We recently got a leather recliner that rocks back and forth. My cat is terrified of it. She is scared of the sound as you sit in it (this will wake her up and she will sit bolt upright and stare at it) and she gets very freaked out when you rock in it but once you recline it back - that's it - she goes and hides. It does not matter who is sitting in the chair - its the actual chair she is scared of. She is usually a loving kitty and never a scaredy cat so how can we help her overcome this? We don't want her to spend every evening hiding under the couch :(
Cats don't deal well with changes in their environment. And a new chair is a big change to a cat. The way it sounds and the way it smells. It will take some time but she will get used to it and stopping hiding. The important thing is to let her adjust in her own time. You might try taking something that she has slept on and rubbing it over the chair, then putting it in the seat for a while. This will transfer her scent onto the chair. I used to have a cat that would stop in the doorway of my apartment just because I'd moved one piece of furniture 2 inches. When he finally came inside he would have to go around and sniff everything before he'd settle down. I hope this helps.
Your cat is just scared because it is new an unfamiliar. But more important is that recliners are potentially very dangerous to cats. There are cases where the cat has gone under the recliner then someone sat in the chair and reclined and either killed or seriously injured the cat. Be very careful.
Buy your cat a kennle and stuff her in it so she cannot get out. This will make her forced into liking it.
She just needs to get used to it. After that she see's it's not there to hurt her, she'll be fine.
