Make Your Home the PURRfect Sanctuary for Your Cat

Our favorite home project ideas for cat lovers

Cat shelves

Cats appreciate being up high above everything and everyone else. They love to have a network of shelves they can run across and up and down all over the walls, if possible. The tops of kitchen cabinets can work as a “cat superhighway” as Jaxon Galaxy, cat behaviorist, likes to call it.

You can install normal shelves or bookcases, and cats will appreciate those surfaces. But they love specially designed cat shelves that let them live their best tree life in your house.

• Cat window shelf – If your window doesn’t have a couch beside it or a wide ledge your cat can sit on, you can install a window shelf that lets your cat rule the world from a comfy perch.
• Cat wall shelves – These babies have ramps, places to jump from one shelf to another, and can let your cat race around the entire room far off the ground if you want them to. It’s practically a wall jungle gym for cats. Some even have plant potters to fill with cat grass and other cat-friendly plants.

Cat feeding station

If you have the cabinets to spare, you can convert a cabinet into a cat-feeding zone. Simply remove the doors of the cabinets, or cut a cat-sized hole in one of the cabinet doors and have your feeding bowl and water dish in the cabinet to keep them out of the way.

You can even build a little cat-bar with a shelf that you drop the bowls into.

Some people mount cat-feeding shelves on the wall. Or buy cat furniture with feeding areas.

And some people design custom kitchen cabinets or islands with built-in feeding stations in little nooks or with pull out drawers that have food bowls.

Many cats drink more water if they have a cat water fountain. So you may even want to set up an area that has an electrical outlet so you can have your cat’s fresh water in your custom pet feeding station, too. When cats drink more water, this can help them avoid painful kidney crystals or kidney stones.

Hidden litter box ideas

We love our pets, but many of us would like to keep the litter box far out of sight and out of smell-range. Thankfully, there are a lot of creative ways to take care of this issue.

• Litter room – Some people dedicate a small room or spare closet. You can even cut a cat-sized opening in a closet door or adjacent wall so you can keep the closet doors closed.
• Litter cabinet/litter box furniture – Commercial cabinets and furniture are available to help keep your litter box hidden and discreet.
• Litter box enclosures (can be purchased with litter boxes).
• Custom litter box ideas
  • Use a hutch, free-standing cabinet (without drawers, ideally), trunk, or large trunk-shaped basket and cut a hole in the side for your cat, surround the hole with molding.
  • Sit an end table over the litter box to hide it.
  • Remove the cabinet doors and hang a curtain to cover the litter box in a bathroom or the kitchen.

Another advantage to hiding the litter box for dog owners is you don’t want your dog to have a chance to eat the contents of a used litter box. 

Cat door/pet door

If you have an indoor/outdoor cat and want to let your cat have the freedom to come and go when he/she chooses, this can be an interesting option. Make sure the door is as small as possible so that bigger animals (or people) don’t come inside your house.

And be sure to research security issues before making this decision. Consider investing in an electronic pet door to minimize unwanted pests or breakins.

Cat room

For people with multiple cats or people who foster cats, an entire room dedicated to all-things-cat may be the best route to go. You can have your cat shelves on the walls, cat toys, multiple litter boxes, a feeding station, window perches, and cat trees in a spare bedroom or room over the garage.

Your cats will surely enjoy spending as much time as possible there.

Catio/cat patio

Keeping cats inside is always the safest option. Cats live longer, healthier lives this way. But even indoor cats love the great outdoors. Thankfully, there are ways to give them a taste of the outdoors without putting their health and safety at risk.

A screened-in back porch where your cat can lounge outside is a huge plus. But if you can’t afford to add a big screened back porch to your home, there are less-expensive options that your cat will enjoy just as much.

• Catio/cat patio – These are large cages/playpens with screen or wire mesh that often have shelves, feeding areas, and litter boxes and sit on a deck or outside on a patio. Your cat can enjoy the outdoors without having contact with wild animals or other cats and without running away.
• Cat window patio/cat window catio – This is a box your cat can sit in with screens on three sides that installs like a window AC unit. It’s like a cat-sized screened in porch in your window.

Cat tree/cat treehouse

Cats love having something to climb and a place to sit and observe the world from a height. Cat tree houses are commercially available and have a few shelves and a hiding spot or two. They are usually covered with carpeting and the poles usually have rope twisted around to use for scratching posts.

You can also make your own cat tree with wooden boards, 2X4s, carpeting/furry fabric, and rope.

If you don’t like the aesthetics of normal cat trees, you can find a modern cat tree that provides enrichment for your cat and better looks for you.