This blog post is dedicated to Slinky, a very sweet cat who will soon be living in a small space and very, very happy.
When browsing social media, I sometimes find posts about people searching for a new home for their cat. The reasons vary, but one of the more common reasons is people who feel that their cat needs to live somewhere else because their apartment is too small or they don’t think they have enough room for their cat.
If you’re one of those people, some good news: not only is living with cats in small spaces possible, but cats can be happy living in small spaces. Whether you are living with a cat in an apartment, a dorm, a manufactured home, or somewhere else, there’s no need to rehome your cat just because of where you live.
That said, there are some caveats to this and it requires some planning. You may need to sacrifice some of your own space to fit in things to meet your cat’s needs, but it’s completely doable. Let’s talk about how to make it work.
How Much Space Do Cats Need?
First things first: it would be really hard to find a place that’s actually too small for a cat. No, even the overpriced “luxury” studio apartments that have popped up all over Minneapolis in recent years aren’t too small to happily house a cat. As long as your cat has at least 20 square feet of space that is their own, you can, at a bare minimum, meet the basic needs (though more space is clearly ideal). Unless you’re living in an actual closet, you likely have at least that much space.
That said, I wouldn’t dare stuff a Bengal cat into 20 square feet of space and expect them to be happy. Breeds that are more energetic, younger cats, and cats of any breed or age that frequently get the zoomies may not do well in smaller spaces.
Multiple Cats Require More Space
Having multiple cats, even if you have 20 square feet per cat, is going to be more challenging. Cats that are more territorial are going to feel more threatened by the presence of other cats in their space and there will be little space for fighting cats to remain separate from each other. It will also take a lot of catification in order to keep all cats happy. You may want to carefully reconsider adding a second (or third or fourth or…) cat if you are short on space.
Living With Cats In Small Spaces Starts With The Environment
You’ll notice that the 20 square feet requirement per cat didn’t specify anything about the whole space being in one place. In fact, cats actually prefer their resources spread out and in strategic locations. Additionally, while we think of “space” as being horizontal space, cats are natural climbers. Vertical space they can climb is more important than horizontal space. This makes it easier to add more space for your cat without taking up your own space.
The single best environmental change you can make to help cats be happy in their home, regardless of the size of the space, is to add vertical space for them to climb. In small spaces, vertical space becomes non-negotiable as otherwise the cat simply won’t have enough room to climb, run around, and feel secure.
Be Strategic With Vertical Space
That doesn’t mean that you should randomly throw up a cat tower. As space is at a premium, planning ahead to maximize the horizontal space will keep you, your cat, and any other humans who live with you happy. Look for as tall of a cat tower as you can find that has a sturdy base but doesn’t take up too much floor space.
For safety (preventing injuries to your cat will keep everyone happy), make sure the cat tree gets secured to a nearby wall. If you’re not how to do this, ask someone who can help tell you what to do in your space.
Why go for as tall of a tower as you can? Every platform, hammock, or cave adds more space to your cat’s world. Rather than getting multiple small towers that add a small amount of space, one big one will maximize the space added. If you can fit more than one tower in and place the second one in a different location, that’s even better. If not possible, do your best with the tower you can fit.
Use Narrow Furniture Creatively
Your cats don’t care if furniture is marketed toward them so why not use something else? Console tables can make the perfect narrow cat climbing space. In particular, one that has multiple levels can make it easy to add a napping spot for your cat. You can use one level as storage or a nook for your cats to rest on while leaving the top completely open to allow your cats to walk over it unobstructed. They’re a great tool!
For kitchens, consider a flat topped trash can to add vertical space. A laundry hamper with a lid is similar and a perfect way to sneak a cat perch into a bedroom.
Make Use Of Space You Aren’t Using
Cat towers aren’t the only option to add vertical space to your home. Consider a few non-tower options in addition to cat tree.
If you own your home or your landlord is cool with it, cat shelves are the most common way to make use of unused space. They do require careful planning and proper installation, but they’re an awesome way to add additional climbing spots.
Window perches or over-the-door cat towers can add places for your cat to climb while not taking up space that you might need. Most people don’t spend too much time standing in front of their doorway, but if you do no judgment whatsoever.
I personally really like the over-the-door cat tower made by K&H Pet Products (who have a lot of other excellent products as well) as it’s well made, easy to install, and you can choose from a few different sizes. Going for the bigger size adds in the maximum amount of space for your cat, but any additional vertical space is helpful.
Solve Multiple Problems At Once
If you’ve had an appointment with me, you may have seen one of my cats napping above my desk.
They’re napping in a Desk Nest, which has quickly become one of my favorite cat products. It’s a cat bed that clamps onto your desk and allows your cat to sleep cozily above your desk. This keeps them off your keyboard, but still lets them lounge near you. Because it floats over top your desk, no need to worry about valuable desk or floor space being sacrificed or your cat accidentally adding “commentary” to your e-mails.
While not an option for everyone, if you are able to drill holes in your walls, cat shelves are a great idea to make use of space you aren’t using and can also keep cats off a nearby desk. They take up a bit of space as you need to have a way up and down for your cat, but once you have them up high enough, you can keep the shelving entirely above most people’s heads.
Make Your Cat Furniture Multitask
Most cat towers have scratching posts built in so you can put two important resources for cats in one spot without taking up extra space. With space being limited, you want to try to double (or triple) up as many resources as you can.
If you can add something for your cat to climb, scratch, hide, and/or play with in one location, it limits the number of things you need to get for them. You can find cool pieces of cat furniture that purposefully combine multiple cat needs into one object. Etsy is an especially good place to look for unique, well made cat furniture. You still want resources in multiple places and the litter box should absolutely be separated from food and water, but you can maximize each area by making them multifunctional.
Making things multifunctional isn’t limited to cat furniture, either. You can modify other furniture to add cat resources to them so you get use out of something and your cat can get a need met as well. The easiest way to do this is going to be using bookshelves and cabinets to allow your cat to climb or have a hiding spot (or finding ones that already have built in climbing space), but you can get creative. Consider an over-the-arm cat scratcher which will both protect your furniture and give the cat something to scratch on. Plus, it has storage for remotes or other small items.
Separate The Litter Box… Creatively
One particular challenge may come with separating the litter box or litter boxes depending on how many cats you have. Ideally, food and water fountains or bowls should be in completely separate areas from where your cat takes a poop. If you can’t do that, place them as far apart as you can. If your space really isn’t big enough to do that, consider feeding your cat in an elevated location (think a cat shelf or on a cat tree) or adding in a visual barrier of some sort so there’s at least some separation.
One caveat to the above: I do not recommend using a covered litter box and feeding your cat on top of it. That’s just gross!
Reduce The Smell
One common challenge people in small spaces face is containing the litter box odor. While scooping at least once a day and maintaining good litter box maintenance is the best way to address this, you may still notice an odor. Most litter additives or scented litters are not a great idea, but adding a small amount of activated charcoal to the litter may help reduce some scent. You can also consider a small air purifier in the room (I have a similar one that works great). Just make sure it’s not right next to the litter box as even quiet air purifiers may be louder to cats.
Meet Their Mental Needs
Besides the environment, your cat needs more mental stimulation than you’d think or they may end up with unwanted behaviors. Thankfully, this is pretty easy to add into small spaces. Depending on the exact amount of space you have and your budget, there are a few ways you can go about doing this.
Encourage Your Cat To Move
Cats need plenty of play and exercise that imitates a full hunt cycle. If you are living with cats in small spaces, they don’t really have as much room to run around as they would in a larger space. You can use an interactive wand toy to encourage them to climb up and down cat trees, jump on couches, or even just move around a table. To make play more interesting, you can even temporarily alter the environment by tossing some pillows or boxes on the ground to create a more interesting hunt that they’ll be excited about.
If you have the space and budget, some cats may like using an exercise wheel. They may need to be encouraged to use the wheel at first, but many cats will enjoy the extra movement. Keep in mind that cats have individual preferences.
Much like you may not enjoy running for fun, not all cats will like running on an exercise wheel. It also shouldn’t be their only source of entertainment. Focus on play!
Add In Passive Enrichment
You can add in things that don’t take up much space to keep your cat interested day to day. Growing cat grass for them to munch on, adding a window perch so they can watch the birds outside, or using a food puzzle can help your cat remain mentally stimulated. If you have a tablet or other device, you can leave on videos made for cats so they have something interesting to watch.
Electronic toys are hit or miss with cats as the noises can be scary for some cats, but there are a few options that may help keep your cat occupied without taking up much space. A ball or feather on a string may entice a cat while this butterfly toy is to be a hit among cats that aren’t noise-sensitive.
Train Your Cat
A final idea for mental stimulation? Training your cat. Training is fun and predictable for cats so it gives them a chance to think a bit and get rewards. You don’t necessarily need to train anything in particular so you could teach your cat fun tricks or how to do more useful behaviors. Adapting some of the exercises from Control Unleashed is also a great option.
If you want to give training a try, you can either purchase a training kit or I offer private lessons on cat training. Lessons are done virtually so we can meet wherever you are!
Can Cats Be Happy Living In Small Spaces?
I hope by now, you’re thinking of all the ways you can add things to your home to make your cat happy because living with cats in small spaces is absolutely possible. Cats can thrive in small spaces so no need to rehome your cat just because you are in a small space. Even if your budget is tight, there are ways you can make your own cat furniture or find low-cost supplies. Check your local Buy Nothing group as chances are someone’s cat didn’t like something they purchased and you can take advantage of it.
