In many homes the pet is the one who wants to come along at night. A dog that follows her to the bathroom, or a cat that sleeps across the bedroom doorway, can turn the hall into a trip hazard on the way back to bed. A gate can keep the pet where it belongs, but it is also a fixed object on the route, so it has to be sized to the opening and set so it helps rather than catches her. This guide covers the fit, the bottom bar, the mount, and the latch.
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Measure the opening before you choose
Measure the width of the doorway or hall opening at the top, the middle, and the bottom. Walls are not always square, and a gate that fits at the top can bind at the bottom. Measure the height the gate will need to be so the top bar sits where her hand can reach it from a standing position. Check the maker's listed width range, and choose the gate that covers your measurements with room at each end, not the one that barely fits.
Set the bottom bar so it does not catch her foot
The lowest bar is the one she will meet in the dark. It should be low enough that a slipper slides over it, and the gap beneath it should be small enough that the pet cannot slip through. A tall bottom bar or a raised step-over base will trip her, so choose a style with a low bottom edge that she can see without turning on the light. Keep the gate on the side of the opening where the pet is kept, so she is never stepping through a gate at the bed edge.
Check the swing direction. A gate that swings toward the bed can knock her shin when she stands up. A gate that swings into the hall can block her path back to bed. Pick the direction that keeps the door out of her walking line.
Mount it so it stays put
A pressure gate can shift when someone leans on it, and that is the one thing you do not want at night. For a doorway she uses on the route, use a hardware-mounted gate where the maker allows it, and check that the mounting goes into wall framing, not only drywall. Do not use a pressure gate at the top of stairs. If there are stairs on her route, ask the maker in writing whether the gate is rated for that use.
Test the latch in the dark
Turn the room light off, or close your eyes, and try the latch with one hand. A latch that needs two hands, a squeeze, or a lift and a push is a latch she will leave open. Try it with the hand she would use while the other hand is on the bed edge. If the pet can work the latch, the gate is not doing its job.
What to write down
Write the opening width at top, middle, and bottom, the gate height, the mount type, the swing direction, and the name of the person who closes it at night. Write what the latch takes to open and whether the pet can work it. If she steadies herself on the gate at any point, note that too, because a gate is not a grab bar, and the handle or rail on that route needs its own check. The reading path shows what to set up next, and the sources page lists the basis for the gate guidance.