Mythos and Rini are generally very good cats, but sometimes when they have a bad day, they would hide under the bed or couch and don’t wanna come out (Note: it is not excessive hiding, we observed for 2 years). We totally understand cats like to hide and play, that’s why I built them cat tree and cat condo. However, this behavior disturbs our daily routine especially if that happens at LATE night, sometimes we have to wake up at 5:30 AM for work next morning and that’s pretty frustrated trying to kick them back to their own room so that we can sleep.
Blocking them from going in
If you know me or have worked with me, I am the person who have no plans but have strong determination to complete a project with quality. I am an freestyle Artist, I usually walk around Home Depot and see what they have and come up with a solution with some drawing on the spot, just like the Pet Gate Project last time. My style is similar to basic survival skills – you act based on existing resources you can find and come up with a solution. That is the reason why I am so pissed, when my company asks me about career goal and plan every year. I can totally change my career to something different and I can still survive, who gives a shit? Life is all about survival, no matter what you do eventually you will die.
Anyways, I bought some 1x5x6 and 1x4x6 Pine from Home Depot, cut them and nailed them. It’s very easy, anyone can do that if you know how to cut and nail, unless you are one of dumbasses on the TV show “Canada’s Worst Handyman”. Note that I re-used the scrap wood for middle support, I think that’s green and innovative.
(All project photos were taken using iPhone)
One challenge for the Queen size bed is the metal frame that comes with several LEGS in the middle. To overcome this, I made 2 boxes as you see in the picture. Finally, to put it to the test, we have Mythos and Rini for QA. Mythos was really mad and tried so hard to push the wood. But Cats do not have a lot of persistence, so they gave up after 10 minutes. Project is so successful.
Notes and Side Benefits
I have intentionally made the boxes smaller so that people don’t see the wood from the standing angle, the other alternatives are: (1) add mirrors to create optical Illusion (2) stain/paint the wood with color. With this project, there is another benefit - I no longer need to vacuum the carpet under the bed or swiffer the floor under the couch! It saves a lot of time and effort.
Great website! Thanks for sharing your projects and photos. Regarding the ‘Blocking cats from hiding under the bed and couch’ project where you built boxes, have you thought of converting those to storage bins? Although items under bed is bad feng shui. I wished I was close by to help you with your paver project.