stairs to the top

rockcat

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Tripod has only one "normal" foot out of his three. He, all of a sudden, is very interested in going to the top bunk of the bed. He will stand on his hind legs and grab the quilt from the top bunk with his front paw and meow at the top of his lungs.

My DH plans to build him a staircase to the top bunk. Its very sweet of him, but I am concerned that Tripod will use the stairs to get to the top and then jump down. He has no problem jumping from the back of the sofa or the bottom bunk of the bed. I don't want him jumping off anything higher than that though. What do you think?
 

tunaqueen

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Honestly, I think I would take down the top bunk and make sure the place had been made as "Tripod friendly" as possible. Maybe even a ramp in some places instead of stairs. He'll still want to jump down but if you anticipate where he's going to land from his high points you can put safe objects, like chairs, etc nearby that are easier for him to navigate. When he jumps down, does he compensate his landing by putting all the weight on his back legs?
 
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rockcat

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Originally Posted by psjauntie

He wants to see what Oliver sees up there.
He does. At first I thought he was looking for Oliver.
Then I found out that DH has been putting him up there and watching him carefully, which is soooo nice, BUT its making him want to go up there all the time.

Originally Posted by TunaQueen

Honestly, I think I would take down the top bunk and make sure the place had been made as "Tripod friendly" as possible. Maybe even a ramp in some places instead of stairs. He'll still want to jump down but if you anticipate where he's going to land from his high points you can put safe objects, like chairs, etc nearby that are easier for him to navigate. When he jumps down, does he compensate his landing by putting all the weight on his back legs?
Removing the top bunk is not an option and the apartment really is Tripod friendly. We really are very careful. He's 4 now and has not had any kind of accident. He can't get to the top bunk on his own. The soft chair is a good idea, but we don't have the space. I'll probably nix the idea of the stairs. I was thinking of watching to see if he used them on the way down, but even if I do that several times, I won't be sure he ALWAYS will. You're right that a ramp might be better... I think my DH was figuring that stairs would take up less space...

Good question how Tri jumps down. If he and Oliver are chasing each other, he jumps pretty quick and I'm really not sure. Otherwise he does land on the front first, but he does it kind of slowly. If he jumps off ths sofa, he USUALLY jumps from the seat where its a little lower. There is carpet on the floor.

Well...just trying to make his life a little more exciting, but I don't think its going to work.
 

mousersdad

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Well I hope the dh works faster than the landlord!! How about a tripod elevator?? still think a long wide ramp would work better for that chubby cat!! Hope to see it when I get home
 
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