Mary Allen
Many cat owners go to great lengths to make their cat’s homes safe. But they often forget one deadly danger.
Cats are the most elegant four-legged friends among pets. They look for higher places to look down from. They even find space on narrow door edges.
Nevertheless, one banal thing in the household always proves fatal: an open bottom-hung window.
Accidents involving cats and tilted windows are so common that veterinary practices have established their own term for them: tilting window syndrome.
Whether the cat wants to go in or out, due to its physiognomy it gets stuck in the gap of a tilting window and can no longer free itself. Over time and in her panic, she slides lower and lower, wriggling, while her body is squeezed more and more between her pelvis and her rib cage.
Serious injuries and even death are the results because the forces that act on organs and the spine can be compared to those in a traffic accident. An animal that has had an accident in this way must be freed from its position as quickly as possible and taken to the veterinarian.
Rule of thumb: Eliminate the danger
The top priority in order to avoid an accident with a tilted window is never to leave your pet unattended with a tilted window or to secure the window accordingly with a protective grille.
Cats are curious fellows. All they have to do is see an insect or the shadow of a bird on the other side of the glass and they’ll try to squeeze through the gap.
Forgetful cat owners can remind themselves to close the windows with a post-it on the front door. Otherwise, a cat trapped unnoticed will suffer hours of agony! If their life-threatening situation is noticed in time, every second counts.
Proper handling and first aid
If you discover your cat or someone else’s cat stuck in the bottom hung window, you should act immediately and carefully!
If you have them to hand without having to search for a long time, put on sturdy gloves. A cat trapped in the bottom hung window is scared to death, so it could resist being freed.
Grasp the animal under the rib cage with one hand and gently slide the other hand under the animal’s abdomen.
Gently lift the body until you have enough clearance to lift the animal out of the opening.
Gently wrap the cat in a blanket and, if possible, remain in position until you reach the clinic.
Important: Even if the animal does not show any obvious impairment after being rescued, the danger has not been averted. In any case, it must be presented to a veterinarian!
Tilting window syndrome – the physical consequences
If the cat is trapped in the window gap, its main abdominal artery (abdominal aorta) will be squeezed. There is reduced blood flow in the hind limbs. In addition, internal organs, especially the kidneys, bladder, and spinal cord, are sometimes irreversibly damaged, depending on the severity and duration. Without rescue, shock and organ failure ensue.
An animal with its head stuck could strangle itself or break its neck in its panic attempts to free itself.
Even an animal rescued in time is in acute danger of death in the first few hours or days! If neurological damage in the form of paralysis remains after recovery under medical observation, this can be reduced in many cases with physiotherapeutic applications, sometimes even cured.
Nevertheless, a tilted window is an immense danger that you should never expose your cat to. PLEASE secure your windows so nothing happens to your cat.
We wish you and your cat a wonderful and safe time together!