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Cats and Dogs do get along, but keeping the dogs from eating the cat's food is impossible. lol Anyway, now that you know the subject. What I want to do is build a sort of stairway of platforms up the outside wall and down the inside wall of the cat's room over a gate. I'd like to make the platforms collapse when the weight on a platform exceeds the weight of the cat. How can I load the platforms so that they'll be stable only up to 10 lbs, fall flat against the wall then swing back up when the weight is gone? I'd also like to do this completely mechanically, no electronic weight sensors or anything. Can I use some sort of spring? Any help would be appreciated.

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generally speaking, cats are much better climbers/jumpers. Why not just build something that is too tall for the dogs to climb over, but that allows the cats to easily jump? You could also try building a barrier and cutting a hole in it, so the cats can pass through but the dogs can't. We did something similar when our babies were small to keep them out of the cat food. – Jason Jun 24 '12 at 22:43

closed as off topic by BMitch♦, ChrisF♦ Jun 29 '12 at 11:28

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