Senior Cat Safety

[Stephanie1373]

Hello! It’s been a little while since I’ve posted here. My boy Kasper will be 19 at the end of next month! Yay! I hope and pray for as much time as possible with my baby. He’s got kidney issues and thyroid issues but both are well managed. He’s lost a lot of weight and he’s fragile so he gets to eat whenever he wants, however much he wants. He has arthritis and is developing some dementia. Overall his life is good and he’s got tons of support, love, comfort and care from me and his daddy.

Kasper has an ottoman that he loves to sleep on. He has a little step he uses to get get up on there. Lately though he’s been losing his footing as he’s settling himself down and he falls or rolls right off! It’s the saddest and it breaks my heart to get there in time to catch him! Is there a way that I can make his ottoman safer and more secure for him?

 

[silkenpaw]

Would he still like his ottoman if you put one of those round beds with a raised border on it?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

That's an idea! Another is to place small pillow on the floor around the ottoman. He'll still fall, but he'll have a soft landing.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Where is the ottoman located in the room? Could you push it into a corner (maybe a few inches moving it each day due to the dementia), so he has at least 2 solid walls? Great idea on the "bumper pad" bed. I like the pillow idea, too. Soft landings and stuff!
Another option is to make it "bigger" by pushing it up against a couch, or (if applicable) pushing it between a wall and a couch or chair so there's only ONE side he can fall off (again, with a pillow just in case on the ground).
If it gets very bad a last ditch effort would be removing it completely, but I'd hate to do that if he enjoys it.
I have an ottoman that a long lost, much loved family cat chose as hers, and lay on during her last years. She LOVED this raggy thing. When she died I couldn't bear to throw it out, so it is in a large closet with shelving that goes high up, we use it as a step stool =)
Edit: Another idea aside from the pillow is placing the pillows (flatter, don't want him hitting them on the way down and rolling onto the hard floor) onto a large, thick comforter, folded 2-4 times for extra padding and extra height. With the extra height, he'll have less distance to travel if he takes a tumble.)