Looking for a quick fix to my bare wood stairs

Any poly you use will take at least a couple of hours to dry.

Fast dry poly usually will dry in two hours. Three coats should take approximately six hours.

You can use a fast dry poly, check out the diy stores.

Draw attention to the stair risers instead.

Install Tiles on Stair Risers

Paint Stair Risers

Or cover the entire stair.

Apply Stair Tread Runners

Install Stair Tread and Riser Covers

The last option being a interesting idea. It is sort of like a dental cap for stairs.

You can make use of fast dry poly for that.

Polycrylic is the best choice! One coat of oil based can take up one day to dry. I stopped using oil base poly decades ago when water based came out. If you paint do use the Polycrylic to protect the paint finish. I always use three coats of Polycrylic no matter if raw, stained, or painted wood/furniture.

So the wood is currently unsealed? Are they plain wood or stained? If you're looking to paint, it is going to be multiple steps with lots of dry time between; it won't be a super speedy project. If they're stained, you'll need to prime before you paint although if they're bare wood, priming would be good regardless.

The sheen of the paint won't really matter as it's the finish sheen of the poly that will remain. Just fyi, satin could still prove to be slippery when dry, so do a test first.

quick fixes are not usually what you need to strip the steps and stain or repaint them it takes a lot of time and work -

use wood putty to repair holes, etc sand down and then paint or stain

I used a floor paint on mine which has worked wonderfully. That would cut out the 2 steps of paint & poly.

Hello, here is one idea for you to try,

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-herb-garden-indoor-outdoor-13771633.html

https://sawsonskates.com/how-to-apply-polycrylic/

General finishes makes a great poly that will last longer than minwax. Check it out or give them a call.

Stair tread covers

https://www.thespruce.com/best-stair-tread-carpets-5080280

They also make laminate, rubber and non slip stair tread covers.

https://www.thespruce.com/best-stair-tread-carpets-5080280

They also make non slip carpeted stair covers. You could match your accent color of color from throw rugs for a more put together look.

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Flooring-Rugs-Stair-Tread-Covers/Non-Slip-Pad/Laminate/N-5yc1vZbdtoZ1z188mbZ1z188sh

I would put a runner down the center of the stairs. There are many tutorials for this including this one. https://www.hometalk.com/diy/staircases/how-to-install-a-stair-runner-44271151

Rub them down and then use a Coloured Wax maybe?

Hi Louise, sounds as though you've received many great suggestions, but want to just use clear sealer. se polyacrylic water based sealer and be done since you want the look of bare wood. The cats can surely be contained for the time it takes to seal the bare wood.