Thinking of designing a cat room for your feline family members? From functional decorations like themed cat trees to pet care storage solutions, here are 21 cat room ideas to organize and design the perfect space for your pet.
Where to Make Your Cat Room
Cats are highly sensitive to environmental factors like excessive noise and other stressors, which can directly impact their mood and even their physical health—so choose the location of your cat room with care. Here are a few ideas for where to make a cat room in your house.
Transform a Guest Bedroom into a Pet Playground
If you have a spare bedroom that sits empty more often than not, why not get some use out of the space by turning it into a pet room for your cat? Low-traffic and out-of-the-way, unused bedrooms are the ideal place to design a cat room. You can still maintain the room’s original function in case you need it—but simply placing a few key items like a scratching post, cat tree, and pet bed will make it a great place for your cat to play or relax the rest of the time!
Make a Cat Cove Under the Stairs
Cats don’t need much space to curl up and be comfortable, so if you don’t have a whole room to spare for your cat den, try making a space under the stairs! Place a litter box and cat bed in a hollow spot under the stairs, add some carpeted wall shelves for your pet to climb on, and watch your cat enjoy their new kitty playground!
Create a Catio
Enclosed patios and sunrooms make ideal cat playrooms! Install a window hammock where your feline friend can nap and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature—or construct a full-blown catio to give your cat an indoor-outdoor space to lounge in when the weather allows.
Upgrade Your Office Space
If your cat likes to hang out with you while you work, your home office may be a great spot to add some feline-friendly amenities like a scratching post or bed. Modifying part of your office to include a cat playground will allow you and your pet to enjoy each other’s company in an environment that suits both of your needs.
Revamp Your Attic or Basement
Attics and basements are often only used for storage. This makes them a great place to design a cat room. Hang a cat bridge across the length of the space, put cat cubbies up on the walls, or try your hand at making a DIY cat tree—the possibilities are endless!
Convert a Closet
Short on space? No problem! Create a compact cat room in your closet by adding essential comfort items like a cat bed, scratching post, and toys, then spread any other things they might need out throughout your home. There are plenty of creative dual-purpose cat furniture ideas, like scratching post cat trees with sleeping hammocks attached, that you can use to enrich your pet’s environment without detracting from yours.
Create a Cozy Corner
Not everyone has an entire room to dedicate to their pet’s needs. Thankfully, even a corner can be made up into a fun cat area. And since cats love to climb, small spaces can still offer a lot of room for environmental enrichment opportunities—all you have to do is build up instead of out! It might not be a full-on cat playground, but your feline friend will love it anyway.
How to Design Your Cat Room
Your cat room’s location is just half of the equation. The layout and organization of your cat playroom are also crucial. Check out these cat room design ideas for decor, cat furniture, and pet storage solutions!
Let Your Pet Be Your Muse
Make your kitty playroom your own with personal touches to honor your pet. A few photos will do the trick, but don’t be afraid to take a more whimsical approach by hanging a custom-painted pet portrait or personalized tapestry.
Install Feline-Friendly Flooring
Your cat’s movement can cause a lot of wear and tear on flooring, so opt for more durable, pet-safe flooring options like bamboo or luxury vinyl when you design a cat room. Doing so will prevent unnecessary damage while also making messes easier to clean.
Find a Place for Storing Essentials
If you plan to keep your pet’s food in their playroom, make sure you keep them sealed in a heavy-duty container. This will aid with freshness and keep your cats out of their food. Similarly, make sure treats in particular are stashed somewhere safe like a cabinet or drawer. Extra litter, brushes, and toys should also be kept in totes or bins to keep your pet room tidy.
Designate a Spot for Mealtime
Cats tend to like having their meals in quiet, calm locations. So place their bowls in their playroom instead of a more central part of your house. Take care to keep their food and water dishes far away from their litter box, though. Cats are far more comfortable, and healthier, when these elements of their environment are kept separate.
Conceal the Litter Box
Most experts recommend having one more litter box than the number of cats you own. Thankfully, there are several hidden litter box ideas you can use to keep this essential pet care item out of sight without making it uncomfortable for them to use. Disguise your litter box by placing it inside a specially-designed piece of pet furniture. This will help reduce odors and improve your cat room’s visual appeal, as well as boost your cat’s quality of life.
Add Catwalks to the Walls
Healthy cats can jump six times their length. With that in mind, you should provide enough platforms throughout your kitty playground where they can flex their acrobatic skills. Place ordinary hanging shelves around your cat room at different heights to ensure your pet has ample space to explore.
Create Dimension with Stairs
Elderly cats and those with physical disabilities may not be able to jump very well, but this doesn’t mean they lack the instinct to climb. Install cat stairs along your walls or leading up to higher platforms to allow all your feline family members to enjoy their cat playground equally.
Hang Up Cat Cubbies
Make sure your kitty’s pet room offers a variety of hiding spots for your cat to curl up in, including some cat cubbies along the wall. Just double check the cubbies are well secured before you let your kitty test them out.
Pick a Sturdy Cat Tree
Engage your cat’s body and mind with a stable, well-designed cat tree. These popular pieces of pet furniture are a must-have for any cat playroom. They offer hours of entertainment and dozens of ways for your kitty to climb, play, and hide. As an added bonus, cat trees come in all shapes and sizes, meaning you can easily find one that doubles as a statement piece.
Use Multi-Purpose Furniture
Who says your cat room can’t also be a place for you to hang out? Using multi-purpose furniture—like an ottoman-cat bed combo—is a great way to bring everyone in the family together, even in your pet’s domain. This kind of furniture will be especially critical if you aren’t creating an entire cat room but still want to organize a pet-friendly living space.
Get Some Cat-Safe Plants
You’ve heard of catnip, but did you know that silver vine, cat thyme, and several other plants are healthy for your cat? Keep a few of these stress-reducing, pet-safe plants around your cat playroom to keep your kitties feeling great as they romp around. Be careful where you place them, though—your cat might decide to knock them over. Also, make sure plants throughout your home, not just in your cat room, are pet-safe, as many plants are poisonous to cats.
Choose a Comfortable Bed
Creating comfortable places for your cats to nap is essential to designing a cat room in your home. There are plenty of styles of cat beds to choose from, including pillow-like mats, enclosed beds, cat hammocks, and more. Let your cat’s personality, habits, and size guide your decision on what kind of cat bed is best for your pet playroom.
Set Up a Scratching Post
Scratching is a natural instinct that all felines need an outlet for. So equip your cat playroom with at least one scratching post to keep them healthy, happy, and stimulated—and for the sake of sparing your other furniture’s upholstery.
Select a Variety of Toys
Designing the ideal cat room means stocking it with a mix of interactive toys. Include some for you and your kitty to play with together, as well as independent-play toys they can enjoy all on their own.
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