Hi. I have a small ledge in the hallway on the second floor of my house that drops down to the first floor. The ledge is over four feet off the ground and I've seen my new 7 month old kitty looking up at it a few times. If he jumps up there and overshoots, there's nothing to stop him from falling. The ledge is only seven inches wide. He's very active and jumping on everything, including my fireplace mantle which is over five feet high. Does anyone know of some sort of product or netting I can put in this area to protect him? I'm so worried about this!
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Preventing fall
- Thread starter lovemykitty3
- Start Date
If you go into a hardware store and ask for some netting, and describe what it's for, they should be able to help you.
It definitely sounds like a very dangerous situation that you need to 'fix' immediately!
Hi Lovemykitty,
I have a similar type of wall. It's a short wall at the top of my 2nd storey, kind in the landing/upper hall area.......it's actually above the stairs going up there. I've seen my cat Spookie jump up there and still, my heart stops every time. The top of this half-wall is capped in maple moulding.....so to me, sorta slippery. If she overshot, she'd drop to the stairs below and that's about 8 feet. She's about 11 yrs old, though......but still........how she can jump the 4 feet to get up there and not overshoot, it's beyond me. All the more reason i think cats are amazing LOL
Is there any way you could place objects all along the top of this stub wall? silk plants? though not sure if that would deter a curious kitten?
I'm not sure I understand how the net would work? Would it be connected to the top of the stub wall and then go up to the ceiling or something?
Is it possible that you can take a picture of this area and post it here so we can better understand what you're dealing with??
I have a similar type of wall. It's a short wall at the top of my 2nd storey, kind in the landing/upper hall area.......it's actually above the stairs going up there. I've seen my cat Spookie jump up there and still, my heart stops every time. The top of this half-wall is capped in maple moulding.....so to me, sorta slippery. If she overshot, she'd drop to the stairs below and that's about 8 feet. She's about 11 yrs old, though......but still........how she can jump the 4 feet to get up there and not overshoot, it's beyond me. All the more reason i think cats are amazing LOL
Is there any way you could place objects all along the top of this stub wall? silk plants? though not sure if that would deter a curious kitten?
I'm not sure I understand how the net would work? Would it be connected to the top of the stub wall and then go up to the ceiling or something?
Is it possible that you can take a picture of this area and post it here so we can better understand what you're dealing with??
My bad - when I re-read it I realized it wasn't a window.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
Here are a couple pics that show the ledge better. It's over 20 feet down to a ceramic tile floor in the entrance hallway below. Right now, we're watching him every second or keeping him in a bedroom or laundry room until we can figure out what to do.
Probably the worst thing about kittens is their determination to get into trouble. I have piled stuff to make what I thought was a good barrier only to find that they put double the effort into being there. Putting netting or plants may make it even more desirable for climbing. You may need to screw an actual board up until he is past that stage, and then refill in the holes later.
Ahh, it is similar to what I've got.
Seeing how it's not very wide of a wall, is there any way you could build (or have a carpenter build) some kind of spindles (maybe even wrought iron, to match the look of your chandelier/light fixture) that go from the top of the cap of that wall, to your ceiling. Okay, that might not sound too esthetic....what about having someone construct a frame so that you could insert a piece of plexi-glass that would go from the bottom of that narrow little stub wall, up the ceiling.......at least that way the light would go through it and it kitty DID try to jump up there, he'd only do it once when he boinked himself on the wall :-) A good carpenter would be able to do this pretty easily.....just a matter of fixing a type of "track" (could me made with something like quarter-round, etc) that would go across the top of this stub wall, up the wall on the left and then across the ceiling....slide the plexi-glass into it.
None of this should be too difficult to 'remove' and patch up should you ever sell or decide it's no longer necessary.
Seeing how it's not very wide of a wall, is there any way you could build (or have a carpenter build) some kind of spindles (maybe even wrought iron, to match the look of your chandelier/light fixture) that go from the top of the cap of that wall, to your ceiling. Okay, that might not sound too esthetic....what about having someone construct a frame so that you could insert a piece of plexi-glass that would go from the bottom of that narrow little stub wall, up the ceiling.......at least that way the light would go through it and it kitty DID try to jump up there, he'd only do it once when he boinked himself on the wall :-) A good carpenter would be able to do this pretty easily.....just a matter of fixing a type of "track" (could me made with something like quarter-round, etc) that would go across the top of this stub wall, up the wall on the left and then across the ceiling....slide the plexi-glass into it.
None of this should be too difficult to 'remove' and patch up should you ever sell or decide it's no longer necessary.
Something else I thought of........
First off, do you own or rent? meaning, are you able to make changes and holes and such? :-)
If you didn't want to go the plexi-glass route, here's something else. It may look a little 'funny' but I think you're a bit limited as to what you can do.
Get a large panel of fabric.......not anything too flimsy...........the width of that ledge area (the flat area.......as I'm assuming you're not too worried about kitty trying to jump up where it angles down??)........then figure out a way to attach it to the ceiling directly above it..........like maybe put grommets in the top of it and some kind of hooks in the ceiling so that you're "hooking" it from the ceiling ..........then run the length of the fabric down to the just below where the ledge top is........then "staple" the fabric to where it would meet the inner side of the ledge - the wood trim/moulding (don't staple into the sheet rock, staples will easily come out, has to go into the wood trim (the side you were standing on when you took the picture. Heavy duty staples and lots of 'em! LOL (they can always be removed down the road and the holes patched and everything painted over)...............that way there's really no "ledge".........hey you could get creative and choose a really funky patterned fabric (or even a plain color, like white, or whatever).................the key is to ensure it's very securely attached from the ceiling........ this way, to kitty it will look no different than "a wall."
What do you think?
First off, do you own or rent? meaning, are you able to make changes and holes and such? :-)
If you didn't want to go the plexi-glass route, here's something else. It may look a little 'funny' but I think you're a bit limited as to what you can do.
Get a large panel of fabric.......not anything too flimsy...........the width of that ledge area (the flat area.......as I'm assuming you're not too worried about kitty trying to jump up where it angles down??)........then figure out a way to attach it to the ceiling directly above it..........like maybe put grommets in the top of it and some kind of hooks in the ceiling so that you're "hooking" it from the ceiling ..........then run the length of the fabric down to the just below where the ledge top is........then "staple" the fabric to where it would meet the inner side of the ledge - the wood trim/moulding (don't staple into the sheet rock, staples will easily come out, has to go into the wood trim (the side you were standing on when you took the picture. Heavy duty staples and lots of 'em! LOL (they can always be removed down the road and the holes patched and everything painted over)...............that way there's really no "ledge".........hey you could get creative and choose a really funky patterned fabric (or even a plain color, like white, or whatever).................the key is to ensure it's very securely attached from the ceiling........ this way, to kitty it will look no different than "a wall."
What do you think?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #9
It's not a rental so that's not a problem. This idea sounds like it'll work. I'm going to try it. I'm not worried about him jumping on the rail, but the flat part worries me so if it's not accessible, he should be okay. Thanks for the suggestion the_food_lady and everyone else who gave ideas
My thought is along with what was previously posted. At home improvement stores they sell premade wrought iron railings for an entry way, porch or balcony. It shoud be simple to screw an iron railing to that spot and fill the screw holes in when finished. The iron would look like it was meant to match other iron decore.
Those are good ideas...try to make the ledge less desirable. I was going to suggest lining the ledge with tall books..making it look more like a wall.
I have a 'jumper' too. It worries me as well. You're wise to keep an eye on him...and what I do when I see Cameo eyeing an unsafe surface...I say a stern NO..to him, I go pick him up, hug him and chat with him and remove him from the scene.
Keeping him locked up, keeps him safe, but doesn't teach him to recognize danger....
From the pictures of the ledge, it looks quite wide enough if he does land on it, he will have lots of space to manevour around. My kitty is only 5 months old and you wouldn't believe what he's tried..he's fearless. But now he knows the tone of my voice and if I raise the pitch and sterness, he is learning to back down.
Honestly, I only think he tries those things when I'm around...when we're not here, nothing is out of place, dropped, spilled, knocked over, etc.
He will learn the difference eventually, he will need a bit of help from you though....good luck....the trials and tribulations of a kitty....will give us heart attacks....LOL
I have a 'jumper' too. It worries me as well. You're wise to keep an eye on him...and what I do when I see Cameo eyeing an unsafe surface...I say a stern NO..to him, I go pick him up, hug him and chat with him and remove him from the scene.
Keeping him locked up, keeps him safe, but doesn't teach him to recognize danger....
From the pictures of the ledge, it looks quite wide enough if he does land on it, he will have lots of space to manevour around. My kitty is only 5 months old and you wouldn't believe what he's tried..he's fearless. But now he knows the tone of my voice and if I raise the pitch and sterness, he is learning to back down.
Honestly, I only think he tries those things when I'm around...when we're not here, nothing is out of place, dropped, spilled, knocked over, etc.
He will learn the difference eventually, he will need a bit of help from you though....good luck....the trials and tribulations of a kitty....will give us heart attacks....LOL
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #12
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I have to work on something fast. Toby slipped away from me and not more than a minute later I found him perched up the that ledge! Thank God he jumped down safely when I saw him but this cat is gonna give me a heart attack.
Now you know he can do it safely...just don't panic if you see him do it again...stay calm, and he will too. Sometimes it's better if you don't look....
Good Luck!!
