I actually purchased this gate to keep my cats from a certain area of the house that people still need regular access to. There is a door frame around the entry to this area (built as an option to put a door later), there is no actual door. I ordered this particular gate due to its height, in hopes that if was tall enough, the cats would not jump over. While there are some cats who could probably figure out how to jump high enough to get over it, my two are not "jumpers", so....knocking on wood....so far, so good. My entry frame is pretty narrow, so I only needed the one slim piece on the side, and not any of the extra pieces included for wider doors. Those are in the box and put away in case I do ever move this to a wider entry point in another part of the house. Because this is being used for cats, I did NOT screw the holder pieces meant to go into the door frame to help keep the gate more child safe / secure. That is optional in case one decides to use this as a temporary block. If I did have children, I would definitely screw those pieces in. However, for my needs, I like the temporary option. The gate still fits very securely into the entry, it has not budged AT ALL. In fact, using the adjuster pieces, I actually go the gate into the frame a bit TOO tight, to the point I could not open it! :) I was able to loosen it enough where the gate functions easily, but stays tight and secure in the door frame. I will say, I was a bit stumped how to actually open the gate once I got it put in. The directions are not 100% clear on that. So to clarify, you have to slide a tab on one side back, while LIFTING the entire gate door with your opposite hand. This is an added safety feature for preventing children to easily open, and functionally once you get the hang of doing it, it becomes "remote action". I was a bit worried the lifting would cause the gate to become loose, but so far, the lifting action is gentle enough to not have loosened the gate in the frame, nor do I foresee it doing so. One thing to note: if the gate is opened fully, it can lock into an open position. That is not necessarily a downside, because there are times when you may need the gate to stay open. But it is something to be aware of because if not paying attention, if one does open it to that point and then walk off and forget.... the gate will stay open (I have noticed that the teenagers in the house do this a lot without noticing, so lots of reminders going on right now!!). Further, if you close the gate too gently, it will sit in a position where it looks closed, but it really isn't locked into place -- this is a bit harder to do, and takes more intention, which I can see if someone is trying to be quiet and not have the gate make a sound while closing. All that is human error / oversight, and not due to the design of the gate -- ie, the gate is designed to close and lock itself with normal entry / exit use. But as with ANY child gate, it is very important to stay alert that the gate closes and locks itself securely. I am very happy with the gate and it is performing perfectly for my needs. I highly recommend it, but please do follow ALL instructions about installation if you are using it for children.
