Cat Handrail Deterrent / Stopper

thingiverse

Our cat Elsa is a balcony enthusiast who loves to explore every nook and cranny, including her neighbors' balconies. She takes the easy route by walking along the handrail, but this has not gone down well with our neighbors, who have complained about her sniffing around their drying clothes. We couldn't block off the passage with a physical wall since we'd need permission from the homeowners association. So, we were left with keeping Elsa indoors and constantly monitoring her whenever we wanted some fresh air - definitely no win-win situation. We started brainstorming complex, expensive, and potentially hazardous solutions, such as a motorized water spray triggered by an IR sensor detecting Elsa's presence on the handrail. However, then we stumbled upon the Cat Deterrent from mschrock, which seemed simple enough to give it a try. I tweaked the OpenSCAD design to make it fit better on our handrail, printed it with PETG filament, and attached it with some zipties. To our surprise, Elsa immediately stopped venturing onto the neighbors' balcony. She would sit in front of the spikes, unable to find a way around without touching them, and eventually gave up. Sharing this solution with all of you might just help someone else solve a similar problem.