What harms can come to a cat in the attic?

[Renn_aissance]

We may have some mice in the attic- as I’m on layup I haven’t been up there to check.

If we have mice, they are certainly only in the attic, because in the house proper live 30lbs of cats.

Until I ascertain what, if anything, is up there, I am holding off on doing anything about it, and since I don’t know what’s going on up there I’m not sending a cat up to find out. The last time I was in the attic it was habitable without loose nails or anything else but it made me wonder what sorts of dangers might be up there for a cat. Eventually we’d like to improve the attic with additional insulation and possibly use some of the space for storage, so if we’re going to spend the money on renovating it in a few years, I wonder about making it cat-friendly enough that in the future we could potentially solve this problem by sending Sir Bartholomew Solo up into the attic for a couple of hours. The “Solo” is because he shoots first, and he could use some entertainment.

What kind of harm could a cat come to in an attic? Leaving aside ventilation, exposed electric, loose nails, critter infestations larger than mice… What else?

[csaper58]

@Renn/aissance

What kind of harm could a cat come to in an attic? Leaving aside ventilation, exposed electric, loose nails, critter infestations larger than mice… What else?

Why do you need anything else? That’s enough for me.

The thought of it’s suffering, and the vet bills to repair a kitty who encounters any of what you list would prevent further thought of putting the cat in the attic for me.

Why not pay someone to investigate, set traps and check them.

In the long run it’s cheaper & there’s less guilt.

[JanM]

It might not be mice, but rats or squirrels. Call a professional exterminator, before there is more damage to your house from their chewing, and contamination from their ‘leavings’. A professional can also help with blocking off access that’s letting rodents into your house too.

[Renn_aissance]

@csaper58

Why do you need anything else? That’s enough for me.

The thought of it’s suffering, and the vet bills to repair a kitty who encounters any of what you list would prevent further thought of putting the cat in the attic for me.

Why not pay someone to investigate, set traps and check them.

In the long run it’s cheaper & there’s less guilt.

Because, as I stated, I’m not putting the cat up there right now- it isn’t safe.

I’m thinking about things I would need to fix in an attic to make it cat safe, since we have finishing work on our reno plans anyway, and trying to learn what I haven’t thought of.

Of course the cat isn’t going to be encouraged anywhere it isn’t safe for him. I edited my first post to hopefully make that crystal clear.

[csaper58]

I’m not sure if your house is built the same way mine is.

That said, most houses have walls built with 2x4 or 2x6 lumber… Where the walls join the attic there are often gaps to allow for air circulation and to prevent mold in the walls.

Mice and rats run up and down the walls in these gaps and sometimes cats try to follow and get stuck in the wall. If you wish to rescue the cat making a hole in the wall is often necessary.

IMHO, due to all the reasons mentioned in several posts so far, the attic of a house is not an appropriate place for any cat to roam or hunt or play.

But it’s your house and your cat.

[Sugarwells]

Those are some beautiful cats.

[RPM]

Because, as I stated, I’m not putting the cat up there right now- it isn’t safe.

Why put a cat up there at all? If you’re going to go to all the expense and trouble of making the attic safe, why don’t you just get an exterminator in instead to find out what is up there and get rid of it?

[betsyk]

On the other hand (playing devil’s advocate a little bit here) – barn cats live in environments full of all the various threats you mentioned, and more. Granted, they’re usually raised in those environments from birth and if they aren’t smart enough not to bite down on a live wire and get electrocuted, they usually survive pretty well. If your Baltimore street cat has a few good lives left, (and assuming he’s too big and too smart to chase a mouse into a 2" gap) then, well…

I was going to suggest that if there’s any possibility that a previous owner or tenant left rat or mouse poison in the attic, I’d keep the kitties away. I’d probably also keep them out if there was exposed fiberglass insulation, the stuff that gets into your skin. To me, those are greater threats than the ones you mention. And when I think “attic” I think of a a very New England style attic, with stairs in a closet leading to a place you store the Christmas decorations and Great Aunt Mabel’s furniture. If I was willing to sit there and read a book as a child, it’s probably ok for a cat. The attic in our current house is only a crawl space and the electrician wore a respirator when he went up there to work on something - not a place for cats, even if you could convince one to check it out.

[Renn_aissance]

I think my original post must be very unclear in ways I’m not seeing. We are, in the future, renovating the attic to make it more suitable for storage. While we are at it, if we can make it cat safe so the cats can also go up there on occasion and deter vermin, we thought perhaps we might include that work in the planned renovations as a practicality. This is all for the future. For the present I’m calling an exterminator and the cats will continue hunting spiders, assuming either one of them ever gets off the bed today.

Betsy, what you describe is like what we have. I grew up with a crawl space under a log cabin. Great place for spiders. Not for people.

[CanadianTrotter]

@Renn/aissance

I think my original post must be very unclear in ways I’m not seeing. We are, in the future, renovating the attic to make it more suitable for storage. While we are at it, if we can make it cat safe so the cats can also go up there on occasion and deter vermin, we thought perhaps we might include that work in the planned renovations as a practicality. This is all for the future. For the present I’m calling an exterminator and the cats will continue hunting spiders, assuming either one of them ever gets off the bed today.

Betsy, what you describe is like what we have. I grew up with a crawl space under a log cabin. Great place for spiders. Not for people.

When you renovate make absolute sure any fiberglass insulation is totally covered and sealed around the edges with glue. That stuff not only gets into your skin as Betsy mentioned but into eyes, nasal passages, throat and lungs and every draft is blowing the little pieces into the air. Betsy also mentioned any vermin poison left over from previous owners, I would add any possible residue left from vermin feces/urine that may not be seen by the naked eye. Mouse/rat feces/urine carries diseases that can lay dormant until moved or stirred up, there’s a special spray that exterminators sell that will take care of this.