Help me block my cats off from the second floor.

September 20, 2005 10:46 AM

Help me block my cats off from the second floor. Each of them has learned a way to get around the gate at the top of the stairs.

We recently moved into a two-story condo, and expect to have a cat-allergic relative visiting for an extended time, so we wish to keep the cats out of the second floor. We assembled and put in place a gate at the top of the stairs. The girl has figured out how to walk on the outside of the banister (scary!) so as to circumvent the gate, and the boy has learned to jump over it. ($%#& cats!)

We were already planning to put sheets of plexiglass on the upstairs banister (to keep an infant from falling out), which would block the girl, and have been fantasizing about a loop of razor wire on the top of the gate for the boy. Does AskMe have any less obvious suggestions?

posted by Aknaton to pets & animals (10 comments total)

some sort of temporary door?
posted by angry modem at 10:54 AM on September 20, 2005

Robo-dog?

THE DOG SOUNDS SO REAL ... EVEN DOGS AND CATS CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE. IN FACT, IF YOU DON'T THINK THE BARKING DOG SOUNDS LIKE A REAL, MAD ROTTWEILER, SEND IT BACK FOR A FULL REFUND!

I cannot attest to this product in any way, just had an idea and found via google
posted by poppo at 10:56 AM on September 20, 2005

You don't mention exactly what kind of gate, but I've had success using an adjustable baby gate (somewhat similar to this, but not designed to swing out). In particular, the gates I have allow presetting the width (some knobs), then just locking in place by pushing down at the top, and releasing by pulling up.

For our cats, I needed two. Ideally, the second is tilted slightly so a cat can't go straight up, but whether that is possible depends on what's at the top of the stairway.

I bought the gates at ToysRUs a few years ago, for what that's worth.
posted by WestCoaster at 11:08 AM on September 20, 2005

I found that looped Con-Tact paper (so that the sticky side faced out) was perfect for creating big sheets of stickiness that my cats didn't want any part of. Put some on the bannister and on top of the gate, and you should be ok.
posted by COBRA! at 11:20 AM on September 20, 2005

Can't you just close all the doors on the second floor rooms? Dander in the hallway itself (presuming you vacuum while s/he is there) is pretty minor; it's having it on surfaces people sleep/sit on that's going to be the big issue.
posted by phearlez at 11:25 AM on September 20, 2005

Tin foil will keep cats away, too. They hate to walk on it.

But I think a better solution might be a cheap, louvered, folding "closet door". They're light enough that they don't require too many screws into the wall to hold them up yet you can securely latch them.
posted by bcwinters at 11:50 AM on September 20, 2005

your cats are smarter than you; this is a lose-lose situation.
posted by Satapher at 1:13 PM on September 20, 2005

Invest in a good air filter/purifier and make your relative get the anti cat allergy shot. There's no use in fighting the kitties. They have already won.
posted by Sara Anne at 3:08 PM on September 20, 2005

How about 2 tall gates, one on top of the other?

Whether the inconvenience would be tolerable probably depends on how often you need to pass through the top of the stairway.
posted by SomePerlGeek at 3:53 PM on September 20, 2005

I pretty much would have to agree with smart-cat crowd, the cats are probably going to find a way up there. One of my cats loves anything with adhesive on it (so he ate all the sticky tape I put down), and the other one will walk over to the tinfoil and sleep on it.

One of my friends had some success with this motion detector thing that made a loud noise. I think it's designed to keep cats off of counters, but it the only thing I could think of that might help.
posted by ilovebicuspids at 9:14 PM on September 20, 2005