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Let's say I have a race of humanoids (bipedal, roughly human proportions) that have tails like felines/canines. I'm trying to figure out how they would design seating...

Assumptions:

• Like cats/dogs, they can bend their tail close to 90° right at the base.


• Like humans (but this is true of dogs, also!), they "sit" by resting their weight on their haunches.


• Sitting "on" their tail (i.e. brought forward between their legs) is quite uncomfortable, and possibly not safe.


• Sitting with their tail "stuck" to one side is annoying; they want to be able to move it to their other side, or let it "hang out", without getting up.


• Similarly, sitting in a way that they can't bring their tail in to curl against a leg is annoying.


• Tail lengths vary; on a "typical" chair, the tip may not quite reach the ground, or nearly two thirds of the tail may be on the floor.


• Their tails are flexible enough that, if they are sitting with their tailed tucked along a leg, on a chair that is open about the width of their body, they can "swoosh" their tail into the gap until it is fully "behind" the chair, and can reverse this action.

Given that they would design seats to overcome these limitations, what would they look like?

For chairs, they would just have a gap between the seat and back, with supports on the sides or set back enough to allow them to shift their tails over the support while seated. (The seat might also be "notched" a bit in back.) Alternatively, for casual seating, they might prefer cushions, a la the Orians from The Stars at War series.

But... I'm particularly interested in figuring out vehicle seats. "Bucket" seats that have open space behind them can probably follow similar design principles, but what about the more bench-like seats in the backs of cars? Could they have anything similar? If so, how would these seats need to be modified to accommodate tails? What about the seat belts / safety harnesses; would those need modification? What about "booster seats" for younger individuals that don't fit in the adult-sized seats?

(...or, they might use "seats" that look totally different? However, any "seat" whereupon they rest their abdomens would be a problem for individuals that are pregnant, especially when talking about vehicle seats. Also, they need to be able to fasten whatever safety restraint system is in use without assistance; stuff that fastens behind them is going to be awkward at best.)

(This is similar to, but not the same as, What would a chair for a Human with a Tail look like?.)

Please note that I have already speculated that their seats might look nothing like seats made for humans. I've also speculated why they would. Comments along these lines that don't come with suggestions for seating design or at least details beyond vague hand-waving are not helpful. The specific thrust of the question has plot relevance to my story. Explanation of the physiological working of my creatures' anatomy not; questions along those lines that don't come with suggested answers will be referred to Bellisario's Maxim and/or The MST3K Mantra, or at least a different WB question.

Depends on why they have a tail

If their tail is prehensile, their instinct will probably be to utilize it to catch themselves in which case, putting a pull brake under the chair instead of by the feet might feel very natural to them; so, you'll probably have something similar to a toilet seat with a lever in it.

If the tail is used primarily for balance when they run, then their instinct will be to continue to do that the same way humans prefer to lean into a turn so that we don't feel like we will fall over. In this case, an opening in the back of the seat with room behind it to point and swing their tail will be ideal.

If the tail is mostly decorative or used for protection, then it will be a question of keeping the tail safe; so, there will likely be some manner of "pocket" shaped in whatever fashion best keeps their particular tails from getting damaged.

Apart from adding a hole or pocket to the chair, the safety belts would likely not change much. You will still need to be forward facing to see where they are going, and you will still need a solid back and accessible straps which would not need to change in any meaningful way. Car seating is already designed with utility and safety in mind. When you start messing around with it too much, you create new safety concerns.

Have the chair back contain a "C" like cutout or an off center post. That way, as long as they get use to sitting from one side of the seat: the door side and either the right side or the left side for non-vehicle seats. Sitting will be a normal action.

Look at horse riding both horses and riders are use to people getting on the horse from one side. Anyone who is a trained rider just mounts from that side without thinking about it.

Another possibility for vehicles is to have the back support not attached to the base of the seat but attached to the top or sides of the vehicle. However, this solution doesn't help chairs around a table like the other one does. So, I don't like it because it isn't a universal solution.

Split seats.

having a gap in the center of the seat, that runs all the way forward and open in the back would be best. Keep in mind some car seats are angled back far more than chairs are. with bucket seats this will let the tail point forward, or back depending on the persons sitting style. Just like in the real world you will see different styles for different vehicles, motorcycle style seats may be slightly more common. Note most car seats sit fairly high in the frame, meaning tails can stick down quite a bit as well. The groove could run all the way to the floor. The lower section of the seat will be two seperate pieces, left and right.

Now if people sit with the tail pointed back it mean that each person takes up more space in the car, so you either seat fewer people or have longer cars, you can get shorter length by staggering rows so the back row is laterally offset to the front row, thus either the front or back will only seat one person. This may make three wheel style cars more common.

I think an important piece to answer it, why do they still have tails? We had them, and they got in the way of walking/running all the time. How did they evolve and keep the tails?

There isn't a huge reason to keep the back of the seat closed, most car seats have very little structure there, just fabric pulled across it. Something like the attached image should give them plenty of room to let their tail hang out.

If the tail isn't excessively long, and can bend enough that it can run almost parallel to the rest of the spine, a simple solution for vehicles is a molded pocket that runs from the seat up the backrest. Structurally, it wouldn't change the effectiveness of the seat: you just adjust the back frame to have a gap that allows the pocket to be formed.

So the person gets in, arranges themselves so their tail is "erect", and aligned with the pocket, and then settles back, in effect enclosing their tail in cavity formed by their butt and back and the seat pocket. They might not like it, but they'd probably prefer the slight discomfort to having part of their body hanging loose and unprotected.

If they can't bend their tails that much, then the answer is a tube extension sticking out of the back of the seat angled downward the tail slides into. If it's left open, then you don't have to worry about dirt accumulation.