Creating a cat haven: 8 tips to make your home cat-friendly
Cats are sensitive creatures. Disrupt the flow of their territory or arrange their living space in an unsuitable way and you can have one unhappy moggy on your hands. Below are some essential tips in keeping your cat content by applying a bit of feline ‘feng shui’.
1. Water bowl
Cats are shy when drinking so make sure their water bowl is not placed near any entrances, exits and corners or busy parts of a room. It is also advisable to keep it away from their litter tray and food bowl.
If you have more than one cat, you should ideally have a water bowl for each one plus an extra one to boot. The bowls should be placed away from each other to avoid competition and tension between your pets.
2. Food bowl
The food bowl should also be placed away from entrances and exits and be distanced from the water bowl and litter tray.
Again if you have more than one cat, don’t locate the food bowls too close to each other and ideally have a food bowl per cat, plus one extra.
3. Scratching post
Scratching posts are best located near entrances, exits and sleeping areas to avoid furniture scratching.
Also, make sure the scratch post itself is tall enough for your cat to stretch to its full height. If your cat still isn’t using the post, it’s worth trying a horizontal scratching post — not all felines are vertical scratchers!
4. Litter tray
The placement of the litter tray is extremely important if you want to create a cat-friendly home. It’s likely that your cat might not want to use its litter tray if its location, size and the litter used are wrong for them.
Your cat’s toilet area should offer privacy, so a quiet, low traffic area will work well. Cats do not like to eat where they go to the toilet so do not place the litter tray near its food bowl.
Cats can feel vulnerable when they are in the litter tray, so try to avoid placing the litter tray in a confined area such as a cupboard or narrow space. Your cat shouldn’t feel like it is trapped as this may result in your cat not using the tray.
5. Resting area
Cats like to sleep in a variety of places and will often rotate their sleeping spots so make sure there are lots of possible resting areas away from open and busy parts of the house.
When they wake up cats like to scratch, so it’s a good idea to have a scratching post near their bed.
6. Sanctuary
Providing cats with places to hide or get up high can help them cope with stressful situations in the house.
Cats love to be up high on surfaces away from each other, in places where they feel safe, enabling them to rest without being disturbed. Ensure there are enough comfortable and quiet places that your cat can get to, for example, on tops of cupboards or underneath the bed.
Remember that cats should not be distracted or disturbed when they are using their hiding places.
7. Playing area
A bored cat is not only an unhappy cat but a potentially destructive one so factor in a playing area in your home. This fun zone should not be in front of exits, entrances or in sight of the scratching post.
New toys should be regularly introduced or rotated into the mix to provide more enjoyment for your cat.
8. Feliway Diffuser
Feliway must be plugged into a socket in the room where your cat spends most of their time or where your cat has already scratched or urine marked.
The Feliway airflow should be able to travel around the room so the diffuser should not be put behind or below furniture.
Feel like you could now create a dream cat haven? Try out Feliway’s interactive home app here to test your skills.
