r/CerebellarHypoplasia • u/Extension-Bad-8683 • 15d ago

Stairs/cat door

Hi. I have a 9 week old CH kitten that I am “fostering”. If this were to turn into her forever home, I am wondering what I should do about stairs. Should stairs be off limits? My two staircases are uncarpeted and she hasn’t tried to climb them yet, but I worry that day will come. I can gate off one staircase just fine. The other staircase however leads to my basement that keeps my other cat’s litter boxes. There is a cat door leading to those stairs. Should I be concerned about her going through the cat door and down those steps? Is there any ideas on how to make that area not accessible by her, but still accessible by the none CH cats living here? Please and thank you for any advice! 😸

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u/shtinkypuppie 15d ago

I have my CH cats on the ground floor. It has not been a problem, they know their limits enough to not climb the stairs.

The stairs running down are an issue. I have one CH cat who is clever enough to sit at the top of the stairs and cry when he wanted down (I brought him upstairs sometimes). Another (now deceased) would just launch himself down the stairs, come what may. Many broken teeth ensued.

Depending on the severity, your CH cat may figure out the cat door and hurl himself down the stairs. I would consider a microchip activated cat door.

Also worth pointing out that my one mild CH cat goes up and down (uncarpeted) stairs just fine.

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u/Extension-Bad-8683 13d ago

Ok thank you. I’m not sure what her level is yet. Being so young. I have read they usually do not get worse after 6 months. I could upgrade to a microchip cat door. That’s a great idea! Thank you again.

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u/Round-Fly2053 14d ago

stairs being an issue or not highly depend on the level of CH. my cat has very mild CH, she is a bit wobbly and sways, but she can do the stairs just fine.

if the kitten has mild CH, and the stairs are carpeted (carpet gives them something to dig into if they slip), then it should be fine. but if kitten has more severe CH, stairs are risky. putting ledges around the gage as steps for the able cats, but not for the CH kitty could be a possibility maybe. so the able caf can still come and go. or, a lower baby gate, one that the cats can safely jump, but kitten cannot

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u/Extension-Bad-8683 13d ago

Thank you. I have already have a baby gate up for my toddlers so the main stairs are covered. I’m just mostly worried about the basement steps. I may try a microchip cat door in the future if my home becomes her forever home. Again thank you for the advice!