How to Catify Your Home

Those of us who are cat lovers know that cats are curious creatures. Your cat may have shredded the sofa, knocked over your favourite knick-knacks, marked its territory on a carpet, or started a never-ending game of hide and seek that tries your patience. Creating a feline-friendly environment with your cat’s natural inclinations to scratch, hide, climb, play, and rest won’t solve all of your problems, but it will help make a difference and maintain your sanity. Below we have gathered 4 specific ways you can catify your home.

Scratch

Is it too late to save the sofa? How long did it take you to realize that Fluffy had a preference for the armchair over that expensive scratching post you bought? First things first, determine if your cat has a preference for wood or fabric and where your cat likes to mark its territory and sharpen its claws. Ok, here’s the obvious: direct your cat away from the furniture and to the scratching post or pad. The scratching post should be placed where your cat likes to hang out. Try spraying it with a pheromone spray to attract your cat; spray your furniture with a cat repellant spray, which should deter your cat from scratching it. How to save the furniture you have? Cover the surfaces with double-sided tape. Cats hate it.

Interested in more information on animal behaviour? Check out our article about how to introduce pets to each other.

Hide

Ever spend what seems like hours trying to locate your cat or get them out of some hard to reach area? Cats love to hide and feel cosy and secure. To truly catify your home, you, therefore, need to have spaces where your cat can hide. If under the bed is off-limits to your kitty, block it with storage boxes or other items, but offer new spaces to ensure that your kitty has a place to feel secure and relaxed. It’s important to provide hiding spaces. Go for a simple box, out of the way. Make it dark, but cosy. Your cat will love it and you’ll always be able to find them.

Climb

Cats are climbers. Ever see cats in the wild, hanging out on tree branches? Remember: cats are both predators and prey. They are either looking for dinner or trying not to become someone else’s dinner! When you catify your home, you have to take this instinct to climb into account. If you have one of those impressive cat trees and your cat uses it, you’ve won the lottery! If you’re like the rest of us and your cat completely ignores the cat tree, opting for tables, or high furniture pieces, do yourself a favour and remove precious knick-knacks and breakables. Cats need vertical space and they’ll jump on furniture to explore or simply find a place to observe your frustration. So, just remove any obstacles, or try installing cat-friendly shelving for kitty to use.

Age

To make your cat’s and your life easier, you’ll need to adapt the environment to your cat’s age. For senior cats that aren’t able to climb high, try offering them something close to the ground and warm, or a nice easy perch on the window to observe life in their golden years. For kittens, keep things close and accessible while keeping poisons, loose cords or small objects that could be choking hazards far away. Create inviting, soft, and comfortable places for them to lie down. Get litter boxes with low sides for both young and old cats; put it in a low-traffic area and keep food and water in a separate area.

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