A Tip For Unsteady, Stair-Climbing CH Cats: Try A Landing Pad
A few weeks ago, Alan casually mentioned something in a comment that really made me think:
“One of our CH cats is a burrower, so we got a few old wool blankets, folded them up so he can crawl in, and put them in his favorite places. One night, after he’d fallen down the cat steps leading to the bed, my wife moved one of his “burritos” to the foot of the steps as a landing pad. Anchoring it securely also helped him get a firm stance when reaching for the first step, and he hasn’t fallen from the steps in at least a year.”
Alan, thanks for sharing that tip, because it’s a solution I’ve been searching for!
You see, our downstairs floors are hardwood, but our second floor and stairs are carpeted. Having carpeted stairs is great for Ellie, but she always has a little trouble when she’s transitioning from the carpeted stairs to the hardwood or vice versa.
This trouble became super apparent a few months ago when she had a little accident coming downstairs. As she stepped on to the hardwood, she lost her footing and slipped, falling into her water dish (which was in the area where their plates are in the photo). We immediately reorganized a few things and moved the water dish (and food dishes) in a more appropriate place. Although that solved part of the problem, it didn’t solve the issue of Ellie not having sure footing while transitioning to or from hardwood.
That’s why Alan’s tip is an excellent one. I’m going to look for a carpet or mat that has a grip on the back to lay on the hardwood floor in front of the steps. That way, Ellie can transition to something that has more texture, which will hopefully decrease the number of times she loses her footing — or at least give her a little something to land on!
I realize this seems like an incredibly simply solution — but sometimes the best solutions are the simplest and most obvious. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Have you tried something like this in your home? If so, please share in the comments!
Life with Cerebellar Hypoplasia Cats 
I used the interlocking foam mats through out my whole house for mine its worked
We’ve used a “landing pad” at the bottom of the stairs since we got our first CH cat “Miss Kitty” years ago. She would do OK coming down the stairs but would sometimes stumble the last 2-3 steps. So we put a big pillow at the bottom since the bottom floor is not carpeted, while the stairs are carpeted.
My CH cat “Half-and-Half” also benefits from the pillow landing pad as she rushes herself the last few steps and sometimes lands sideways. She’s the most athletic and most accident-prone!
My newest CH cat “Jingles” takes the stairs slowly and methodically and hasn’t fallen yet. It’s great to hear how other CH cat owners have made their homes safer for their cats!
This is great, Rich! Thanks for sharing!