# Kittens and stairs!



## ace85 (Aug 16, 2011)

Hi forumers,

I could do with a bit of advice here, or just some tips from personal experiences of other cat owners if that's ok. As the proud new parent of two 14-week old kitties that arrived Sunday, I was wondering what to do about protecting them from their own curiosity regarding the stairs. Our landing hallway and bannister rail are unfortunately the worst possible kind, as it sort of 'switches back' on itself from the top of the stairs, so there is a clear drop from the highest point to almost the lowest point (10-12 feet, I'd say). I'd read recently about kittens killing themselves accidentally by jumping through bannister rails, so I've taken the precaution of blocking it all off with cardboard tied to the bannister rails.

Perfect solution, I though - until about half an hour ago when I let the kittens out from the upstairs bedroom for the first time after a couple of days of inital isolation. They then started eyeing up the top of the bannister rail like they wanted to make a jump over the railing. Obviously the cardboard blocks their view, so they've no way of knowing the drop that waits on the other side, and the bannister rail is too narrow to perch on. If they jumped, they'd be straight over. So I'm now wondering if it's better to take away the cardboard and let them see the drop itself and hope they have the sense to avoid it. I'd almost rather that - God forbid it happens at all - but that they slipped through the bannister at floor level on the upstairs landing (as I said, a drop of maybe 10 feet) than by going up and over (a drop of maybe 15 feet or more) 

In the long term, it's not going to be practical to cordon off the stairs from them completely anyway, though I would like to, due to the layout of the house and having to currently keep them separate from our resident adult cat downstairs. So I'm just looking to see if anyone has opinions on whether it's better to keep the setup I have, or take away the cardboard and chance it that they are sensible enough to not jump?

Many thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post


----------



## IndysMamma (Jan 15, 2009)

maybe tie net curtaining to the banister instead? that way they can see the drop but not tumble down?

just a thought

gratz on the new babies


----------



## Chewie39 (Jul 24, 2011)

Can you put something under the bannister - so that if they do jump there's something to break their fall?

I've got open bannisters and I've got a tall Ikea bookcase under the highest point - mine like to squeeze through the bannisters and sit on the top shelf and I've put an armchair next to it so they have something to jump onto (though they haven't as yet).


----------



## ace85 (Aug 16, 2011)

Thanks for replies 

Sadly our stairs are directly beneath the bannister rails (it's an old Victorian two-up, two-down terrace) so no chance to put anything below without blocking the actual stairs  

The netting was something else I was considering too, and I find myself leaning more and more towards it. The advantage is, as you, say, that they can still see the drop and if one of them was crazy enough to attempt some gymnastics, at least the netting gives them a hope of something to claw onto to stop themselves from falling.

These kittens are going to cause me to have a heart attack at this rate. OH has already said that I'm a nervous father! Still, when they stop tearing around for long enough to give you some love, we all know it's worth the headaches


----------



## Bonnie82 (May 4, 2011)

Your stairs sound like ours!  We're also in a typical Victorian two-up, two-down. (Well sort of... we now have a loft conversion too so another set of stairs to worry about as well!)

I actually started a thread about the same thing when my two were little: http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-chat/175147-stairs.html - you might want to read that as there were some helpful replies. (There is also a photo of our stairs on there.)

Ours are now almost 7 months old and it's not something we worry about quite as much these days. They are chunky little monkeys and also seem quite well aware of the drop. That doesn't mean they don't scare us sometimes when they walk along the outer edge (in front of the spindles) :eek6: which gives us a fright, especially as it's painted in glossy paint, but they seem quite sure of themselves and confident.

We have considered buying some clear perspex and attaching it the spindles so they can see the drop, but I expect our two would get frustrated with not being able to "peer through" like they do at the moment. Quite often we will be going upstairs and will see one of their heads and their front paws poking through the spindles. I can imagine it might be MORE dangerous to block it off as, like you have discovered, they might try to jump onto the top handrail which for me would be scarier than them poking their heads through the spindles...

It's a difficult one! Short of preventing access to it completely, I still haven't been able to see a way around the problem that I'm happy with. Until the kittens were about 5 months old we used to supervise their access to the stairs. These days we allow them free access when we're at home, but shut them in the downstairs rooms when we're out of the house, as if one of them did fall, we would want to be there.

I empathise!!!


----------



## ace85 (Aug 16, 2011)

Thanks for that link, Bonnie 

I think careful supervision combined with some netting is the way to go here. Like your kittens, mine have sat over the gap (and yes, our stairs are almost identical to yours but mirrored) and done the whole 'sizing up for a jump' posture that terrifies the staff but as yet have held back from doing anything. One of them was walking around on the top handrail   And there was me thinking it was too narrow to accommodate them lol. The problem with having two is that you have to turn your back for literally half a second for trouble to unfold! Needless to say, he was quickly grabbed and returned to terra firma :lol:

I'll be keeping a very close eye on them over the next few weeks, and they'll only be in the stairwell at the same time as me, I reckon.

Oh, and I'll try to get some pictures up later too, as payment in kind for the information haha


----------



## Howlinbob (Jul 25, 2011)

Oooh, please be careful. There was a very sad post recently on this subject from someone whose kitten had fallen from the top landing all the way to the ground floor and had died. :sad: So if there's anything you can put in place to block off the baninsters or to break a fall, it would be a good idea.

Hope all is going well with your new furries, and that introductions go well!


----------

