Cats have preferences much like we do. They may have a favorite cat treat or cat toy they love more than others. It can be frustrating when you spend a lot of money on cat furniture only to realize you cat doesn’t like it or to find out the reason your cat isn’t using the litter box is due to the litter box enclosure you purchased.
Before you sell or trash something, try moving it to a different location or modifying it in some way to see if your cat likes it better. If you cat still doesn’t like it, you may also want to consider repurposing the cat furniture. Your cat may use it for a different purpose. Modifying the environment is a great way to reduce territoriality in cats so your cat will appreciate their new resource!
While how you repurpose cat furniture depends on which piece of furniture you are using, here are a few ideas to get you started.
Turn A Litter Box Enclosure Into A Bed
I’m not a huge fan of litter box enclosures. I have a lot of clients with litter box problems that are a result of them, especially if they have senior cats. Many of them are too small, don’t have great air flow so they overwhelm a cat’s sense of smell, or require a cat to climb into them. Don’t make your cat do extra work to get into their litter box if you want them to use it. There are better ways to stop litter tracking.
Litter box enclosures are are great piece of cat furniture to repurpose into a cozy hiding place for your cat, though, especially if you get a nice big one. Give it a good clean first and then add some cozy bedding to the enclosure. Put it in a spot where your cat likes to lounge and you’ll give them a place to hide when they want to nap in peace. As a bonus, depending on where you place it, you can use it as an end table, night stand, or side table for yourself.
Use It As Storage
If the inside is too soiled and you can’t clean the cat pee entirely out of but it doesn’t have an odor, you can seal off the cat entrance and use the former enclosure as storage. Ideally, you wouldn’t keep your cat’s food in it, but it’s a great place to store litter or urine cleaners. It doesn’t need to be cat supplies, either. Keep your general cleaning products in the cabinet. Just make sure the cat can’t open the cabinet doors.
Use Cat Trees To Mix Up Meal Time
A well placed cat tree that is tall and sturdy will appeal to many cats, but sometimes your cat may just not like it as a place to lounge. You can still use it for another purpose: dinner.
No, I’m not suggesting you chop the tower up into pieces and feed it to your cat. While people typically feed their cats on the floor, cats may prefer eating in other places. This is especially true if you have cats and dogs. Cats are better climbers so by feeding a cat out of the way of a dog, it allows your cat to eat in peace.
Even if you have just cats or just a cat, it gives your cat a place to eat where they can keep an eye on their surroundings or eat away from each other. Despite the suggestion to improve cats’ relationships by feeding them near each other, cats don’t like eating near other cats.
Even if you use an automatic feeder, you can still feed your cats up high. Battery operated automatic feeders exist so you can place them in a higher location without worry.
Make A Toy From A Water Fountain
Many cats like drinking from water fountains. Other cats, especially breeds like the bengal cat, like playing with water. It’s one of many reasons we don’t recommend spray bottles to stop behavior. For cats that like splish splashing in water, you can use the fountain as a fun toy for them.
For some cats, such as my sweet Poutine, just plugging in the fountain may draw them in to play. I suggest getting a water proof mat with a lip, a flat storage tub, or even a potting mat to keep below the the fountain so your cat doesn’t get water everywhere. Even if your cat never drinks out of it, you’ll still want to wash the fountain regularly or it may grow bacteria so getting a stainless steel fountain is a good idea.
If your cat just ignores the fountain, consider tossing in some ping pong balls so they can swat at them as they float on the water. This may work better for fountains with a deeper basin such as this ceramic cat fountain, but even some shallow fountains may have enough water for the ping pong balls to float on or at least be pushed around as the water flows by them.
Don’t have a water fountain? You can use ping pong balls and water to make a low tech enrichment activity for your cat.
Give Your Cat’s Toys To Your Kids
Okay, okay. This isn’t repurposing cat furniture, but it’s a way of reducing waste. This one is also a bit out there, but it’s inspired by real life events.
I was vending at an event once when a family approached my table. I had a feathered wand toy for sale that one of their kids began playing with. As I was talking to one of the adults, the kid asked the other adult if they could get it for themselves. Their parents eventually conceded that fine, they’d get the cat toy for their human child. As I was driving away after event, I saw the family outside one of the nearby shops and the kid was busy keeping himself busy with the toy.
I regularly suggest people try children’s toys for their cats because cats don’t care about marketing. There are some cat toys that might also make great toys for your kids. Stuffed toys could easily be rebranded as a stuffed animal. A pompom launcher can be a fun human toy or a play mat could be a great sensory toy.
Not every toy will appeal to kids, but some of them might if you use your imagination.
Repurposing Cat Furniture Saves Money And The Planet
Unfortunately, many cat products are not well designed or are designed to appeal to the humans who buy them. As they get tossed out, they generate a lot of waste. Picking out high quality cat things reduces the amount you need to spend on your cat. Even if your cat doesn’t like something you get them for its original purpose, see if you can find another use for it.
It might require some creativity, but there are many ways to use reuse things rather than shipping them back where they may eventually get trashed anyway. Your cat, the planet, and your bank account will all thank you for getting creative!
