Recliners and Cats Don’t Mix

How To Keep Cats From Going Under Your Recliners

-Recliners can be dangerous for cats and they should be trained not to go under them. Their tails, feet and even head are at risk for injuries. Most recliners have some kind of base, which allows you to try this method of keeping your cats from going under your recliners.  My sister gave me this idea when we were talking about my family’s new kittens. I gave it a try and it worked like a charm.

One of my cats years ago was injured in one of our recliners. He was young and crawled under the chair to sleep. When the recliner was closed the kitten was still inside and yelled. We quickly opened the chair for him to get out. We felt all over to see why he cried and could not find anything wrong. It was about a year later when we noticed one of his eyes would not stay still when he looked at something. When I consulted the vet about it, he said it looked like a sign of head trauma. His head was about the only place I did not press on to see if he had any sensitive spots after the incident.

You can try this if you are concerned about your recliners being dangerous for your cats. First, take your chair and turn it upside down. Then, get a piece of cardboard large enough to cover the entire base. Cut the cardboard to size, based on how you want to secure it to the base. You can either use a carpenter’s stapler to tack it to the bottom or you can use tape. You can hide the tape by cutting the cardboard to be the size of the inside dimensions of the base. This will allow the tape to stick to the very bottom of the base and the weight of the recliners should keep the tape from ever coming off. You can also use colored tape to secure it to the sides of the base by cutting your cardboard to the outside dimensions of the base. The weight of the chair will also help hold the cardboard in place. Use a strong tape such as duct, packing, or gaffers and place them in long strips going from one end to the other. You can use double sided or reverse wrap strips to hold the tape in place as you place it sticky side up over the cardboard piece. Use two narrow strips of tape to secure your tape in the center area as well. In the pictured example, I used four long strips that I reverse wrapped and placed them down before running my long pieces across the cardboard. Leave about half inch gaps between the tape strips and also around the edge of the cardboard. Secure your strips down by using your tape sticky side down around the boarder, with just enough to wrap it around the edges. Now you can secure the cardboard to the base however you may have chosen to do so. Your cats will not like sticking to the tape. This can also help with you not having to deal with any kinds of odors from products others may suggest, such as moth balls. In time you can remove the cardboard, because they will have lost interest in trying to get under the chair to curl up and sleep.
Do not buy shock mats, not a big fan of the cat having fear within it’s own home and it’s just plain mean. The only fear they should have is their owner saying NO! Maybe that water bottle sitting near by, ready to fire or loud crinkly paper smacked on a surface near the cat, will strike a bit of fear. At least they will understand what is happening and the commands indicating why. If your not willing to take the time to train your pet, you should reconsider having one. Perhaps those who use these shock mats, have their cupboard handles wired up, to keep their kids out of the snacks too.