Will Kittens Jump Off Stairs

During the first year of their life, you can expect your kitten to be a rambunctious and boisterous little creature. During this early phase of their life, where everything is new to them, kittens typically spend a lot of time exploring their surroundings and learning about the world. In their first few months, kittens are often quite wobbly on their feet as they practice walking, running, and jumping. 

Knowing all of this, it is likely that your kitten would try to jump off the stairs if presented with an opportunity to do so. If your home has stairs, it is a good idea to try and familiarize your kitten with them fairly early on so that they learn how to properly walk up and down without hurting themselves or creating chaos!

It may not even be intentional for your kitten to jump off your staircase. When kittens are young and still learning the mechanics of stairs, they might accidentally slip or lose their balance, causing them to jump down a few steps on the staircase. If you have a home with stairs, it’s essential to keep an eye on your cat around the stairs until they get the hang of walking on them. 

Will my kitten jump off the top of the stairwell? 

While your kitten might try to jump down the steps of the stairs or accidentally could slip, it is unlikely your kitten will try to jump off the very top of the stairwell onto the floor below. Cats have a good sense of balance and are usually fairly smart about gauging distances. 

Your cat likely realizes that it is too high of a jump from one floor to the next and will avoid making that leap. However, occasionally a cat will get so distracted by a bird or something else in their line of vision it will jump further than it should.

Over time you should be able to learn your cat’s personality and assess whether they are too fearless and likely to jump further distances than they safely should.

If you are worried about your kitten accidentally slipping through the cracks in the stair banister, consider blocking off the openings with boxes or chicken wiring so that your kitten can’t fit through the holes. 

You can get creative with what you use as long as the barricade is high enough that your kitten cannot sneak through it! It is likely that once your kitten is fully grown, it will no longer be small enough to fit through the holes in the banister. 

How far of a distance can cats jump?

Cat experts agree that an adult cat can jump about the distance of five or six times their body length or about eight feet! This range is considerably smaller for a young kitten, as they are not fully grown and don’t have the muscles and strength they will have later in life.

At around eight weeks old, a kitten may only be able to jump about a foot into the air. Any distance beyond what is acceptable for your cat’s age range is a cause for concern, as your cat may not be able to land safely and could injure themselves in the process.

How To Keep Your Kitten From Getting Injured On Stairs

Add a baby gate

Baby gates come in handy for more uses than just keeping crawling babies out of trouble. A baby gate at the top or bottom of your stairs can also be a good way to keep your cat from getting hurt, jumping, or falling on the stairs. This is also a good idea to implement if you do not intend for your cat to have free roam over your entire home, as it will help keep them contained in one area. 

Add carpet to your stairs 

Often, kittens or even older cats can easily injure themselves on the stairs because they are very slippery. Some wooden stairs have a shiny finish, making it hard for your cat to get traction under their paws while walking. If you are experiencing this problem, adding carpet or a cloth runner to the stairs is a great way to help your cat get a grip on the stairs. 

Avoid declawing your cat 

While, as a pet owner, it can be tempting to declaw your cat to prevent them from ripping apart anything in your home, your cat’s claws are very functional and act as a way for your cat to prevent themselves from slipping or falling.

Your cat’s claws allow them to have a firm hold on the stairs as they walk up or down; without them, your cat can feel defenseless. Additionally, some cats struggle to regain balance after being declawed. 

Supervise your cat on the stairs 

While you might only sometimes need to supervise your cat on the stairs, keep an eye on them while they move from one level to another until you are sure they have mastered the art of going up and down.

Final Thoughts 

Be patient with your kitten as they learn how to use the stairs properly. It is unlikely that a young kitten will master the art of climbing stairs immediately, so you may want to practice with them weekly until they feel more confident with the process.

You can start practicing on the stairs with a kitten as soon as they are around eight weeks old, as this is when they are working on mastering their coordination. If your cat does not like going up and down the stairs, you can incentivize them with treats and praise when they successfully go up or down to help them. 

Don’t worry too much if your kitten jumps or tumbles down a few steps-there is a reason people say cats have nine lives! Most kittens are flexible and agile and should be okay as long as they don’t suffer too far of a fall.