Have you ever wondered what the key to your cat’s happiness is? 😽 As cat parents we want to do our best to meet the needs of our furry friends; much of their happiness is derived from their environment which means there is a lot we can do in our homes to help achieve this! 💗
Creating the purr-fect cat friendly home is all about understanding which resources or objects your cat considers important 🧶. These are elements that provide security, stimulation and nourishment for your kitty. 🐈
Security
High resting places - our cat fam love climbing to high points and observing their surroundings from above 👀; and importantly being high up makes them feel safe ***. Staircases fulfil this need, but if your home is single-storey, shelving, the top of cupboards and tall scratching post frames also make great spots! 🐾
Hiding places - are important for cats to take time out from their social demands. Create secret hideaways by clearing space under the bed, inside wardrobes or cupboards and behind the sofa! 😻
Beds - are the key to your cat’s rest and relaxation given how long they spend asleep 🐱 (read our article ‘Is my cat too lazy?’). Our furry besties love a warm place but some may also favour areas where there is the familiar scent of their human such as our beds; this makes them feel safe. 😽 Providing an assortment of beds across your home in sunny, quiet, warm or communal areas gives your cat different options depending on their mood! Beds are best placed on raised areas where cats feel safest. 🐈⬛
Cat flaps - often seen by our besties as a weakness in the defence of their home as any feline intruder could pop through the flap at any point 👀. This can make your kitty constantly vigilant and feeling uneasy. 😏 Installing a microchip reader cat flap will ensure that only your cat can access their home and keep other invaders out! 😼 Another tip is to keep your cat’s resources well away from the cat flap - out of your cat’s perceived ‘danger zone’! 👀
Litter trays - should be provided even if your cat has outdoor access. There should be one tray per cat in the cat fam plus one extra one; placed at different locations away from food and water, in private areas where your cat will feel safe toileting! Litter trays should be cleared of faeces and urine daily and fully cleaned once a week; dirty trays can stress cats out and discourage use. 😏
Feline synthetic pheromones - the natural version is secreted from glands in a cat’s face to communicate signals of familiarity and security. 💓 Having a plug-in diffuser of these pheromones will help your cat relax and reduce tension within the cat fam. 😻
Stimulation
Scratching posts - are needed so your kitty can mark their territory and keep their claws healthy. 🐾 Vertical posts should be tall enough for your cat to stretch up fully and horizontal scratching surfaces should also be on offer. These should be placed near beds, litter trays and sofas(!). If there aren’t enough scratching options, you may find your cats take a liking to your sofas! 😹
Social contact - can be in the form of cat parents, other cats and even dogs! 😻 Whether your cat will get on with other cat fam is dependent on personality; relationships can get tense when competing for resources. Social contact with us humans is also important, but the quality and quantity again, will depend on cat personality. 😽 Grooming, verbal communication and predatory play is often our cat’s preferred type of social contact with human folk (soz they aren’t as keen on our cat parent kisses and cuddles! 😹)
Predatory play - a way of providing a similar experience to the natural hunting one! 🧶 Our furry besties love toys that move around unpredictably, those made from feathers or fur-like material of prey animal size and those laced with catnip. 😻
Scent stimulation - through the use of catnip! Lots of cats will enjoy a euphoric-type experience through smelling or eating this herb. 💓 Offering play with catnip toys for 10 minutes a day will provide a purrfect source of stimulation! 😹
Novel items - brought into the house to provide your cat with an exciting new object to explore 🐈⬛. These can be in the form of; paper bags or cardboard boxes (we all know how much they luurvee these 💘), stones, wood and plants (read our ‘Cats and plants - what to pay attention to?’ article to learn about safe plant options).
Windows - make great viewing points for cats looking on to the outside world; smaller windows in darker rooms being preferable over larger ones. 👀 Our furry besties can feel more exposed in front of large expanses of glass, which can cause confusion because they may not grasp it is a barrier and that they are safe indoors. 😏 Other cats staring in can cause stress, therefore putting frosted window film on the bottom part of large full length windows can make our cat fam feel safer. 🐱
Nourishment
Food - offered in ceramic or glass bowls which tend to be favoured over plastic bowls as these may get scratched more easily and give off a smell that puts off your cat. 😮💨 However, in their natural environment, cats would spend hours stalking and catching prey every day, therefore feeding from a bowl twice a day lacks any form of challenge. 😏 More stimulating options for feeding include; hiding your cat’s food around the house 👀, scattering dry food and using puzzle feeders. 🐱
Water - provided at a different location to food as cats naturally hunt for these on separate occasions. 🐾 Water can be offered in bowls made out of different materials, glass tumblers or water fountains. See our article on ‘How to encourage my cat to drink?’
Vegetation - for our furry besties to eat, as a natural way to clear hair from their gut. If your cat is indoor only, sources of cat grass or herbs specifically for this purpose are available commercially, with favourites being spelt wheat grass, barley grass and oat grass. Before adding to their indoor jungle please be aware that some plants can be toxic - read our ‘Cats and plants - what to pay attention to?’ article.
