Cats deserve a comfortable life at home

You and your Cats deserve may share a cottage or caravan, an apartment, a share-house, duplexes, houses, or farm. You have many options for keeping your cat safe at home, regardless of your budget.

By preventing your cat’s wandering from home, you can help protect them from being hit by cars, parasites, disease, and theft. All your cat needs can be met at home, the good news is! It is possible to provide enriching activities for your cat that will keep them healthy, happy, and active at home.

Although it is best to start at the beginning with a kitten or cat, you can make the transition to an at home lifestyle with patience and planning. You can find out more about this here.

Three main options are

1) Indoors only

2) Indoors with an outside enclosure

3) Indoors, with an outdoor space enclosed by an escape-proof fence

Exclusively indoors

The best and most economical option for your cat is to keep him indoors. A small home can still be interesting and fun for your cat.

All your cat’s basic needs can be met within your home. This includes eating and drinking, sleeping, scratching, hiding and toileting. Furniture, shelving, and scratching boards can be used to create different levels for your cat. You can allow your cat access to the outdoors by opening windows and doors with cat-proof flyscreens.

Please make sure that you have checked all the boxes:

Food
Water
Scratching posts
Litter trays

Hideouts equipped with soft bedding.

Opportunities to climb (e.g. on shelves, on tops of furniture, climbing posts or platforms).
Playtime includes the opportunity to chase, chase and pounce on toys and treats.
Human-cat interaction (e.g., patting, grooming)

Indoors with an enclosed outdoor space

An outdoor enclosure can be a great way for your cat to feel safe and secure at home. An enclosure (e.g. a catio), can be attached directly to your cat’s indoor space, such as via a window or cat flap. This will allow them to decide where they want to spend their time. This is a great choice if your balcony or veranda can be made escapeproof. If you have the space you can build a freestanding enclosure (e.g., a cat condo).

It is important to create an outdoor enclosure that is attractive and comfortable for your cat. You will need to provide your cat with food, water and scratching posts. Your cat will feel secure and safe if there are places to hide in the enclosure.

Any outdoor enclosure must be safe for your cat and any other animals. It should be escape-proof (to stop your cat from running away) and animalproof (to prevent other animals from entering). It must be safe and away from any other animals such as dogs and cats. It is best to keep your cat away from other animals that could scare them, such as dogs next door. It is recommended that bird feeding stations be kept away from the enclosure. This can make it difficult to observe the birds, but also makes it more frustrating.

Indoor spaces with outdoor space enclosed by an escape-proof fence

There are many methods to escape-proof your backyard. These include fence products and systems, which can be retrofitted on top of an existing backyard or patio.