Cats are notorious for hiding underneath beds. Even if your cat isn’t necessarily scared, hiding under the best is simply a natural cat thing to do! If you want to prevent your cat from hiding under the bed, you have your work cut out for you. Usually, you’ll have to invest in a complete blocking system that simply makes under your bed unreachable.
There are few commercial options out there that accomplish this. However, there are many DIY options that are pretty easy to build too. Keep reading for some of our favorite plans that will keep your cat out from underneath your bed.
The 8 DIY Under Bed Blockers for Cats
1. Cardboard Bed Storage Container by crafter in the attic
| Materials: | Thick cardboard boxes, plastic tablecloths, small glider feet, rope or old fabric for the handles |
| Tools: | Scissors, PVA glue, tape |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
For those that need something now to stop their cat from getting under their bed, we recommend this cardboard option. Originally, this plan was designed to help you add some storage to the space underneath your bed with little cardboard boxes. However, when the boxes are in place, your cat won’t be able to get underneath your bed, either.
Therefore, this is probably the easiest option by far for blocking your cat’s access to your bed. However, it doesn’t look the best, as it simply utilizes cardboard boxes.
2. Upcycled Under-the-Bed Drawers by olive & love
| Materials: | Old dresser, Zinsser primer, spray paint of any color, scrapbook paper, wheels |
| Tools: | Sandpaper, glue, screws, drill |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
Similar to the first option, you can also add drawers underneath your bed. With the outside of your bed covered, your cat will be unable to get underneath your bed at all. However, this plan utilizes dresser drawers, so you don’t have to build anything from scratch. Therefore, they are much easier to achieve than other options on this list.
It can look rather professional if you choose the correct drawers. You can decorate the drawers as you see fit to match the rest of the décor and you can easily upcycle old dresser drawers for this purpose. In fact, you can easily paint or change the knob on any set of older drawers to make them appear newer.
This plan gives you plenty of function while also keeping your cat from accessing underneath your bed.
3. Mesh Blocker by YouTube
| Materials: | 20+ yards of mesh, cable ties |
| Tools: | Scissors |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
If you need something simple to stop your favorite feline from getting under the bed, this is the blocker for you. This mesh under bed blocker is a breeze to set up, plus it’s incredibly cheap! How do you use the mesh to block beneath the bed?
It’ll involve some crawling around on the floor, but you shouldn’t have to move or lift your bed, which is great. You just have to tie the mesh to one of the bed legs with the cable ties, then unwrap the roll to go around the bottom of the bed, tying the mesh to each bed leg you come to. That’s it! It couldn’t be simpler.
4. The Book Hack by wiki how
| Materials: | Books |
| Tools: | None |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Are you a reader with a ton of books? Then wikiHow has the solution to the problem of your cat getting beneath your bed! Ready to hear it?
Put stacks of books under your bed. Get your heaviest, thickest books (ones you don’t read a lot, preferably), and stack them all along the edges of your bed. The number of books for each stack will vary, of course, depending on how thick your books are. Overall, it’s an incredibly easy hack to keep kitties out from beneath the bed!
5. Under Furniture Blocker by YouTube
| Materials: | Pipe insulation, cable ties |
| Tools: | Measuring tape, scissors |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
The person who created this blocker used it to block off the bottom of her sofa so her pup’s toys wouldn’t get under there, but it’s easily tweaked to work for a bed. (Unless your bed is incredibly high.) And this blocker is inexpensive, so you don’t have to worry about spending tons.
All you need is pipe insulation (although pool noodles could work, too, if you can’t get any insulation) and cable ties. Measure the sides and ends of your bed to find out how long the insulation should be to cover it, then cut as needed. Create a small hole in the ends of the insulation so you can slip a cable tie through, then tie it to the bed legs. And you’re done! If the insulation doesn’t cover enough to keep the cat out, you can double up on it to make it thicker.
6. Plexiglass Blocker by YouTube
| Materials: | Plexiglass, gel tape |
| Tools: | Measuring tape, scissors, cutting tool (optional) |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Blocking beneath your bed with plexiglass might be a bit more expensive than doing it with pipe insulation, but it’s definitely a sturdier fix. And it’s still simple to put up.
If you measure the sides and ends of your bed before getting the plexiglass, you shouldn’t need any tools to cut it to the proper size, but if not, make sure you have something on hand that will cut plexiglass. Once you have your pieces in the sizes you need, you’ll use the gel tape (the person in the video had double-sided) to stick the plexiglass all along the bottom of the bed. This blocker is easy, and it looks nice too. Plus, it’ll absolutely keep your pet from going beneath the bed!
7. Foil Blocker by YouTube
| Materials: | Cardboard boxes, foil |
| Tools: | Measuring tape, scissors, tape, cutting tool (optional) |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Now this under bed blocker might not work for all types of beds, but if you’re not too pressed about how a blocker looks and have a bunch of cardboard boxes and aluminum foil on hand, this should work well. You’ve probably seen videos of cats reacting hilariously to foil; there’s just something about it they seem to dislike. And that’s why this under bed blocker should work great.
Just measure the sides and ends of your bed, then grab your boxes and foil. Cut boxes to the height you need, then cover the cardboard with foil. Finally, set the foil-covered cardboard up beneath your bed. It couldn’t be simpler!
8. Plastic Under Bed Drawer by Pin Sand Procrastination
| Materials: | Plastic bin, 1-inch caster |
| Tools: | Drill, short screws, wood shims, masking tape, hacksaw |
| Difficulty Level: | Intermediate |
Though this plan is technically one for creating storage beneath your bed, it will also work well at blocking kitty from going where you don’t want it to. And you get that extra storage as a bonus!
Essentially, you’re going to add the casters to the wood shims, then attach them to the bottom of the plastic bins. That creates a rolling storage drawer; if you use enough of them beneath your bed, your cat will have nowhere to go. There’s also an option to dress up the bin a little with a nice fabric strap on the side, but plain works just as well. And if you don’t feel like doing the work of adding wheels to the bins, why not just shove a bunch of wheelless bins under your bed? It still works as both a blocker and storage!
Conclusion
There are many options for blocking the underside of your bed from your cat. Most of them involve adding some kind of storage, which can also block your cat’s access underneath your bed. Some of these are extremely easy, such as the cardboard storage option. However, easier options typically don’t look the best.
Using drawers as storage underneath your bed is also an option, though that relies heavily on the size of your bed and finding the correct drawers. Generally, none of these options is extremely difficult, so we recommend choosing whichever one you have the time for.
See also:
- 4 DIY Cat Beds Using Baskets You Can Make at Home Today (With Pictures)
- 5 Amazing DIY Senior Cat Litter Box Plans you can Create at Home (With Pictures)
Featured Image Credit: Piotr Musiol, Unsplash
The 8 DIY Under Bed Blockers for Cats
