On the contrary, they especially liked to lie at the edge and look through the opening in all directions.
yes, and as bad as it sounds: until they fell through for the first time because they were compromised (illness or similar) or sometimes didn't land on their paws on the steps below and got badly injured (I unfortunately experienced it, the cat did not survive )
but well, that's up to everyone, if you don't have cats or dogs it's not so important, usually the stair gate for children is enough.