Struggling to make it work with a baby and a cat? "Why lay down 50 bucks or more for a gate (that has less than a 2' opening), when you can MAKE exactly what you need for next to nothing?" Why, indeed!
All you need is some elbow grease, a few inconspicuous 2x4's screwed to the wall, some machine nuts, and some zip-ties. And a baby gate. [wait, what?]
Not DIY enough? How about this alternative, suggested by a commenter on MAKE: "Plywood cut to fit and hinges. Under $20 and haven't lost a kid yet." In your face, CPSC!
A Better Baby Gate, by MadVegetarian [instructables.com via make blog]
previously: Sweet DIY safety gate currently in testing phase; Q: safety gates for a loft?
or how about just make the cat...oh i dont know, JUMP over the gate. that's what mine does.
/snarky comment
[it'd only take a couple of times for the cat to figure out there's a staircase on the other side, too. -ed.]
We have a baby and a cat and a less invasive way to keep one from getting into the other's food and litter box (which is in our office with the expensive computer equipment and lots of tempting power cords too). We use a tension-mounted gate that has a door, and place it about 4 inches off the ground. The cat goes under, we go through the door, but the baby can't compress herself enough to squueze under or through it. Granted, this is in a regular doorway and not at the top of a flight of stairs, but it works for us, and doesn't require power tools.