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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 of the barrier. Maybe about once or twice a week. It scares me to death because the top is only a couple inches wide and it’s made of metal, so if she slipped I don’t think she could catch herself. From the top of the barrier to the floor below is 9 feet. She never has fallen/jumped yet that I know of, and we’ve been here since August, but I still tell her to get down if I see her up there since it makes me nervous. She’s very playful but I wouldn’t call her the most graceful cat in the world!
Anyway, I’m getting a new ~4 month old kitten in a few days and I’m worried about the kitten trying to get up there too. I tried to brainstorm about ways to block it off with fencing or something, but securing it is very difficult; the ceiling overlaps at one point making the sizes of gap different; wanting a long-term solution that isn’t ugly, etc... I thought about putting double sided tape or some other unpleasant surface to discourage Chilli and the kitten from going up there. Alternately, I thought about putting a strip of carpet up there so that if they slip they at least have something to grab onto.
So... first of all, is 9 feet a drop to be worried about? For Chilli, a young and medium-agile adult? And/or for the new 4mo kitten? If so, any creative ideas as to how can I keep them from hurting themselves? Or should I just monitor them, assume they won’t be stupid, and occasionally tell them to get down like I’ve done with Chilli?
Anyway, I’m getting a new ~4 month old kitten in a few days and I’m worried about the kitten trying to get up there too. I tried to brainstorm about ways to block it off with fencing or something, but securing it is very difficult; the ceiling overlaps at one point making the sizes of gap different; wanting a long-term solution that isn’t ugly, etc... I thought about putting double sided tape or some other unpleasant surface to discourage Chilli and the kitten from going up there. Alternately, I thought about putting a strip of carpet up there so that if they slip they at least have something to grab onto.
So... first of all, is 9 feet a drop to be worried about? For Chilli, a young and medium-agile adult? And/or for the new 4mo kitten? If so, any creative ideas as to how can I keep them from hurting themselves? Or should I just monitor them, assume they won’t be stupid, and occasionally tell them to get down like I’ve done with Chilli?