Did you know that the design of your home can help to make your cat feel more comfortable? According to Jackson Galaxy, the host of the TV show “My Cat From Hell,” ‘catification’ design tricks can make your cat more comfortable in your home. According to Galaxy, ‘catification’ refers to “trying to make things work for you on an aesthetic level, and for your cat on a behavioral level.”
Galaxy should know. He lives with 10 cats and, through his TV show, he helps cat owners find solutions to issues they’re encountering with their cats. Galaxy’s new book, “Catify to Satisfy: Simple Solutions for Creating a Cat-Friendly Home,” comes out on November 17th.
Why does catification matter to you? By adding design elements to your home with your cat in mind, you can help your cat to feel more confident in your home. The more confidence that your cat has, the less likely you are to see troublesome behaviors like damaging your things or marking territory.
Here are some tips from Galaxy that you can put to work in your home.
Observe Your Cat
Spend some time watching your cat. Is he often looking up? Does he tend to gaze out the windows? Try to get a sense of what areas of your home fascinate your cat. If your cat often jumps up on areas where you don’t want him to be, like on your counters, then try to create a new area just for him.
Many indoor cats want more vertical height access than your average house provides them with. Galaxy advises building your cats a “superhighway” – providing them with a path so that they can walk around a room without touching the ground.
There are countless ways to create a superhighway. Using shelves as a basis is an easy way to go. You might install panels so that your cat can walk from shelf to shelf. Some enthusiastic cat owners choose to create scaffolding so that their cats can walk across the room overhead.
Give Your Cat Security
Cats crave small, enclosed spaces, so make sure that you give them to your cat. Creating safe spaces such as a cat bed placed underneath a bed or desk allow your cat to satisfy his natural instincts and leave him feeling more secure.
Provide Plenty of Litterboxes
According to Galaxy, your litter boxes should outnumber your cats by one. Explains Galaxy, “Litter boxes are amazing territorial sign posts. When you have enough sign posts around your house, you don’t have to worry about them marking territory.”
Locate your litter boxes in areas of the house where cats and humans are often present. There are countless ways that you can disguise a litter box using small tables and storage units. Be sure to clean the boxes on a daily basis.
Incorporating catification into your house is a lifelong process, according to Galaxy. One thing’s for certain – your cats will appreciate your efforts to make your home more cat-friendly.
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