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Baby gate successful to restrain cats..

post #1 of 11
4/8/10 at 9:33am
Thread Starter 
So we got a baby gate to help the kitties feel more secure in the bedroom. The only problem is... they refuse to jump over the gate. The gate we bought was the lowest one and its about 30 inches tall. It's not a high gate by any standard.

This is a problem because we originally bought the gate to keep the dog out and the cats could go in and out. Its not working though... as far as scaling the gate I know they CAN do it. Both of them can gracefully jump up onto the couch which is higher... and the bed which is even taller then that.

Any suggestions or just give up on the gate? They end up scratching under the gate by the carpet and crying wanting to be let out. They act like I've closed the door.
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post #2 of 11
4/8/10 at 9:41am
Is it possible to balance a goody on top of the the gate?

Or 2 - 1 on the top and 1 on the other side of the gate
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post #3 of 11
4/8/10 at 9:50am
i don't know - i had to stack 2 [one on top of the other] in my bathroom door to keep the adults out when i'm sequestering a 'found' cat or kitten. when Firefox was a wee one, she could actually go under the gates - she was that small. i had to stuff the 'crack' under the door [house originally had carpeting, but i have hard floors, so the space under the door is fairly large].
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post #4 of 11
4/8/10 at 10:15am
Thread Starter 
I've tried wand toys to get them to jump up... which works a little bit. It almost seems like they don't like the fact that they can't jump up on to it as it is very thin.. Also tried the food thing. I cave in after about 30 minutes sadly.

I'm at a loss here. Never did I think a 30inch baby gate would stop my cats. I actually do WANT them to jump over it.

It could be that they are both senior and senile...
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post #5 of 11
4/8/10 at 10:31am
How strange. I have kittens in the house - they'd be dancing around on top of it.

Two things you could try. Toss a towel over it, maybe seeing it better will help them gauge their jump. Step over the gate yourself to go in and out of the room, some cats will follow examples.
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post #6 of 11
4/8/10 at 10:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
How strange. I have kittens in the house - they'd be dancing around on top of it.

Two things you could try. Toss a towel over it, maybe seeing it better will help them gauge their jump. Step over the gate yourself to go in and out of the room, some cats will follow examples.
I agree with stepping over the gate a few times, cats are the origingal copy cats, after all!

Otherwise, there are gates made with cat doors in them...or cut your own.
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post #7 of 11
4/8/10 at 10:40am
here's a page with instructions on how to put a cat door in a baby gate:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cat-...n-a-Baby-Gate/

here is a link to some places that sell pet gates with cat doors already installed.

http://www.nextag.com/pet-gate-with-...r/compare-html

let us know if you decide to do your own, I love hearing about other people's projects!
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post #8 of 11
4/8/10 at 11:47pm
Thread Starter 
...and now for meowmys and mewdaddys next attack.... the SCISSORS!





Ok ok my cell phone sucks for pictures.

We tried:
1) Dangling treats/food on top and on the other side.
2) Dangling wand toys so they get the idea.
3) Demonstrating by walking over it.
4) Putting a towel on the top so they can see it.
5) Putting a chair next to it to act as a step stool.

I'm convinced my cats are lazy butts. Btw, this is a $10 baby gate that you get at Walmart. So the mesh is made out of this rubbery-plastic stuff.
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post #9 of 11
4/9/10 at 5:31am
Great!

So....are they using the door??

I think they would have figured it out in a few more days, but that hole should work fine! You might want to fold some duct tape around the edges to hold everything together, make a frame of sorts.
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post #10 of 11
4/9/10 at 10:21pm
Thread Starter 
Oh I'm sure they would have but the carpet would not have lasted that long.

The "door" is a success. At the moment they can fit through it pretty good. Once Sadie (the puppy) gets bigger in a month or two we are going to open it up a bit more and tape it off. Right now EG can JUST fit through it... but this is not surprising. EG is a big tom cat and weighs 16 pounds.. and its all muscle I say. Don't believe me just try to pick him up as he latches onto everything he can! Sadie is finally heavier then EG at 4 months the vet says shes 22 pounds. We think she is going to be a bigger dog at least 40-50 pounds. So we'll be able to open up the "kitty door" in a few months.
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post #11 of 11
4/10/10 at 7:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LisaR View Post
...and now for meowmys and mewdaddys next attack.... the SCISSORS!
oh how clever
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