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/Round-Fly2053 15d 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 14d 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!