Got a new gate for my kitten, to bad it figure out how to climb it in about 30seconds. Any Suggestio

[kevilay]

Hey guys. I just got a new kitten it is 8 weeks old. I have some nice leather couches and some rare guitar amps and guitars. Also lots of electronics. I wanted to make sure the kitten doesnt get into any electronics and get hurt or ruin any of my stuff. I put some blankets on my couches and let it climb up them while someone is home. I picked up one of those 8 piece gates that you put into an octogon so that when were sleeping it doesnt get into everything. It has a large area thats approximately 10 feet by 10 feet. It has bed, food, water, litter  box all inside. After setting it up the little kitten climbs up the 3 foot sides and fell out. Being worried about its safety I was wondering what I could put on the sides of the gates to prevent the cat from climbing it. I was thinking plexi glass but thats very expensive. Maybe some sort of roof? Any suggestions I would hate to see my little guy get hurt falling out.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[momofmany]

Congratulations!! You just became a cat dad!!!!

I watched a 5 week old kitten scale a 3 foot baby gate one time. If they can get a grip on the surface and there is no roof to it, they will climb out. Kittens (and cats) seem to get very determined when you confine them in a spot where they don't want to be.

You really don't have a lot of options other than find a room to isolate the kitten in that is kitten proof, or put a roof on the pen. Plexiglass may hold him for a little while, but that is a lot of money for very limited use.

Of course the other option is to kitten proof your entire residence. I had a friend put her antique lamps away for about 5 years until her cats settled down. You can get covers for the amps (blankets could work) and hang the guitars on the wall with those guitar wall holders (my husband uses those). My electronics are behind a glass case when not in use, and I'm home to watch when it is in use.

 

[Willowy]

A gate won't do any good, even if you put plexi on it, because pretty soon the kitty won't have any trouble jumping 3 feet. Gates/pens aren't for cats. If you want to keep him confined when you aren't there to watch him, I'd recommend putting him (her?) in the bathroom (or other kitten-proof room) or getting a cat cage (if you can find a rabbit cage cheap that will work for a short time. If you want to still be able to use it when he's grown up you need something like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I1M76Q/?tag=&tag=thecatsite ).

 

[rafm]

Yeah, I'd just put everything up out of reach of the kitten.....save yourself the frustration and expense of trying to outsmart him. Because it won't happen. 

 

[kevilay]

its a her and her name is Calie

And I ran over to home depot and picked up some sort of board, its thin and white on the top. It has holes every inch so it can breath through really good. I put the 70"X70"board ontop then decided to cut it in half and put it on hinges so i could flip it over either way. This should be great for the kitten it has lots of room to play in there. All its food, litter. toys and I even hung a few little balls from the top for it to bat around. Now I just need to make some sort of stairs so when Im home and I open it up it can climb out. The couch is at the edge on the outside so I just need something inside.

so for around 140$, cost of gate, wood, hinges and screws it has a cage thats 70"x70"x36". Sounds like a pretty lucky kitten to me and this thing is just to sleep in at night. Ill snap a picture and post it.

Thanks for the help.

Kevin

 

[kevilay]

 

[GoldyCat]

What an adorable baby girl. Looks like a good solution for now. Once she gets bigger she'll probably be able to push the roof open.

 

[howtoholdacat]

What a cutie!  We made a room for all our guitars, bass and amps.  Cats aren't allowed in.  After the cat was using my husband's Marshall as a scratching post we gave up on all other potential solutions.

 

[ruthyb]

Awww bless what a cute baby Calie is,I too have just had a new kitten to go with my 5 other kitties

 and it sure is a wake up call,I have had to move a few things and have had one ornament broke so far.I think what you have done is amazing and yeah one lucky kitty that you have got to have a wonderful owner that will buy all this for her.Look forward to seeing more piccies of calie and chatting to you around the boards.x

 

[kevilay]

Im probably going to make a scratching post out of a 4x4 and put it in the middle so the lid doesnt sag. There is no way a cat will get out of these even when it grows up. Its pretty heavy to lift. In my house I have pretty limited space, I have my bedroom, baby room, kitchen, bathroom and then a big family room. I have nowhere to put all my guitar stuff. This seems to be my best option. Calie seems quite happy with it, for the first time she wasnt crying all night.

On another note, what do I wrap the 4x4 in for the cat to use as a scratching post?

 

[kevilay]

Now Im making her a scratching post, what a spoiled kitty!

 

[rad65]

I go with sisal rope

 

[kevilay]

I read online berber carpet is a good option and after carpeting my basement a few months ago I had enough pieces around to make it. Its all done now Hope she likes it.

 

[rarepuss]

How cute!

I have one suggestion.  I did use a gate to section off the 2nd floor of a house, and keep the cat there [3 bedrooms and bathroom up there] and keep him from coming down to lower level to kitchen, living room, 2 more bedrooms, etc.

Your gates just will not work for a cat.

 I used a tall 40"+ gate, with only vertical spokes, that opened with a foot pedal, therefore, nothing for cat to fiddle with.  It worked!  He never jumped it, and never opened it on his own.  I think why it worked though is it was right at the edge of the stairs down, so a jump to other side would require him to also land about 2-3 feet lower as the stairs go down.

 

[momofmany]

I read online berber carpet is a good option and after carpeting my basement a few months ago I had enough pieces around to make it. Its all done now Hope she likes it.

Sorry I didn't see where you were about to build one. Carpet is fine, and cats WILL claw thru it fairly quickly. You may need to replace the carpet from time to time.

When I build a scratch post, I use a very heavy plywood base (at least 3/4" thick) that is about 2 feet square. If your kitten grows up to be a large cat, she will be able to pull the scratch post over if the base isn't large enough. 4 feet tall post is perfect, as she will also want to stretch her fully body length up on that post.

Not sure how you attached the carpet. I use hot glue to get it sort of in place, then attach it more sturdily with either wide head nails or wood staples. If the post you used is treated lumber, you want to be very careful about the carpet edges from pealing away or wearing thru the carpet, as it's not entirely safe for a cat to scratch on treated lumber - too many chemicals in the wood.

 

[kevilay]

I used some hardwood I had at work, that was used for large skids. I glued the carpet on. I made the post 26" tall so that i could use it as a support for the center of the lid as it is starting to sag. If i need to build another one later I will. It didnt cost me nothing I had leftover carpet and wood . I had some 3/4 in wood i used for the base, its12"x12"

 

[tinysalmon]

How cute!

I have one suggestion.  I did use a gate to section off the 2nd floor of a house, and keep the cat there [3 bedrooms and bathroom up there] and keep him from coming down to lower level to kitchen, living room, 2 more bedrooms, etc.

Your gates just will not work for a cat.

 I used a tall 40"+ gate, with only vertical spokes, that opened with a foot pedal, therefore, nothing for cat to fiddle with.  It worked!  He never jumped it, and never opened it on his own.  I think why it worked though is it was right at the edge of the stairs down, so a jump to other side would require him to also land about 2-3 feet lower as the stairs go down.

I did something like that too to keep my cat upstairs! I just used a leftover large sheet of cardboard from a big box we had. The bend/corner of the box acts as a hinge. We secured it by poking two pairs of holes and tying string through it to tie around a railing spoke. Luckily the length of the box matched the width of our staircase. Nothing fancy, but at least it didn't involve any power tools and it can easily be put away when we have guests over. We occasionally let our cat come to the main floor to watch us cook and run up and down the stairs for exercise as long as she is being supervised.