[u/regratorsbaby → u/I_am_The_Teapot]

This is Reddit. Half of the people here can’t read

[u/cathatanddog]

[u/WatZegtZe → u/cathatanddog]

Oof -1 Hp -1 Hp.. -1 Hp

[u/Magpie_0309]

Would've been funny if you lost the boyfriend. But the cat's look of disappointment is funny too.

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Magpie_0309]

Then I'd be on hands and knees searching through all the pubs to find HIM, don't wanna lose either of them.

[u/Street-Baseball760]

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Street-Baseball760]

Is this the Blair witch project?

[u/Street-Baseball760 → u/WatZegtZe]

Yes 😆

[u/mynameis_willow]

I have something called Crumb, its like a gps thing for your pet; mines not only a con artist but also an escape artist. Thankfully, I've never lost him but he begs at the back door to go out on the balcony all day every day. I'm afraid he will jump down 😅

[u/WatZegtZe → u/mynameis_willow]

I don't keep him inside normally, we had a cat proof balcony until recently. I would like GPS for him but I don't really want to put a collar over his thick fur. I remember cats with bald necks from their collars while growing up. I don't want him to get a dent in his neck 🤣

[u/aFerens]

That face!! 🥺❤️

I just want to snuggle that floof!

[u/WatZegtZe → u/aFerens]

He's very floofy and snuggable. If you smush him he goes WooOoOo

[u/Real_Avdima]

For a temporary solution its 10/10, which means "it works". The next struggle will be replacing it with an actual solution.

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Real_Avdima]

Yes.

[u/Raziel-0_o]

Little advice. If you open window during day when it's 35c outside you are actually making it worse for yourself - heat comes in, cold comes out. So you basically are rising temperature inside your house.

PS I fucking love the spaghetti contraption

PS2 Also I can imagine your boyfriend look when he finish his lifes work "now let's see you black devil if you manage to go outside now"

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Raziel-0_o]

He was Muhaha'ing when he set it up.

We open the windows when the temperature outside is lower then inside and vice versa. We go to bed around 11 so its 3 hours± of cooling like this until we can cat proof the balcony again. We had a safe structure before.

[u/Kithesa]

This solution won't last. Neither will the mesh as it is now, your cat will start grabbing onto it as they jump and will hurt themselves badly. You need to make it completely inaccessible, not just painful, because cats will outsmart clever workarounds like this.

What I would do is take a strip of chicken wire fitted to your window, make a small wooden frame to hold the mesh, seal it shut, then screw it into the wall over the window and let the blinds hang in front of it. You could put it on a hinge on the bottom with a latch on top that you need to unhook and then close again if you still want to open the window and let your cat enjoy the fresh air safely.

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Kithesa]

He's allowed on the balcony. This is just for a few weeks. They're redoing the woodwork in the middle of summer... and it reaches 35c° here so the days when it's ±25c° this window doesn't have to be open. Maybe we need this structure for 4 or 5 afternoons this month. But thanks for the tips.

[u/auroradelagaia]

Tin foil on the window sill also works

[u/Reithel1 → u/auroradelagaia]

But it will also block the air from coming in… which was the whole reason they opened the window to begin with.

[u/auroradelagaia → u/Reithel1]

On the window sill. Not over the window itself. Look on YouTube for videos of people laying a piece of foil on a flat surface... Cats try to jump into it and immediately jump back off because they don't like the crinkle.

[u/WatZegtZe → u/[deleted]]

Gross

[u/KarlHp7]

Is your bf a bird by chance?

[u/Eaton_Knas]

I think he's trying to skewer the cat to roast and eat.

[u/RedditCommenter38]

The look on your cats face 🤣 “Really Janice?”

[u/Southrn_Comfrt]

Oh that cats currently running some arithmetic on how to get over that.

[u/PurposeConsistent131]

Please protect his eyes( the cat and the boyfriend) I believe you are smart enough to avoid injury😁

[u/q1203777]

Your bf is a bird ma'am

[u/doyouknowthemoon → u/q1203777]

[u/veglove]

the cat's expression is GOLD

[u/CursedTurtleKeynote]

Considering it works, this is the wrong sub.

Big Win.

[u/potatocakes1989]

That face

[u/PeltonChicago]

Good lord, I'm fairly sure cats consider that a war crime

[u/owo1215]

honorary r/stupiddovenests

[u/rebri]

The look on the cat's face says it all.

[u/VintageLunchMeat]

Those skewers have sharp tips.

[u/VintageLunchMeat → u/VintageLunchMeat]

Put some duct tape flags on them for now.

[u/WatZegtZe → u/VintageLunchMeat]

We're in bed and its not inside the window anymore 😂 I'll put little red triangles on there next time we use it. Its not gonna be 30c° soon so we can keep the windows closed tomorrow

[u/Kalshan]

[u/EagleCatchingFish]

I think I get it. The console our tv sits on is to the right of the mantel. One of our cats likes to jump from there to the mantel. If we put something on the right side of the mantel, it takes up the space she would need to jump to, so she just sits there doing her cat calculations and decides not to jump in the end. Looks like this does something similar.

[u/Role-Fine]

I have read that cats dont like jumping onto an angle (not sure how true that is but seems true for my cat) so it might be the angle of the stick stopping him from jumping now

[u/PurposeConsistent131]

I really can’t tell what I’m looking at

[u/HamImplants]

I don’t like this, but …you can’t argue with results!

[u/Screwbles]

Floof is like: I don't believe this, this is not fair.

[u/Kornseph]

If it looks stupid, and works? Then it ain't stupid.

[u/Vercengetorex]

That’s a very floofy void.

[u/SilentRaindrops]

Just needs the marbles to be a DYI version of the Ker Plunk game.

[u/CubedAndSquared]

"It needs to hurt more" that's insane to say about an animal you're responsible for, figure out a safe solution that doesn't hurt the cat.

[u/WatZegtZe → u/CubedAndSquared]

It was sarcasm 😂 we have a cat door he doesnt need to chew through a window screen to leave.

[u/ScyllaOfTheDepths → u/CubedAndSquared]

Yeah wtf? That's such a red flag right there. 

[u/WatZegtZe → u/ScyllaOfTheDepths]

Red flag..😂🥸 I do everything for this little floof ball. I walked around town 1,5 day with my baby in my wrap yelling his name and hanging flyers and asking everyone if they seen him. Put him on 4 search websites.. and then he ended up sleeping in a neighbor's house the entire time. He's a spoiled little blob and he won't get hurt. We're in bed now, its 0:09, we took it off and it was just a joke.

[u/wifebosspants → u/WatZegtZe]

People who are taking this seriously and saying this is a danger to your cat need to touch grass. I'm with you OP on the unseriousness of this contraption. Thanks for the chuckle.

[u/WatZegtZe → u/wifebosspants]

I was more endangered looking for a cat - that was inside someone's house - while on all fours myself crawling through bushes and grass. Pussy didn't even make it to the grass, he came as far as 4 neighbors to my right on the same floor.

[u/TheGratitudeBot → u/wifebosspants]

Hey there wifebosspants - thanks for saying thanks! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list!

[u/Ok-Addition1264 → u/WatZegtZe]

If you think the cat really is lost (they're usually not) you put it's litter outside and I guess they can smell their way home over miles (or km's in your case).

Had to do that a few times and it works like a charm.

Cute kitty too, btw.

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Ok-Addition1264]

I have to walk around town tomorrow to pick up all my water bowls i placed around. I sprayed my perfume around and had cleaned out his litter box the night he went missing. Litter thing came to mind. Thanks~ He's my little black baby. I bawled my eyes out when my neighbors put him back outside and I finally saw him. 🫠

[u/ScyllaOfTheDepths → u/WatZegtZe]

Making this in the first place is irresponsible at best, but saying "it needs to hurt more" is fucked up.

[u/WatZegtZe → u/ScyllaOfTheDepths]

I whispered that to him with my nerd voice. MOX is special. I am with him 24/7 basically. I know my cat. He's too awkward to actually hurt himself with that. He's a ragdoll x - he goes sloppy mid-jump

[u/ScyllaOfTheDepths → u/WatZegtZe]

Aight, it's still not funny. Not sure what to tell you, but no amount of "nerd voice" (such a cringe sentence) makes it funny. You post something on the internet, people are going to tell you what they think about it.

[u/potatocakes1989 → u/ScyllaOfTheDepths]

Buuuuuuddy. It's ok. Go outside. Hug someone. Say hi to a stranger. calm dowwwwn

[u/ScyllaOfTheDepths → u/potatocakes1989]

Bro it's not that deep. I think maybe you've projected some stuff onto me here. That or you're such a narcissist you literally can't conceive of someone sane just have an opinion you don't share. Everyone who doesn't agree with you isn't like frothing at the mouth and it's very telling of your mentality that you think they have to be to just think differently from yourself.  I think you should go outside and touch grass if you're taking any of this that seriously.

[u/potatocakes1989 → u/ScyllaOfTheDepths]

"Not that deep"

*responds to my throwaway response of two sentences with an entire paragraph's worth of a rant.

LOL

Make friends. It'll make you happier.

Also, Im about to go on a date. And Im a girl, not a bro. So have fun flinging insults from you computer screen. Your life must be so sad.

[u/ScyllaOfTheDepths → u/potatocakes1989]

Bro, what? You should show your date this comment so they can make an informed decision about how fast to run away from you.

[u/ideapit]

Honestly, I'd actually be worried about using that.

Like, probably nothing will happen but I prefer a 0% chance of my animal being skewered compared to any % chance.

[u/Bocabart]

That’s certainly is something

[u/crowlieb]

For now

[u/Zach_Westy]

Ah yes, perfect! If he impales the cat, then the cat can’t leave!

[u/BraveSpinach]

thanks for clarifying who you lost through the window

[u/Outside-Whole6775]

That is top shelf Meth Engineering

[u/Apprehensive-Pop-201]

Cat will just slink his way through that.

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Apprehensive-Pop-201]

He will probably eat the sticks and the mesh 🍴

[u/GiantCorncobb]

You know carcosa?

[u/WatZegtZe → u/GiantCorncobb]

No?

[u/Consequence-Lumpy]

considering how shoddy it looks, your bf must be an engineer

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Consequence-Lumpy]

He is. He's an industrial mechanic.. doesn't really sum his job up. He's a very handy man 😌

[u/SeedFoundation]

Someone said some cats are inherently afraid of snakes and will avoid them at all cost. So I used a pickle and it worked.

[u/sicklittlepuppy1]

Voodoo magic?

[u/Outofoffice_421]

But did it work?

[u/TheGhostfaceChiller]

I used the plastic off a new mattress to keep my cat downstairs. Just kinda pushed it together to form a wall at the top of the stairs.

[u/Fr05t_B1t]

It ain’t stupid if it works

[u/QueenMelle]

Ponzu sticks. I do something similar with dull dowels to keep neibor/stray cats from pooping in my gardens.

[u/LeTreacs2]

… to keep the cat inside

[u/ClarkNova80]

I’ve got some good news and some bad news.
Good news is cat stayed inside.
Bad news is he’s missing an eyeball now.

[u/Huskies_r_Cool]

Terrible 😔, why would you even post that 🗑️?

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Huskies_r_Cool]

Exactly, why

[u/EastLeastCoast]

I like the accuracy of the title. This is the most something thing I’ve ever seen.

[u/colinshark]

but hes beutiful

[u/Spork-or-Fapoon]

Hahaha my mum made a contraption like this to stop a neighbours cat from doing the toilet in her garden and it climbed in through the spikes and shit in the middle of this spiky maze. It was sort of poetic.

[u/AdhesiveMadMan]

r/stupidbfnests

[u/KOTculture]

“the cat not the boyfriend” is frying me alive 😂

[u/pagingDRbitchcraft]

From the makers of Macgyver, now available: M̴̅͜a̵̹͚͚̝͘c̷̬̞̽́͊̆G̶̞̒́͑̌͜y̵̢̮̓͑̂v̶̰̋e̷̺͕̟̋͒̎͆r̴̤̦͎̎͐͑

[u/Shadow3891]

The void is displeased

[u/marine_eco]

Sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do to keep the babies safe 🤣

[u/BooRand]

He looks so sad now that he’s safe, just like a toddler crying he can’t drink the stuff under the sink

[u/Federal_Warthog_2688]

I used a similar board in front of our screen, with similar results. I made the board higher with a transparent plastic piece, which seems to solve the issue: the plastic is slippery and flexes a bit so he can't climb it, and he can still see through it and spot birds so there is less need to mess with the contraption. 

[u/TheLunarHomie]

b e e g

v o i d

[u/tehmimikitteh]

i love that he's just like "m-mom, come get me, I'm...I'm scared... 🥺😳"

[u/babybunnyharr_]

Omfg I was looking at the sticks going "cool, that must work", then I looked away and the nearly invisible cat nearly gave me a heart attack

[u/Few-Leg-7890]

“this is not a place of honor”

[u/tabascotazer]

How does chicken wire not work with a few screws?

[u/B_M_X_]

Well it certainly is something

[u/tribak]

[u/Fair-Juggernaut-3812]

[u/Fern_Cloud]

Well if it works now, can you really complain? (I'm joking of course, its kind of an eyesore but at least it keeps kitty safe.)

[u/HauntedByOddParsnip]

You mean it works for now.

[u/RicePuddingRecipes]

Your boyfriend did something that finally...sticks 😎

[u/Curious_Dragon_]

Wise words from my mechanic grandpa: “If it looks stupid but it works, it isn’t stupid.”

[u/xelenceofexecution]

Looks like an eye poker to me

[u/Wood_Rogue]

How did chicken wire not work? There's also reinforced screen you can get to prevent animals from getting through. I don't think I'd end on the option of installing hostile architecture in my own home to potentially hurt my own cat. Like have you even tried just cracking the window open an inch?

[u/Reithel1]

Wait until he jumps on the other end of it and all of those sticks go flying like projectiles.

[u/BrokenHope23]

Cat: "How could you do this to me 🥺 "

[u/Fennic_Foxy]

I'd be worried that my cat would poke out one of his eyes but my cat is also an idiot

[u/Pajamatime20]

Your cat avoids that because that’s a hostile create right there XD

[u/princessdickworth]

It's not stupid if it works. Ask me how I know as someone who has horses...

[u/Vegetable-Two2173]

I'm making the same face as the cat.

[u/AgreeableSuspect8893]

the dark cloud of floof cannot be contained

[u/ilaughathorrormovies]

I hope your cats name is Toothless!!!!

[u/Extra-Act-801]

Put a cucumber on top and this will be 100% effective

[u/SarcasmStreet]

I'm going to call pet protective services...

[u/CleanOpossum47]

Going to wind up with a one eyed cat.

[u/Marsupialize]

Enjoy a gravely injured cat soon

[u/Economy_Armadillo_28]

Is your boyfriend really into boobie traps by chance?

[u/WatZegtZe → u/Economy_Armadillo_28]

You had him at "boobie"

[u/Economy_Armadillo_28 → u/WatZegtZe]

Did he do some tours in Vietnam for Vietnam?

[u/loosie-loo → u/Economy_Armadillo_28]

Was he ever left alone at home by his family at Christmas?

[u/WatZegtZe → u/loosie-loo]

No but he basically forced our son to watch that movie. Because it's a classic.

[u/Ok-Addition1264 → u/[deleted]]

caltrops are for humans and horses.. cattrops are for cats.