If you're reading this article, you probably have a cat, and that means you understand that it's a cat's world, we are just living in it. Hopefully *at least* some of these hacks/tips will help make your life a little easier by learning how to successfully navigate their world. 1.
Let's start off with the basics. This super helpful chart will help you get a better understanding of the 'yes' spots and the 'I'll grab your hand and kick it nonstop until you leave me alone' spots. So as you can see here, there are pretty much only three possible spots to pet your cat without risking any injury (those freaking claws are SHARP.
..more on that later).
Obviously, this is going to depend on your kitty and you shouldn't just assume what's safe for most cats will be safe for yours. Always start off gently until you understand their preferences! Head – sure, you can pet there. Back and sides – go for it! Spot at the base of the tail – OMG, yes! Those are some of the best scratches.
It seems like there's a magic button there that raises the kitty's butt when you scratch there. Tail – ehhh, maybe, aka you can try, and they'll definitely let you know if that is acceptable. Legs – nah, don't do that.
Tummy – certain death. Don't you dare go near that spot unless you absolutely know the cat and their petting behaviors. 2.
Now, getting back to those razor sharp nails...
as ~daunting~ as it sounds, you're going to want to trim them. If you don't, those bad boys can leave scars (trust me, I have quite a few). These nail trimmers are great for making sure not to harm poor kitty's paws.
Whatever you do, though, just please do NOT use the regular nail clippers you have lying around your house. Those are not designed for cat claws and can end up damaging them and causing pain. Get them from Amazon for $6.
99 . Promising review: "Since this trimmer is so small, it gives you much more freedom when your cat doesn't want to cooperate. Now I can easily hold my cat between my legs with one hand and just start trimming when they don't notice.
" — Nan 3. Using nail clippers is obviously the ideal way to deal with claws, but sometimes (a lot of the time), your cat may not be interested in cooperating with you..
. *shocking.* In that case, try out a nail file so if you can't cut their nails, at least they are filing them to help tame those claws.
These nail file scratching pads are created by a small business! Ignore the fact that it says it's for dogs (cats always seem to be second-rate for cool products). This simply leans up against a piece of furniture and allows your cat to scratch their nails whenever they please! This is definitely going to be my next investment..
..once I can convince my husband to let me buy *another* thing for the cats.
Get it from Scratch Pad on Etsy for $60.95 (available in three materials). Promising review: "This is the answer I've been searching for! My rescue has real issues with having his nails trimmed.
Even the vet couldn't manage it without sedation. I was able to train him on the Scratch Pad in a matter of days. It has made a huge difference on his front feet already, and I feel so relieved that I will be able to manage this without traumatizing him further.
Will start training on the back feet soon! Thank you for an excellent solution!" — Jamie M. 4. To help alleviate any issues that come with cutting their nails, get them used to having their paws touched from a very young age (or slowly start doing it as soon as you adopt them if they are an older cat).
A lot of the hesitation that comes from cutting their nails is because cats inherently don't like to have their paws touched (refer back to the first chart), so by getting them used to it from the beginning, you'll find you have a much easier time trimming their nails. 5. Wrap sisal rope around the legs of your furniture or the railings on your stairs to create a DIY cat scratching post.
I knew someone who had an unsightly pole in the middle of their living room that they wrapped in rope so their cat could have a scratching post that went up to the ceiling. Get it from Amazon for $22.25 .
Promising review: "Excellent product for 'catifying' our house. Relatively small living space lends itself to building cat-tracks on the walls in various configurations, rather than having cat trees taking up space." — Norm Winterowd If DIYing isn't really your thing, check out some of these cat scratchers: A classic cat scratching post ($20.
97 at Amazon). An adorable cactus-shaped one ($24.99 at Amazon).
Or a wall-mounted one so kitties can activate ~biiiiig stretches~ ($39.99 at Amazon) — I have one of these and can confirm the kitties love being able to reach up high to stretch out their backs. 6.
Have a variety of toys to keep things interesting for your kitties. Are you even really a pet owner if your house isn't *littered* with toys?? One thing I have found helpful to keep my house clean and keep the cats' attention is to have the toys out on a rotating basis. If you give them access to all toys all the time, chances are they will become bored of them.
By keeping some hidden away, you can switch them out every so often, and the cats will be more excited to play with them. Some toys that are a huge hit in my house are: Feather wands ($8.99 at Amazon) Crinkle balls ($5.
79+ at Amazon; available in three quantities) Tube spring toys ($9.99 at Amazon) Cat nip-infused toys ($2.08 at Amazon) Cat nip stick balls ($9.
98 at Amazon for a pack of three) Poof balls ($6.99 at Amazon) Collapsable tunnels ($11.99+ at Amazon; available in 14 variations) 7.
Give them a treat (my cats love Temptations ) after using a laser pointer . After playing for a while, cats can become frustrated by not being able to catch the laser. So, I tend to play with the laser for a little while then follow it with a treat and play time with a toy they can actually catch.
Get Temptations treats from Amazon for $8.48+ (available in seven quantities and two flavors), and get the laser pointer from Amazon for $9.98 .
8. Prevent excess shedding by brushing them often. Try out this raved-about self-cleaning brush that will remove extra fur from your cat with gentle, round bristles to protect their sensitive skin while still reaching different levels of their fur to get rid of all the excess.
Get it from Amazon for $13.99 (available in four styles, including a sensitive skin version and three sizes). Promising review: "I was absolutely amazed by how well this brush works on my white cat Pinky.
Her fur is luxuriously thick but fine. This brush makes our nightly brushing sessions much more enjoyable and productive. The button that separates the fur from the bristles is the best part of this brush.
An added benefit is that my cat loves to rub her face on the bristles. Caution: be careful not to entangle the whiskers!! I highly recommend this product, especially for large cats." — Amazon Customer Or grab this double-sided undercoat brush with one side designed for de-matting and the other for coat thinning and de-shedding, aka you can finally help speed up your fur baby's shedding so your entire life isn't coated in a layer of fur.
Get it from Amazon for $4.99+ (available in four colors). Promising review: "I got tired of having fur fly every time I petted my cat.
This brush grabs the loose hair as I brush her and smooths her coat, so flying fur during petting isn’t such a problem. And my cat loves the feeling of being brushed with it. I’m very happy with my purchase.
" — Sam Spade 9. Buy a ChomChom to remove all the pet hair that is still on your couch even after you've vacuumed. This little tool works on pretty much any surface — furniture, upholstery, blankets, clothes — and you don't have to worry about constantly ripping off *another* sticky sheet because one quick swipe typically fills it up (at least it does when I try to use them to clean my clothes.
..).
Get it from Amazon for $24.99 (available in two colors). Promising review: "I opted to buy the original ChomChom in the hopes of at last having something practical that will help us remove black cat hair from upholstered and carpeted areas of our home.
I've used several things over the years, but nothing really worked 'as advertised.' The ChomChom made short, easy work of cat hair removal! No electricity, no big complicated two- or three-part device..
. just a well-designed, efficient roller that gathers up hair as one rolls it back and forth and deposits it in a closed compartment , easy to clear out for dumping into the trash. Now, if someone could explain to me how one small cat can continually produce and shed so much hair, I'm all ears.
" — Marilee 10. Put toy blockades under appliances and furniture to block all the tiny toys from making their way underneath and disappearing forever. IDK about you, but my cats have this *awesome* habit of taking any toy I give them and putting it under something, so I have to spend far too long trying to find them — I genuinely think they do it on purpose, like watching me struggle is more fun than actually playing with the toys.
I recently decided to cave (aka I finally convinced my husband) and got these for under our couch. Everywhere else, if they knock something under, they can follow it and pull it back out, but the couch is low enough that they don't fit, so I have to rearrange furniture and try to fish it all out myself, which is a HUGE pain in the butt. These have only been up for a couple of weeks, and they have already made a difference.
I no longer have to spend like 20 minutes trying to knock my kitty's favorite ping pong ball out from under the couch basically every single day. This has made my life so much easier and the kitties' lives better because their fave toys are actually floating around where they can reach them instead of disappearing into the abyss after being played with for approximately two minutes. Added bonus, these blockades are great for keeping the actual cat out from under furniture, because the only thing harder than getting a toy out is getting out a cat who can fight back.
Get it from Amazon for $11.98+ (available in eight sizes). Promising review: "I was so tired of fishing cat toys out from under the dresser, this product totally eliminates the problem and is basically invisible, look for the light reflection in the photo.
Very sturdy, good adhesive. It was a bit difficult to trim with regular all-purpose scissors, so I had to find my heavy-duty pair. Other than that took five minutes to measure and install!!" — Avid Reader and Frequent Buyer 11.
Avoid having their food, water, or litter box near each other. According to Encore Pet Food, cats' instincts tell them it's not safe to drink water that's near a food source, so if you have their food and water together, you will likely notice that your cat isn't drinking enough water. The litter box really goes without saying.
..you wouldn't want to eat near a dirty toilet, would you? 12.
Make sure your cats are getting enough hydration. If they don't like drinking water, make them what I like to call *kitty soup.* Just take some of their dry food and mix it in with water.
Apparently this concoction is much better than just dry food or water on their own. Wet food is another great source of hydration, but my picky little weirdos don't like it, so soup it is🤷🏼♀️ Or, consider getting them a water fountain . Cats are known to prefer drinking running water.
Get the fountain from Amazon for $25.49+ (available in five varieties). 13.
If you wanna spoil them with human food, first of all, be careful because you can create little monsters that jump on the table any time you eat. Second of all, make sure you know which foods are safe for your furry friends. According to the ASPCA , some foods that are safe for your kitty include apples, bananas, beef, blueberries, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cheese, chicken, cooked pumpkin, green beans, kiwi, peanut butter ( without xylitol), pineapple, popcorn, pork, strawberries, and turkey.
And as you would expect, the ASPCA has a list of foods that you should not feed your cat: onions, garlic, alcohol, avocado, chocolate, coffee, citrus, coconut, grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts, milk/dairy (SHOCKING, I know, but cats are technically lactose intolerant so it can upset their tummies), nuts, chives, and yeast dough. If you want to feed your cat a new food, just be sure to double-check before you do to make sure it's on the safe list. If cats are given any of the foods off the dangerous list, it can lead to an upset stomach, anemia, and depending on the quantity, be fatal.
14. You're probably not going to like this one, but you should have ONE litter box PER CAT, plus an extra. Yes, that sounds like a lot of litter boxes, but trust me, it is better to have more litter boxes if it means the cats actually use them.
Nothing is worse than the smell of cat pee. Avoid litter box problems by following these tips by Chewy : 1. Provide cats with uncovered litter boxes ($23.
99 at Amazon) — enclosed litter boxes can retain odors and can make a cat feel trapped. 2. Scoop litter at least once a day— cats tend to avoid using dirty litter boxes (aka, you may find them going to the bathroom in places they shouldn't be).
I would recommend using a metal litter scoop ($9.50+ at Amazon), so you don't have to worry about a cheap, plastic one bending when you clean the box. 3.
Litter boxes should be at least one and a half times the length of the largest cat — most litter boxes you see are too small. I personally have found that the best way for me to ensure the litter box is long enough (I have abnormally large cats) is to use a storage bin ($35.99 at Amazon) instead of a 'real' litter box.
4. Place boxes in an area with views so cats can identify and escape from potential threats — do not put them in places where the cat can feel trapped. 5.
There should be one litter box per cat plus one. You can also grab a litter-catching mat to help prevent the dreaded build-up of litter granules all over the floor that basically feels like you're walking on a sandy beach 😖. 15.
Consider grabbing a cat litter box enclosure that's hidden inside a planter so you don't have to sacrifice your aesthetic to accommodate your fur baby. You'll be ecstatic when you can finally get that unsightly box out of your living room and trick people into thinking you potty-trained your kitty. Get it from Wayfair for $61.
99+ (originally $78.99+; available in two colors). Promising review: "My cat instantly loved using this litter box enclosure.
(He is a rather large cat, so I was worried he may feel confined and not use it, but there is plenty of space for him, which is a huge plus for me!) I personally love that it looks like a decorative plant and not a litter box! It is a win-win(:" — Desirae 16. But odds are, no matter how many litter boxes you have, at some point you will end up with an accident somewhere. The good news is you can clean it up with just two ingredients: baking soda and vinegar .
Mix together equal parts of water and vinegar, cover the spot with the mixture, and let it soak to kill bacteria. For extra care, once that is dried, sprinkle the spot with baking soda and leave for 30–60 minutes to soak up any lingering smells. Then, vacuum the excess away.
Check out more tips on how to remove cat pee odors at One Good Thing. Get baking soda from Amazon for $9.99 .
Get a two-pack of vinegar from Amazon for $14.99. 17.
Or, if you're not feeling like a science experiment, check out this cleaner that quickly eliminates pet odors *and* doesn't smell like chemicals, but instead like freshly squeezed oranges. 😌 Don't let the delightful scent fool you, this stuff is powerful. Reviewers rave about it *completely* eliminating any odors in their house, and yes, that includes cat pee.
Get it from Amazon for $19.97 . Promising review: "I have a cat who has forever had a fun little habit of peeing on the floor.
Carpets, an idle sock, you name it — he will, at some point, pee on it. I have tried every enzyme and pet odor eliminator there is, and this is simply the best. I will not purchase any others.
First, I absolutely love the smell. It just smells like oranges. If you like the smell of oranges, you will like this.
Second, it actually works. It’s the only product I’ve found that fully removes the urine smell, and I do believe it actively reduces my cat's urge to re-pee on whatever beloved household item he’s tarnished. Third, this makes a great general floor cleaner.
I mix this up with a bit of hot water and use it to mop my floors. It does a great job and leaves my place smelling fresh. Seriously, if you have a pet who likes to pee on your things, this will be your new best friend.
" — E G 18. Put a box (yes, a literal cardboard box) on your desk to help stop your kitties from laying on your keyboard all day while you work from home. Or, if your kitty is ~determined~ to work, get them their own computer so they can help pay the bills for allllll the toys you buy them.
Get the cat computer from Amazon for $22.99 . 19.
Use aluminum foil to keep them off of surfaces they aren't supposed to be on. Some people with *brave* cats say this trick doesn't work, so just be sure to test out an area before you unroll your entire container of tin foil. You can get some tin foil from Amazon for $14.
49. 20. And, do not forget to get them a job at the biscuit factory!! You will never find a more dedicated worker than the kitty who spends most of their time sleeping on your couch.
They will knead for hours on end to make sure the dough is perfect. The reviews used in this post have been edited for length and clarity..
