Hi all:

We have had to baby proof the house and this has entailed the
installation of 3 baby gates:  one at the top of the basement stairs and
one and the top and bottom of the staircase leading to the second storey.

Of course, we had to consider the cats during the installation!!

These gates are different from the ones in the old house in that these
slats are not far enough apart for the cats to squeeze through them.  Uh oh.

The one at top of the basement stairs has to be high enough off the
ground that the cats can get under (their litterboxes are downstairs)
but not high enough that the baby can slip under it.  We got it high
enough that the boys can *just* get under.  If they're in a hurry, it's
touch and go.  It's kind of fun to see just exactly how flat they can
squish themselves and it doesn't seem to cause them too much trouble.

It's the upstairs gates that may cause Chester some grief.

The ones at the top and bottom of the stairs are fixed onto newel posts
but can't be raised high enough off the ground for the cats to squeeze
under.  The boys have to squeeze between the stair railings on the sides
and down onto the stairs.  Otis slips through without disturbing a
single piece of his silky fur.

Chester's another story.  I saw him racing down the stairs and then
trying to deke out through the railing onto the floor beside.  He got
high centered for a second, stuck between the posts!!!  He slithered
through okay but he'll definitely have to watch it.  Luckily, summer's
coming up so he'll get trim for that :-)

Susan M
Otis and Chester