Kitten Proofing Banister?

[Katonic]

Hello everyone,

I posted awhile back about adopting a bonded pair of kittens, and I'm in need of advice.

Our house is a two story townhome and we have a low banister near the top of the stairs. I'm concerned that our kitties will try and jump up onto the top of it, and it's about a twelve foot drop. I'm incredibly scared that they'll end up severely injuring themselves but I also don't want them to have to be locked up in one room for too much longer.

I've included a few pictures down below of what the layout looks like, if anyone could offer any ideas. We already put a few fake flower pots at the top just so they couldn't jump up there, but I'm still concerned they might jump regardless....

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[babiesmom5]

I have the same thing here--an oak banister at the top of two flights of stairs--about a 15ft drop. I had 6 cats at the time and was very scared.

What worked was draping a double folded heavy movers blanket over the top. While I did have a couple of the cats who jumped on top, none fell off because they had something to grip onto.

In 13 years here, I haven't had a cat accident yet.

 

[FeebysOwner]

You could cut carboard that would bend and fit over the bannister top but extend down the stairwell side of the wall, and then use double sided sticky tape on the cardboard. I know of many people who said they use double sided sticky tape on furniture to stop cats from scratching - apparently because they don't like the feel of it. You could even be creative and paint the carboard before putting tape on it so that it kind of blends into the bannister/wall?

 

[ArtNJ]

Like a ton of people, I have a bannister at the top of the 2nd floor stairs. I never worried overly much about it. Never had problems. Well, with the cat. When my son was two, he broke his leg on the stairs. I think if you have a natural born jumper, it is something to address. But many cats just won't fuss with it. If the do show interest, it will probably be a failed attempt before they can actually get up there, so you can react with vigor (scream like a loon) to discourage it after the failed attempt.

Be sure to test those plants for shakiness. Cats are amazingly agile, and the last thing you want to do in trying to prevent a jump is to actually increase the risk.

 

[Jcatbird]

Oh boy. I understand your concerns. As a kid we had a banister and two cats were chasing each other. Both fell. They survived okay but they did it again and we became terrified because one did get a concussion. Our final solution wasn’t pretty but it worked. A safety net suspended below. As they got older they seemed to learn and stopped the acrobatics with our continued “No!” It might be better not to use a net though. They might get dependent on it or even like it. Have you considered a barrier wall of some sort going up to the ceiling level. I just turned down a house because of a huge banister with open rails and curved landing because of the cats. If I had bought it I would have done Sheetrock to stop them. Tough question. Maybe it won’t be an issue.

 

[FeebysOwner]

You could build a frame, and affix plexiglass to it, but then you would have to nail it down to the top of the bannister - which would require replacement/repair once you were comfortable with taking it down.

 

[Jcatbird]

Excellent idea because after bouncing off of it a few times, even once removed they might not notice it was gone!
FeebysOwner Love that! Clear barrier!

 

[Katonic]

Thank you all for the wonderful ideas! (:

We're considering plexiglass, but we're unsure of where to find a frame and whatnot.

 

[DreamerRose]

Call a carpenter. They are geniuses with that sort of thing.

 

[Jcatbird]

DreamerRose I agree! A carpenter for sure! Plexiglas can be found at a glass supply company and at some major hardware stores. You can purchase it in think sheets as well as thin. Go with thick! Things, including cats, will tend to bounce off of it instead of cracking it. We used to use it to discourage anyone trying to break windows in areas prone to thefts. Very frustrating to criminals and rather amusing to us when we discovered that anything thrown at it just bounced off.

 

[LTS3]

All I can think of is adding large carpeted cat shelves / ramps to the wall under the top of the wall and along the wall opposite the stairs. If a cat somehow slips off the top of the wall there's a shelf underneath to hopefully catch the cat.

You might find this helpful for other ideas: How High Is Too High To Jump Down?

 

[Kflowers]

While working on the problem (waiting for the carpenter) do NOT scream at them while they are on the banister. Cats flee when startled and when yelled at. They don't look where they are going, they just go.

Not that it matters, but I really like the flowers. I would spray them with NO-chew or some cat away product. Test it outside first, the no-chew has a sharp unpleasant smell, so you don't want to use much. It won't take much, cats are totally into smells. Renew it once a week. (As usual test a patch on an out of the way place on the paint before using it on the paint. Flowers should be okay, mine were.)

 

[Kflowers]

You might want to remove the candle holders from the walls in case the cats go over. No point in giving them something else to hit, to knock off then be hit by.

 

[rosegold]

I have a loft that's about a 12 feet drop from the bannister. My adult cat jumped up there sometimes and scared me to death but was always pretty careful. But then I got my kitten, who is very active and clumsy, so I decided I had to fix it. My solution isn't the prettiest, but it works for now. I put a long tension rod right along the ceiling above the banister, hung some strong sheer curtain down from it, and secured the curtain on the banister with command hooks. So the cats can't even jump up there since it's a curtain "wall." Of course, if they REALLY wanted to they could try to climb up it, but so far so good.

I don't know if my kitten would've hurt herself, but I feel a lot less anxious now that it's blocked off.