Anyone Have Good Results Cat-proofing A Recliner?

Kazsu58

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I'm thinking maybe a ScatMat underneath? Or I was even thinking of bird netting or trellis fabric to close off the area under the recliner....looking for some good suggestions
 

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I'm thinking maybe a ScatMat underneath? Or I was even thinking of bird netting or trellis fabric to close off the area under the recliner....looking for some good suggestions
Are you wanting them to keep off of it (not lay on it) or is this a clawing issue?
 

danteshuman

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If it is going under the recliner I would avoid putting my feet up with little kittens around. If it is a teen/adult cat you could try putting cotton balls/pads of orange oil underneath it every week? My adult cats show no interest going underneath our lazy-boy chair.
 

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If you’re trying to keep kitty from underneath, try one of the rubber welcome mats that has the pointy nubs. They don’t like to walk on it. If it’s a clawing issue, mist the recliner with Feliway spray every day for a week. If s/he starts in again after a few days, repeat! I have to regularly mist certain rugs in the house.
 
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Kazsu58

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Are you wanting them to keep off of it (not lay on it) or is this a clawing issue?
I was wanting to deter them from going under it while it is up. It's for a large 3 yo 9lb cat that likes to hide under. We want to train it to stay away.
 
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Kazsu58

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If you’re trying to keep kitty from underneath, try one of the rubber welcome mats that has the pointy nubs. They don’t like to walk on it. If it’s a clawing issue, mist the recliner with Feliway spray every day for a week. If s/he starts in again after a few days, repeat! I have to regularly mist certain rugs in the house.
The cat doesn't mind those mats with the nubs. The only other thing i could think of besides the scatmat is to actually sew trellis fabric around the bottom to create a barrier but would still allow chair to recline.
 

Tobermory

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The cat doesn't mind those mats with the nubs. The only other thing i could think of besides the scatmat is to actually sew trellis fabric around the bottom to create a barrier but would still allow chair to recline.
That’s a determined cat! If you have tools, you could build a wooden box that would slide under the recliner and fill the space. You could stain it so it looks better. It depends on how your chair works, obviously. It would work on mine if I had a similar problem because the height doesn’t change as it reclines.

Many hotel rooms have now boxed in the underside of the beds so people can’t put things under them. I particularly appreciate this when I’ve traveled with my cats in the past. It’s very difficult to extract a cat from underneath a king-sized bed.
 

Tobermory

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Another thought...You could get a piece of plywood cut to the right size and cover it with double stick tape. If the recliner is sitting on tile, you could put the tape on the tile. I’d be afraid tape might damage hardwood and it wouldn’t stick to carpet.
 

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I was wanting to deter them from going under it while it is up. It's for a large 3 yo 9lb cat that likes to hide under. We want to train it to stay away.
Good plan, those recliners can be deadly.
I have no other suggestions other than does she have a really quiet, dark, safe out of the way place to call her own? She might be seeking out the best hiding space ever. Finding a spot and making it her own (if you haven't already tried this) might deter her from wanting under the recliner in the first place. Sometimes it's a big old box or something that makes them happy!
 

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I stacked books at the back to keep the cats from going under the back of the recliner. I don't know what you can do for the front, when the foot rest is up. I just begged everybody not to use the footrest anymore. Twice I walked by and the cats were under there when a family member had the foot rest up and they didn't know it. Thank God I walked by and saw them or they would have been crunched when the footrest came down.
 

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I used two old standard size bed pillows and stuffed one in the front and one in the back when I first brought my kitten home. She is now a year and a half and has never gotten under our recliner. You can raise and lower it without any problem. I just check it now and then to be sure of a snug fit.
 

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When I was a kid, we had a Miniature Schnauzer, "Tyrone," who used to go under the reclining chair when my mom was sitting there.

One day, the phone rang and my mom got up to answer it. She pushed the footrest down and ran for the phone, not realizing that Tyrone was sitting underneath. He got swept under and was trapped under the chair!

The phone call ended. About a half-hour later, we were all sitting around the living room and somebody asked, "Hey, where's the dog?"

We searched and searched but couldn't find him. We looked everywhere. Finally, somebody called his name and we heard a whimper come from underneath the recliner. My mom pulled the lever, up went the recliner and out ran the dog... shaken but none the worse for the wear.

Once we figured out that Tyrone was all right, we had a good laugh.

The dog never sat under the recliner again... Once was enough for him! ;)

Knowing the way reclining chairs are built...(I used to be a furniture salesman)...most of the "pinch points" are covered or recessed in order to prevent injury from just such an event. Not to say that it's 100% safe but, yes, most furniture is built with just such an event in mind.

Yes, the cat might be swept under like our dog was but Kitty isn't likely to get hurt.

Just be careful and watch out for the cat sitting underneath.

Cats learn fast. Once will probably be enough.
 

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Update: I couldn't keep my wee kittens from climbing in the recliner (they hid in the side of the bottom of the recliner) ..... plus at 3.5 months old they still sometimes climb up the back of the recliner (Velcro back for easy access.) I gave up and put folded towels under the "feet" in the front so the recliner could not rock forward to the floor .... buying them some wiggle room. Plus reclining slowly. Honestly they only go under when the kids come .... otherwise they are just mucking about in the back for fun.
 

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The trick then is to keep the kids from playing on the recliner -- flip flip flip - sort of like a rocking horse.
 

danteshuman

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*** spraying orange oil onto cotton squares might work. I sprayed orange grease remover on a paper towel that I put back under the fridge and dishwasher. It worked to keep my curious little minions out from under there.***
 

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Omg all, this thread has seriously been a life saver... Got a beautiful new recliner lounge for my birthday and spent the whole afternoon in tears because our little furbaby got in and there were so many spots she could have gotten crushed and had limbs chopped off but reading all these ideas has saved my sanity for another day....we have used a bunch of pillows and so far working a treat
 

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I've never actually seen a recliner in person, but I'm wondering if you couldn't nail heavy screening to most of the undercarriage to close it? As I said I'm going by what I think they might be underneath.

We had a rocking chair, which we secured by placing a pillow under the rockers. It was a gift.
 

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I've never actually seen a recliner in person, but I'm wondering if you couldn't nail heavy screening to most of the undercarriage to close it? As I said I'm going by what I think they might be underneath.

We had a rocking chair, which we secured by placing a pillow under the rockers. It was a gift.
The difficult thing about making a recliner safe is that the foot rest is attached with a hinged metal apparatus that accordions closed when you sit up straight. Frighteningly perfect for amputating tails and legs. We have one and I never put down the foot rest without checking to make sure no one is underneath. If I’d realized the potential for disaster, I never would have bought it!
 
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