Is It Possible for a Cat to Damage a Plasma Tv Screen with Its Claws?

My husband just got a plasma tv and I am worried about our cat trying to climb on top of it (the tv being a new climbing surface and the cat being curious). I am worried that if the cat thinks it is wider than it is and he jumps up and slips and then uses his back feet on the screen to climb up, is it possible he can damage the screen: is there glass over the plasma? and if so is there a coating on the glass? Where's the plasma because it used to be a soft, squishy kind of surface and very delicate. I don't know anything about these screens and my husband won't talk about anything right now as he just wants to gaze in delightful wonder at the new tv. I'm trying to be practical and learn what potential problems the cat can cause, and how I can avoid this happening (please don't give me some ridiculously stupid answer here like get rid of the cat or put socks on the cat, etc, I am looking for intelligent help please). Who can help me?

Answer:

LCDs are liquid crystal displays. They are soft and squishy, or can be. Some come with coverings that prevent you from being able to push into the liquid (the squishy).

Plasma is created when the internal gasses (usually neon and xeon) have an electrical current passed through them and become excited. You do no ever touch the Plasma that is created. Those gasses, and thus the Plasma, is always sandwiched in between glass, always.

While most Plasma HDTVs do have a minor protective coating on them, this is mainly meant to help against dirt and some minor oils or such. And often as an anti-reflective coating. It is not designed to protect against cat claws (or other sharp edged things). You definitely do not want your cat pawing at the screen and possibly leaving scratches on it.

And yes, if your cat knocks over the TV, that's a potential for damaging it. But likely about the same as an LCD HDTV. Both would run the same risk of having the screen crack/break if knocked off a TV stand by a cat.

I think your best bet is to wall mount the TV. Find a flat wall where the cat can't access (so nothing near by for the cat to get onto first before attempting to reach the TV) and then put a wall mount on there. Or get a TV stand that has a wall-mount like attachment on it. This way, even if the cat does try to jump on the TV itself, it will be quite difficult to knock it over, as it will be secured, not simply just resting on the top shelf of the stand.

And your cat may well be attracted to the TV. While much better now than in the past, Plasmas still do run a bit warmer than LCDs. So if your cat likes heat or warm object or such, it might be attracted to the TV. I know a friend's cat loves the top of his security monitor at work because of the heat (though not a Plasma, kind of the same idea).

You could also talk to home theatre professionals. Either the store where you bought it, or look for speciality home theatre installation companies in your area. You can't be the first people ever to have bought a Plasma TV while owning cats. So I'm sure they might have suggestions as well.

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