by Janice Willard DVM, from the March 2006 Newsletter

You have heard it said that a man's home is his castle. But an important question for cat lovers to ask is whether our castle is also a place of refuge and comfort to our cats, who share that living space with us.

Cats can’t walk into a furniture store and pick the comfortable couch of their choice, and, if they are indoor-only cats, they don’t even have the choice to leave, if the environment they live in all the time doesn't suit them. And it turns out that having a living space that gives them what they need is not just an issue of kindness and respect, it is a medical issue as well.

In the past, animals in zoos were kept in barren, boring cages and many developed physical and behavioral problems as a result. Then zoos started designing living spaces that suited the environmental needs of different captive species, and zoo animals are much healthier and happier as a result. We can apply these same principles to our house cats as well.

When moving into the human world, the domestic cat did not leave behind the needs that evolved in the natural environment. Cats evolved as small desert predators. Because they are predators, they have a need for mental stimulation. However, because they are small enough to also be prey of larger predators, they have a need for safe hiding places, safe places to sleep and places where they can see and not be seen. While we tend to think in terms of floor space; they also need vertical spaces. And it is a basic biological need of all cat species to claw-rake their claws on objects in their home range. This claw-raking serves numerous functions such as social signaling, stress reduction, stretching and limbering muscles, and conditioning the claws.

To live optimum lives, cats need to feel safe and have their basic biological drives satisfied. They need mental stimulation, hiding places, vertical spaces, clean places to void their wastes, places to engage in claw-raking and appropriate social activity.

In a study of cats with chronic lower urinary tract problems, Tony Buffington, DVM, PHD at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, found that the addition of environmental enrichment resulted in a significant improvement in these cats. “Not only did their diseases signs improve but there was also an improvement in their behavior as well,” said Dr. Buffington. He has provided the principles of environmental enrichment in a web site www.nssvet.org/ici. You can go to this site and do an interactive survey of your home, with suggestions for improvement.

“We have found that people tend to think in terms of square feet instead of thinking cubically,” said Bob Walker of San Diego, CA, who with his wife Francis, applied their fine arts background to designing a unique and attractive cat-friendly home. You can see photos of their home at www.catshouse.com or “The Cats’ House” book.

But you do not need to totally remake your home to provide your cat with a cat-friendly home environment. “You can rearrange furniture to provide steps for the cats to get to places to hide and higher locations,” suggests Walker. “And you can bolt down your lamps and use a product called “Quake-hold” so that belongings don’t get knocked over.”

My friend Mike Miller has a cat-friendly home with several cat trees and sunny resting places in the window sills. He also took the door off the cupboard above his refrigerator, placed bedding on the shelves and created an ideal sleeping place for his most shy cat, Furful. Now she can rest comfortably in a place where she can survey the whole room and no one can sneak up on her. “It wasn’t an easy space for me to use, but is ideal for her,” said Miller. “Our cats are home more than we are,” observed Walker. “If possession is nine-tenths of the law, then our place is truly the cat’s house.” With some creativity and respect for your companion’s environmental needs, it is a simple matter for any cat lover to turn their home into their cat’s castle as well.

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