Creating an Ideal Cat Habitat
- Author: Bryan Miller
- Posted: 2024-06-03
Domesticated cats are one of the most popular choice for house pets today, but the cat has a much longer and storied history than dogs. While dogs are the domesticated version of wolves in the wild, there are dozens of varieties of large cats on the planet. Tigers and panthers and lions and even smaller predators like cougars and bobcats; the point being that there's a lot more about a cat that's "wild" than your typical dog. This is why most neighborhoods are plagued by stray cats, throughout the parks and alleys. Cats have a much larger wild streak in them, and it's going to be harder to keep them settled down at home. This is why people who own cats might have to do a little more to keep their cats from running away.
Cats aren't a species of animal that you can just let outside when they want to go. Because when they want to "go" outside, they really do want to go. They'll end up two towns over, running around with other cats. So it's vital that you build them the ideal cat habitat at home, so they do not want to live elsewhere. TV shows and movies love displaying a bunch of cats in a tiny apartment, but this is the situation from which they would flee in real life. Your cat is going to need more room to enjoy its life, at least if you want to keep your cat hanging around the home longer. Here are a few different things you can do to create your cat the ideal habitat inside of the home.
Room to Play
You don't need to own a large house to keep a cat happy; they can thrive just fine in a smaller apartment. However, they are going to need their own space. Even if it's the corner of a bedroom, you should make sure that your cat has his or her own habitat, a place that the cat can think of as its own. You can do this by ensuring that you buy one of those cat towers, or some type of enclosed space where your cat can play. You can also get some toys or something like catnip to place in this space so that they understand which part of the environment is theirs. While it might not seem like it, cats are incredibly territorial. They are going to definitely understand what is theirs and what isn't, and having this room to play is going to help keep them around the home. Again, it doesn't have to be a lot of space; it just has to be their own space.
A Comfortable Place to Sleep
Cats in the wild are obviously sleeping on the ground, but that doesn't mean your house cat doesn't prefer a soft, comfortable bed. Would you sleep on the hard ground? As some point in human evolution, prehistoric man slept on the ground, inside of caves, out in the elements, etc. Though when it comes to human sleeping habits now, people want a plush, comfortable mattress. The same holds true for your cat. Make sure that you're buying something comfortable for your cat. Even if it's an old pillow or a folded blanket, they want something that's comfortable to relax and sleep on. This is a simple step that goes a very long way to creating an ideal cat habitat in the home.
A Litter Box On its Own
Your cat has to understand that where they play and sleep and eat is not the place they should be using the bathroom. Ironically enough, cats in the wild know this. They'll have an entirely separate part of the territory to use the bathroom in compared to where they eat and sleep. It's actually domesticated cat owners who inadvertently train their cats to go against this instinct by placing their litter boxes and their food and habitats too close together. This leads to the cat not respecting the litter box, and this is when you have to clean up messes all over the house. The cat will understand that they have a specific place to use the bathroom in the home; you just have to keep things separated as not to confuse them.
Cats are pretty easy to care for, generally speaking. Though they're still a risk to just take off on you if they're not happy at home. This is why creating a suitable habitat for your pet is ideal.
