10 Ways to Create a Cat-Friendly Home Without Sacrificing Style

What Makes a Home Cat-Friendly?

A cat-friendly home gives your cat choices.

They should have somewhere comfortable to sleep, somewhere appropriate to scratch, opportunities to climb and explore, access to food and water, a suitable toilet area and somewhere quiet to retreat when they want to be left alone.

That does not mean every room needs to be filled with brightly coloured pet furniture.

Many of the best cat-friendly additions are simple: a well-positioned cat tree, a neutral scratching post, a bed tucked into an existing furniture arrangement or a shelf that provides a useful high perch.

Use Vertical Space Instead of Filling the Floor

One of the easiest ways to make a home more interesting for a cat without creating clutter is to think upwards.

Cats often enjoy climbing and resting above floor level, and vertical space is particularly useful in smaller homes where floor area is limited.

Options include:

• a tall cat tree
• wall-mounted cat shelves
• a floor-to-ceiling climbing tree
• a secure window perch
• accessible shelves incorporated into existing furniture

If you prefer a minimal interior, choose one substantial vertical feature rather than scattering several small pieces of cat furniture around the room.

Neutral woods, beige, cream, grey, black and natural sisal can work particularly well in modern interiors.

You can explore our full range of cat trees or read more about why cats enjoy high places and vertical space .

Choose Cat Furniture That Looks Like Part of the Room

Cat furniture no longer has to mean an enormous beige carpeted tower squeezed awkwardly beside the television.

When choosing a cat tree, bed or scratching post, look at it in the same way you would any other piece of furniture.

If you are unsure what size will work in your room, use our cat tree size guide before ordering.

Make Scratching Part of the Interior Rather Than Fighting It

Scratching is normal cat behaviour, so the goal is not to eliminate it.

Instead, provide an attractive scratching surface in the places where your cat is most likely to use it.

A tall sisal post beside the sofa can look far better than damaged upholstery — and it is much more useful than a small scratching post hidden in a spare room.

Consider:

• tall vertical scratching posts
• horizontal scratchers for cats that prefer scratching floors or rugs
• scratching surfaces incorporated into a cat tree
• natural sisal that complements wood and neutral interiors
• scratching posts positioned near sleeping areas or existing scratching locations

Browse our cat scratching posts or read why cats scratch furniture and how to redirect it .

Create Sleeping Areas That Blend Into Your Furniture

Cat beds are much easier to incorporate into a stylish home when you stop thinking of them as isolated pet products.

Instead, treat the bed as another textile accessory.

Choose fabrics and colours that complement your sofa, rug, curtains or cushions, and position the bed somewhere your cat already likes to rest.

Some cats prefer enclosed beds, while others prefer open cushions, hammocks or raised sleeping platforms.

Browse our cat bedding collection for different styles of sleeping area.

Build Hiding Places Into the Room

A cat should have somewhere they can retreat when they want peace and quiet.

This does not require an obvious plastic cat cave in the middle of the room.

Stylish hiding places can include:

• an enclosed bed underneath a console table
• a cat-tree hideaway incorporated into a larger structure
• a woven basket with an accessible entrance
• a space beneath a side table
• a secure box or bed placed on a sturdy elevated shelf

The important part is that the space feels safe and is somewhere your cat can rest without being constantly disturbed.

In a busy household, having several quiet options can be particularly useful.

Make the Litter Area Discreet — Without Making It Inconvenient

Litter trays are probably the least glamorous part of cat ownership, but hiding them too aggressively can create problems of its own.

The tray should remain easy for your cat to reach and should be positioned somewhere relatively quiet where they are unlikely to be interrupted.

Avoid placing litter trays immediately beside food and water.

From an interior-design perspective, you can make the area less visually dominant by:

• choosing a neutral-coloured tray
• using a suitable litter mat in a colour that matches the flooring
• positioning the tray in a discreet but accessible location
• using purpose-designed litter furniture if your cat is comfortable with it
• keeping the area clean rather than attempting to mask odours with strong fragrances

Turn Feeding Areas Into Small, Deliberate Zones

Food and water bowls often end up wherever there happens to be a spare section of kitchen floor.

A more considered approach can look better and work better for your cat.

Use a washable mat or tray to visually define the feeding area and choose bowls that complement the surrounding kitchen or utility-room finishes.

Food and water do not need to be placed together. In fact, many cats prefer water positioned separately from their food.

Keeping feeding, drinking and litter areas separate also stops one corner of your home becoming an obvious cluster of every pet-related item you own.

Give Your Cat a Good Window View

A secure window position can provide both an attractive resting area and something interesting for your cat to watch.

You do not necessarily need a separate window hammock.

Depending on the room, you could place:

• a cat tree beside the window
• a padded bench below the window
• a secure shelf at windowsill height
• a bed on a sufficiently wide windowsill

Positioning a cat tree near a window can also help make a large piece of cat furniture feel intentional: it becomes part climbing structure, part viewing platform.

Our guide to where to put a cat tree explains the advantages of windows, living rooms and other common locations.

Control Toy Clutter With Rotation and Storage

A cat-friendly home does not require twenty toys permanently scattered across the floor.

Keep a selection available and store the rest in a basket, drawer or cupboard.

Rotating toys periodically can also make previously familiar toys interesting again.

In Multi-Cat Homes, Spread Resources Rather Than Grouping Them Together

Interior design often encourages us to group similar objects neatly together.

With multiple cats, that is not always the best approach.

If every bed, scratching post, food bowl and litter tray sits in one location, a cat may have to pass another cat to reach something important.

A more cat-friendly approach is to spread resources across the home.

For example:

• one scratching area in the living room and another upstairs
• separate sleeping places rather than one shared bed
• litter trays in different locations rather than lined up together
• several elevated resting options
• food and water stations positioned so cats can access them without confrontation

This can actually improve the appearance of the home because cat resources become part of several rooms rather than creating one enormous “cat corner”.

How to Make Cat Furniture Look Better in Your Home

6 Common Cat-Friendly Interior Design Mistakes