# Painting with cats in the house



## reprot (Nov 11, 2004)

Hello all, need some input here. I am in the process of painting my staircase. I've painted the risers and next comes the treads. Here is my question. How in the heck can I keep the kitties off the treads as they dry. I will be painting one tread at a time waiting 24 hours then on to the next.
thanx


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

Do you have a room or rooms you can close your kitties off in? If not you can create an area by getting 3 baby gates, stacking them one on top of the other at the bottom or top of steps (were ever you are keeping the cats) or in a hallway to keep the cats away from the steps. I would make the bottom gate one of gates that has a door in it like the one pictured below so that you can get through without taking the gates down every time. Otherwise, I don't think there are any other good options besides having somone foster your kitties for the duration of the project.

Good luck!


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## KittyMonster (Nov 8, 2009)

Agh I have the same problem. I want to build a coffee table today but I have to paint the scrap wood. The only place i have to paint it is smack dab in the middle of the living room... right next to my cat's litterbox, food and scratching post. 

The only room I can close off can't fit all his stuff. Agh.


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

KittyMonster said:


> The only room I can close off can't fit all his stuff. Agh.


When Teddy would get in the way I would shut him in the laundry room which only had room for his litter box and food. After I let him back out I would give him a really rigorous play session to get the "Oneries" that had built up in his system out.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

reprot said:


> How in the heck can I keep the kitties off the treads as they dry. I will be painting one tread at a time waiting 24 hours then on to the next.
> thanx


I *love* to paint. Walls, ceilings, trim, furniture, car engines/parts, fences ... just anything, really. I like watching the color go on and look clean and crisp. My preferred painting time is between 10pm and 2am, when everyone is asleep and the phone won't ring.
I have never painted a floor. The closest I've come is painting the fireplace mantle and I had to keep the kitties off of the top until it dried. I used a foam roller and it was *awesome* putting smooth coverage everywhere with no paintbrush fiber streaks or brushstrokes. It also dried quickly and I used a small fan on it. I'd say it was dry in only an hour.

I would suggest closing the cats in a room with food, water and litterbox. You bring whatever you're gonna need for the next day down from upstairs and then start painting the top-most riser and continue painting all the way down to the bottm. Have fans set up to blow on the risers overnight. By the morning, everything should be properly dried and/or you can keep everyone contained for most of the day and by afternoon everything should be set and ready for use.
I cannot help but think that dragging the project out one-step-at-a-time is going to take forever and will require a LOT of confinement for your cats. I'd much rather knock it out all at one sitting to create the least amount of confinement inconvenience and stress.
Good luck!
heidi =^..^=


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

I think that the most I would drag it out would be every other step. Do the odd steps one day and do the even steps the next. That way you can still climb the dry stairs by stepping 2 at a time.


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