It’s that time of year i.e. Christmas, and people are more inclined to spend money on themselves and others. It’s a time when a caring cat caregiver might treat themselves to a new item of furniture such as a riser recliner or a reclining armchair so they can watch Christmas television in great comfort.
And at this time of year people also adopt kittens and puppies sometimes as gifts for the children or gifts to the family.
It’s a time of year, therefore, when there might be a confluence (a bringing together) of two different events: the adoption of a kitten or puppy and the purchase of a reclining armchair.
These two events brought together might end up in disaster for both kitten and caregiver.
It is underreported and I’ve checked Google Scholar to see whether there are any reports on this but there aren’t.
I suspect that many kittens and puppies are killed under reclining armchairs but they are not reported. Perhaps the owner is embarrassed by their mistake. And it is a mistake born out of an understandable lack of knowledge.
We can’t criticise people who want to buy a reclining armchair and who wants to adopt a puppy or kitten. However, I don’t think these two things can be brought together in the same home. It’s just too dangerous.
Let’s think about the dangers. Kittens recently adopted are likely to hide under bits of furniture. They’ll do this until they’ve become settled and familiar with their surroundings.
The reclining armchair has a lot of space underneath it and is an ideal place to hide. Or if the kitten is not hiding it might be a nice place to simply rest and snooze or play
And it doesn’t have to be a kitten it can be an adult cat or a small dog. These cosy spaces are interesting to cats and dogs particularly kittens who are more prone to explore.
The kitten’s caregiver won’t know that their newly adopt a companion animal is under the riser recliner or reclining armchair. They won’t be looking. You know how cats and kittens can become invisible even inside the home. You can lose your cat inside your home sometimes.
There is a real danger and the owner won’t know about it until their kitten has been crushed in the most devastating way. It will be doubly painful because the caregiver might feel guilty. It’s their fault. They know it. It is an act of carelessness. They may have difficulty in living with that for a while.
RELATED: Riser Recliner Chairs Can Crush Pets
KEY: The solution is not to buy a reclining armchair or couch or a riser recliner if you own a companion animal particularly a kitten or puppy. I don’t think the two go together as stated.
It is, without banging the drum, the duty of a cat caregiver to minimise the dangers inside the home to their companion animal. There are many potential dangers inside the home such as chemicals for cleaning and for the protection of furniture and carpets. These are often insidious dangers.
There are dangers in plants for example. Most household plants are dangerous to cats. Some aren’t but on a separate topic you could argue that you shouldn’t have any inside plants if you own a cat and if you do you should make sure they are safe through careful research. It’s all about minimising dangers to your companion animal.
Below are some more articles on dangers to cats.
