Many years ago my wife and I would sometimes cat sit for a neighbor who had nine cats but I rarely saw more than two. She had one cat that was friendly, one cat that was curious but shy and seven cats that hid under the bed. I tried looking for them a few times but never saw them until I realized they were up inside the box spring of her bed.
That was new to me then but I have since learned it is common with timid cats. None of our cats did that until we got Flash. Years later, Puck would make himself a home in our box spring. It is something that I accepted but never liked for a couple of reasons.
I think a timid cat should not be encouraged to hide. I also don’t think he should be forced into an uncomfortable situation but hiding places should probably be closer to areas where family activities are going on. Those hiding places should also be within reach of human hands. Also, If there was ever an emergency, like a fire, retrieving a cat from inside the box spring would be an impossible task. Even during non-emergencies, like a scheduled vet visit, it would be a huge pain to take the bed apart to get your cat.
During our last move, my wife thought of an ingenious way to keep Puck out of our box spring. I took a picture of it at the time and then forgot about it until now.
She placed an old fitted sheet over the bottom of the box spring. It covered the holes that Puck had created and, since the material is a bit stronger than the cheap felt that is on most box springs, making new holes is more challenging. Puck still hid under the bed after that but he never again got up inside of our box spring.
What do you think? Do you have cats that do this?
Bad Cat Chris 
We’ve shredded the fabric that covers the bottom of the box spring. MOL! But seriously, in Zoey’s room, the humans have blocked it so she cannot hide under the bed. She has other hiding spots but not under the bed. If she got under there, we’d never see her.
That is probably why your humans blocked it.
That is a good idea.
It worked for us.
That’s a great idea…your wife is a very smart woman! 🙂
She is amazing. 😀
My human used to worry about Boodie hiding in case of an emergency, but she doesn’t think she would do it anymore.
I guess some cats come out of their shell a bit.
I wish I had been following your blog, and your wife had thought of this ’bout 20
years ago!! dude was notorious for getting in the box springs, at one point I removed
the bed frame altogether and the box springs sat on the floor. There was no danger
of being hurt if I fell out of bed, but still. This is a great idea, thanx for sharing! 😊♥️
My pleasure. ☺️
Our previous cats used to do that under the guest room bed, but they are no longer allowed in guest room. I am sort of surprised that Puck hasn’t been able to chew and claw a hole through the fitted sheet. But as he hasn’t…good idea and good job. XOCK, angel Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy and Sawyer
He probably could have if he tried hard enough but it probably wasn’t worth the effort.
We had some cats that did that while someone was lying in that bed. We wound up getting a 1/4-inch sheet of plywood — not strong enough to support the bed, but strong enough to keep out the curious kitties before their curiosity did them in.
Good idea. Can’t claw through that.
I’ve never had a cat who was interested in hiding in the box springs but this idea with the fitted sheet is brilliant!!
Hugs, Pam
My wife always says, “blonde, not stupid.” 😀
What a smart idea ! Purrs
I have a smart wife. 🙂
I have never heard of that before. Kommando wouldn’t let us touch her for the first few days, and Snoops was skittish (we’re pretty sure she was abused), it went away fairly quickly. Our cat Rascal hid under the bed when we stayed at my parents’ for a couple of weeks after my first baby, but she never scratched the box spring. I guess there’s no end to cats’ imaginations.
Cats can get into just about anything.