If you’re like many homeowners, you likely make a lot of updates around the house, and while you go through the motions and do what’s right for your family, you don’t want to forget about your cat. Your kitty is part of the family, too. Hence, you need to ensure that your furry friend is safe and comfortable while their environment shifts and changes. These tips will help you keep your cat in mind when their life is flipped upside down.
Moving Into A Home
While there can be many reasons why you might move into a house, you may not realize just how good owning a home is for your health. Whether you’re moving out of a family member’s house or upgrading from an apartment, you’ll likely find that you’ll enjoy your newfound stability because you don’t have to worry about where you’ll live or if the landlord will raise the rent. The other great perk of buying a house is that once you pay it off, it’s yours, and you aren’t just paying a landlord until the end of time.
Your cat will likely also love the stability, especially when they can have their own little corner or room with their bed, litter box, and toys. Plus, when you own your home, you can do whatever you like and decorate it your way. You can also add things just for your cats, like an outdoor catio or a large scratching post.
Just be sure that when you’re moving into your home, you’re cautious about the items and products you bring along. Think about yourself and your cat when you purchase personal care items because not all purchases are created equal. For instance, some hand soap contains harmful ingredients like triclosan that could cause allergies or bacterial resistance in humans. While eating soap is not fatal for cats, it can cause an upset stomach. Also, toothpaste contains xylitol, which is toxic to cats.
As you go around your new home, cat-proof as you go from room to room and ensure everyone in the family can stay safe.
When Downsizing To A Smaller Place
As the kids move out or your lifestyle changes, you may also decide to downsize to a smaller home, and that will also require planning and strategy to make the process as seamless as possible. Avoid common mistakes, like underestimating the move and the work it will entail, keeping too much of your stuff and having nowhere to put it, and not timing the sale of your current home just right, or you may not be able to sell or make as much profit as you would at a different time.
Once you get all of your ducks in a row and decide to downsize, you’ll want to keep the needs and comfort of your cat in mind. There are several ways that you can plan out this smaller area. For starters, though they may have less space to run back and forth, you can provide vertical space by building cat trees and setting up window perches where your cat can rest and watch the busy world outside.
Life will be much easier and your cat will have more space to play if you keep the space as clutter-free as possible. Clutter also makes the house feel disorganized. Put everything in its place, make good use of closet space, and donate items you don’t need or keep them in a storage locker so they’re out of the way. Finally, you can put your cat at ease by playing with them often so they can work off their stress and excess energy.
Safety During Remodels
Remodeling a home can be great when it’s finished, but if you have a large project with many workers moving around and loud noises all day, it can be a lot for pets to handle. The best thing you can do during the busy hours of a remodel is to keep your cats isolated in a room that’s as far as possible from the noise and ensure they have their litter box and toys so they’re at relative peace.
If you have a smaller home and fewer places to escape the noise, try to create simple distractions for your cat. Put a radio or TV in the room and play a show at low volume to create white noise. Also, put the window perch and the cat tree in the room so they have plenty of pleasant distractions.
Regardless of what you’re doing around your home, you need to keep your cats in mind along the way. Your furry friends will be very grateful for your efforts.
About the Author: Katie Brenneman
Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in lifestyle, mental health, and animal-related content. When she isn’t writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or snuggling with her cat, Clementine. To connect with Katie, you can follow her on Twitter.
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