Kitten proofing a upstairs railing (carpet, house, paws, fence)

[bs13690]

We have a bannister upstairs with open railing. Last night, my wife came into the hallway to find our new kitten hanging through the railing with her paws in the carpet keeping her from falling.

She's now panicked about blocking up the railing somehow which is easier said than done as it isn't a straight bannister but has 3 different sections in kind of an S shape.

Any thoughts on how to block it off? a baby gate wouldn't work it would have to be more of a fence.

[Mr_Geek]

Wouldn't be too easy on the eyes but what about some kind of netting with very small holes that the cat can't get its head stuck in?

[Debsi]

My cats would see netting as a new challenge.

[bs13690]

The problem with netting is that there would not be a secure way to attach it other than wrapping it from one end of the railing to the other. Meaning there would still be one open railing that the cat could get through.

I'll have to really think about it.

[maggie2101]

I have an extra wide baby gate attached to the bannister posts on our upstairs landing. It has worked fine for us. With two young cats that like to chase each other around the house at top speed I was worried they might not be able to make the turn and go hurtling through the posts.

[Finger Laker]

in my mind i'm envisioning something like this:



there are a lot of products like this that are used for baby proofing

Clear Banister Guard Kit for Kids Safety - One Step Ahead Baby

i believe you can buy long sheets of it and just cut it to the size you need - like this site where you can buy up to a 50 ft length

Clear Banister Guard

you basically get the size that you need - punch holes into the plastic around where the guard lines up with the post and then secure with a zip tie

[CSD610]

If a cat wants to get somewhere they will no matter how ugly you make your stairs with trying to prevent the cat from getting there.

[Mr_Geek]

Line the hole railing and all the gaps with aluminum foil. That would be great fun.

[MissNM]

Hubby cut plexiglass to the correct size/shape. Drilled holes and used plastic locking ties to secure them on the vertical rails. Works great and you can't even see them.

Of course we did the AFTER the boy kitty pushed the 3 month old girl kitty down the stairwell - THREE FLIGHTS onto tile. She broke her front leg. She is doing just great now. She still has no fear.

Sad part is that I thought about before it happened.

[bs13690]

I just used some old particle and OSB board I had laying around. Drilled a hole into the boards on either side of the banister posts and then ran a zip tie through. Looks like crap but it will keep her out of trouble. I might see how much it will cost for a contractor to put a solid board in there neatly.