Bannister Safety Question

[abbyemma]

Hi! We moved in November to a new house, and it has a banister and a ledge at the top of the stairs, with very wide rungs.

The floor underneath is tile (so very hard), it is our front entrance. When we moved in the cat was obsessed with sitting on the edge of the ledge, and it made us nervous, so we ordered custom measured tempered glass that my fiancé was going to fit to the outside of the stair rungs so that she couldn’t fall. Well, turns out she wanted to up her game, because the DAY we were going to do the glass, she started jumping up onto the top of the banister (I will insert a picture of what it looks like so it makes sense), so obviously a glass wall would not work now. One night she jumped up there and I was so nervous that I instinctively yelled to get off and she actually fell off and then was able to use one of her lives to grip onto the edge of the ledge with her claws quickly and jump on the stairs right next to it, and was seemingly unfazed. Thought that might have deterred the bannister, but she jumped on it again the other night. This time I didn’t react and she just moved along.

My question is, does anyone have this situation and have an idea how to block it off or deter it from happening? I know about double sided tape but I don’t want her to jump up on it and freak out. She is definitely a “tree cat” and will climb up on the highest thing anywhere, so I know her instinct will always be to go towards it. I just don’t want to have anxiety anymore about it, it is also right outside our bedroom and bathroom upstairs, so a very common area. We are also considering getting a kitten soon so that adds a little more to it. I will put a picture of it below, obviously not of her on it but the top bannister is where she likes to jump. Obviously discipline doesn’t work with cats in general and especially in this situation so I am sort of at a loss.
Thank you for any feedback!

 

[LTS3]

How about a tall plexiglass sheet to keep the cat from jumping on the banister? It would sit on the carpet side of the railing and you can attach it to the wall on the left in some way.

Here are some threads with suggestions:

Cat keeps sitting on high ledge

Hi all! My husband and I just moved into a new townhome and have a loft area in our bedroom. There’s a ledge that looks down on the 1st floor of the room and my cat keeps jumping up/lounging on it - he’s been giving me a heart attack! It’s about 14ish feet up from the ground and I’m just worried...

thecatsite.com

Highrise syndrome protection

My 6-month old Juno now has the agility to get herself into trouble. I have a roof deck that I take her out onto, with a vest harness and leash. Today, she managed to jump onto the railing/wall, which is four stories up. I was close at hand and took her down. But she kept trying. I think she...

thecatsite.com

How High Is Too High To Jump Down?

I live in an apartment with stairs going up to a loft where the bed is. The loft has a low glass barrier along the edge (maybe 1-2 feet tall) so Chilli is usually happy to just sit up there and look through the glass. But sometimes when she’s hyper she will jump up there and walk along the top...

thecatsite.com

Kitten safety.

I will soon have an 8 week old kitten, Elvis, to add to my clan. I am concerned about the kitten and the upstairs rotunda. It is an 11 foot drop if the kitten tried to jump down between the banister. I know how curiuos kitties are. Chicken wire around the banister won't help because I...

thecatsite.com

Cat shelves or ramps on the wall leading from the banister leading down to the floor below is an option

 

[fionasmom]

My previous house looked very much like what you are describing. We never figured out how to block the banister and the cat never fell. In fact, the appeal wore off and that was the end of banister sitting. I don't know if I would put anything up there like two sided tape that might cause the cat to lose her balance and really fall in an awkward way. If you can do plexiglass, that would probably be the best solution.

 

[ArtNJ]

I posted a bannister pic a few months back. We've seen our 1 y.o. do it 3 times or so. When I see it, I oh so gently and slowly approach and put her down. My son thinks he might have heard or fall, but I've not seen any evidence that actually happened. Thankfully the phase seems to be over. My bannister was really too narrow to install anything without ruining it.

In general, I'm not sure how much inconvenience & cost I'd go to. Cats are so agile that the main risk is a distraction, like another pet or a child. And it might be a brief phase like it was for my cat and fionasmom 's cat.

 

[Juniper_Junebug]

I'm the author of one of the posts LTS3 linked to. I leaned into the problem and tried to make it easier for her to get up on the loft ledge, so she wasn't jumping up there blind (I have a solid wall instead of slats). My cat has fallen at least four times, ranging from 9 to 14 feet. I'm not suggesting I take that lightly, but I decided there was no feasible way to keep her off high places. And once she started jumping onto to the top of my kitchen cabinets from the loft, I added extra cat shelves so she could get down safely. Ironically, once I added these and the novelty wore off, she goes up there a whole lot less. I think my cat sometimes just likes to get a rise out of me

 

[tarasgirl06]

Never yell at a cat. especially a cat in a position that could be precarious, like you describe. And never run at or up to or behind a cat. Cats' hearing is very acute and they are much more sensitive than humans. Their natural reaction to this kind of behavior would be defensive, and fight or flight. Keep noisy people and other animals away from cats when they are in these kinds of situations.
If you can, provide cat trees/activity centers for your cat, away from that location, so she can enjoy her natural instinct to climb and observe from up high.

 

[Caspers Human]

How about building a cat shelf?

Put it somewhere near the banister. If she has something better to climb on, maybe she'll stay on the shelf, instead.

I agree that yelling at a cat isn't the best thing. We use increasing voice levels to warn Casper when he misbehaves.
First, we say his name in the way you might scold a kid when you catch him with his hand in the cookie jar. If he doesn't stop, we tell him, "No!" If he still misbehaves, "Casper! No!" If all that doesn't work, we go get him and take him away from the place where he misbehaves and try to give him something better to do.

Most of the time, we call him by his nickname, "Puddy Tat." If we call him by his given name, "Casper," he knows he's in trouble. We rarely have to scold him twice. When he does what he's told and stops misbehaving he gets lots of petting and a "Good Puddy Tat!"

Also remember that cats can fall from amazingly high places, comparatively speaking, and still be okay.
An otherwise healthy cat should be able to fall from a height that's "head high" to a human with little to no harm. He might get the wind knocked out of him but, overall, cat physiology is built to withstand it. A healthy cat should be able to recover from a fall like that in a few minutes, none the worse for the wear. A fall from the top of a flight of stairs is riskier but, if the cat is healthy, chances of walking away are still good.

All that is not to say that we shouldn't be looking our for your cats' safety but, overall, falling is a fact of life for cats.

Is is possible for you to put something soft at the bottom of the stairs in case your cat falls?

 

[tarasgirl06]

A lot of cats are NOT okay after falling. The term, "high-rise syndrome" is used for cats who fall from heights, often from a building, and they are often badly injured. Cats do NOT always fall on their feet.

 

[Kflowers]

Cats who fall from high places often sustain fractures, some of which are
difficult to see on X-ray. Any cat who falls 'incorrectly' will probably sustain damage. A cat landing on her feet from a 40 foot fall will sustain fractures. It varies with shorter distances. Just because she runs off doesn't mean she's okay, it means she is keyed to be prey and runs in spite of the pain.

 

[Caspers Human]

I believe that I qualified my answer, pretty well.

I was talking about a hypothetical cat that fell from a height of five or six feet to a maximum of ten to twelve feet. You guys are talking about "High Rise Syndrome" where cats fall from tall buildings.

High Rise Syndrome works something like this...
Cats that fall from ten feet or less have a high probability of surviving without suffering life threatening injuries where cats that fall from heights of up to thirty or forty feet have a lower probability of surviving.
Against intuition, cats that fall from heights higher than fifty feet have a probability of survival that is higher than expected.

The reason is because cats that fall from high levels reach terminal velocity (the speed at which the force of gravity and the drag from air resistance are equal) and, therefore, are no longer accelerating downward. The cat has more time to orient its body and brace for impact and increase its chances of surviving.

We're not talking about a cat falling off the Empire State Building. We're talking about a flight of stairs. It's two different things.

No! I am not suggesting that a cat that falls from the stairs will always be okay. Of course, there is always a chance of getting hurt. I am saying that, based on evidence and reason, a cat that falls from a height that is between "head high" and the height of a flight of stairs has a low probability of getting hurt.

Yes, if a cat falls from any height it is best to go check on the animal to be sure that it hasn't gotten hurt.

No, I am not saying that people should run around like Chicken Little, yelling that the sky is falling.

The answer is somewhere in between. Objectivity, evidence and reason are the tools to finding that place, in between.

 

[mani]

Let's get back on topic here.. abbyemma made it clear that the shout was instinctive.. That can happen.

Her question:
... does anyone have this situation and have an idea how to block it off or deter it from happening?

 

[cat nap]

My question is, does anyone have this situation and have an idea how to block it off or deter it from happening? I know about double sided tape but I don’t want her to jump up on it and freak out. She is definitely a “tree cat” and will climb up on the highest thing anywhere, so I know her instinct will always be to go towards it. I just don’t want to have anxiety anymore about it, it is also right outside our bedroom and bathroom upstairs, so a very common area. We are also considering getting a kitten soon so that adds a little more to it.

Hi abbyemma ..
I really like the plexi glass idea, mentioned above, since it seems the most sturdiest...but if you like something more in terms of 'sailing' or 'oceans' and 'nautical themes'...then...you can put up something like fish nets, cargo netting, or garden netting, to protect your cat (and future kitten) from jumping or falling off the hand rail or bannister.
They come in all sorts of colours, sizes, materials.

You would have to probably attach it with some "eye hooks"...and "zip ties" (and especially place the 'eye hooks' into the stronger 2x4 wooden studs behind your drywall, or 2x6 joists above your ceiling drywall, too,...for good anchor points.)
Leaning it slightly inwards would probably be good, or just draping a 'safety net', below the banister, (similar to a safety net for tight rope walkers and trapeze artists in the circus), in case your cat still manages to get up on the railing from the opposite side...and walks around.

Please be extremely careful if the humans are climbing up on any ladders, step ladders or even chairs...since falling is so easy.
Make sure to tie off the humans with safety harness or rope, safety belts, to the opposite side of any potential falls.
https://www.amazon.com/Netting-Trailer-Balcony-Banister-Protection/dp/B08P5QF51D
Amazon.com : Garden Netting
Indoor Outdoor Safety Net, Child Pets Protection Net, Nylon Rope Fence Net for Garden Patios Playgrounds, Decorative Mesh Balcony Stair Protective Netting (Size : 1x3m(3x10ft)): Amazon.ca: Home & Kitchen
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TPM1HTZ/?tag=thecatsite

If you or your fiance are into DIY, then you could also 'make your own type of cargo or fish net'.
There are many youtube videos online, describing how to do this with various ropes, strings and fabric.
It looks like it would take ages, but it might be a fun project.

 

[Kittylix666]

I have a similar set up our stairs at steep too! My kitty loves to peek through the banisters especially to swipe at our pup as she comes up! She is a smart cookie and has never edged out further than the back of her ears past the banister.. cats are intelligent and comprehensive athletes and are acrobatic beyond our comprehension. You may want to carpet the stairs however as we have, if you place a screen over the banisters the chance of your cat jumping up instead on top of the hand rail is likely and more dangerous if miss has footed landing on a rail with a drop beyond! I’ve had cats all my life and never had a kitty fallen from the landing

 

[Kflowers]

We put carpet on the horizontal portion of the banister since the cats insisted on walking and sitting and SCRATCHING on it. Carpet tied on with
string, clothes line is better, makes this a good scratching post and saves
the banister wood.

 

[niloc97]

I was researching this topic too since our big orange Maine Coon recently fell off our half wall all the way down to the first floor. Luckily he wasn’t hurt, but we don’t want to risk it again. After a ton of looking, ADM Sneeze Guards (easy to search online) has a number of posts and hardware in various heights. I bought one 18in end post, 2 wall mounts, and then had a piece of 3/8in plexiglass cut to fit perfectly. I’m very happy with the result as it’s sturdy and not extremely obtrusive.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I was researching this topic too since our big orange Maine Coon recently fell off our half wall all the way down to the first floor. Luckily he wasn’t hurt, but we don’t want to risk it again. After a ton of looking, ADM Sneeze Guards (easy to search online) has a number of posts and hardware in various heights. I bought one 18in end post, 2 wall mounts, and then had a piece of 3/8in plexiglass cut to fit perfectly. I’m very happy with the result as it’s sturdy and not extremely obtrusive.

Genius fix, N niloc97 -- attractive, almost invisible, and most importantly, it protects your precious CAT.

 

[fionasmom]

Shocking how good it looks in your house! Great idea!

 

[niloc97]

Genius fix, N niloc97 -- attractive, almost invisible, and most importantly, it protects your precious CAT.

Thank you! He has made a few attempts, but he bails halfway when he realizes there is a barrier now. Success so far.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Thank you! He has made a few attempts, but he bails halfway when he realizes there is a barrier now. Success so far.

May success prevail always! He is a gloriously handsome big guy!