Cat-Friendly Apartment Setup: A Room-by-Room Checklist
What a cat needs from a small home, and what to remove, room by room: a quiet litter spot, places up high and places to hide, safe windows, and the household hazards vets warn about. Renter-friendly tips are marked, and every tip links to its source.
26 tips · 13 to do first · 25 renter-friendly
🏠 Whole home
Fit snug screens on every window you open
Put snug, sturdy screens in the windows you open, and wedge adjustable screens tightly into the frame. Keep windows without a screen closed.
The ASPCA says most falls from windows, terraces and fire escapes are accidents, and that childproof window guards are not enough because cats can slip through them. If a cat does fall, take it to a vet or animal hospital straight away.
Source: ASPCA — High-rise syndrome: lifesaving tips for cat parents
Keep lilies out of the home
Don't bring true lilies or daylilies into the home, including in bouquets: Easter, Asiatic, Oriental, Stargazer and tiger lilies, and daylilies.
The FDA warns that eating a small piece of a leaf or petal, licking pollen off fur, or drinking the vase water can cause fatal kidney failure in cats in less than 3 days. If your cat touches any part of a lily, call your vet or a pet poison control center at once: treatment within 18 hours matters.
Source: FDA — Lovely lilies and curious cats: a dangerous combination
Keep washer and dryer doors shut
Close the washing machine and dryer doors after use, and look inside before you start them.
Cats Protection advises keeping washing machine and tumble dryer doors closed and checking for your cat before you turn them on.
Put the litter box somewhere quiet and private
Choose a quiet, private corner your cat can reach day and night, away from the food and water bowls, busy walkways and full-length windows. If your cat struggles with stairs, keep a box on their floor.
Cornell says most cats prefer a litter box location that is quiet, private, separate from where they eat and easy to reach 24 hours a day. International Cat Care adds: away from food, water, full-length windows and busy thoroughfares.
Source: Cornell Feline Health Center — House soiling; International Cat Care — Making your home cat friendly
Keep dryer sheets out of reach
Store new and used dryer sheets in a closed container or bin.
The ASPCA says chewing a dryer sheet can cause mouth ulcers, and swallowing enough sheets, new or used, can cause an intestinal blockage.
Source: ASPCA — Pet poisons: household products and cleaning agents
Keep flat-faced pets cool on hot days
On hot days, keep Pugs, Persians and other flat-faced pets in the coolest, air-conditioned room.
The ASPCA says animals with flat faces, like Pugs and Persian cats, are more susceptible to heat stroke and should be kept cool in air-conditioned rooms as much as possible.
Source: ASPCA — Hot weather safety tips
Use an uncovered box and unscented litter
Use an uncovered box with unscented, fine litter about 1 to 2 inches deep, and scoop clumps every day. Kittens, older cats and cats with mobility problems need a box with low sides; large cats need a bigger one.
Cornell says most cats prefer an uncovered box that lets odors out and gives a 360-degree view, and unscented, finer litter about one to two inches deep.
🛋️ Living room
Check every houseplant against the ASPCA list
Look up each plant you own by its exact name, and move or rehome any that are toxic to your pet. Our plant checker uses the ASPCA's list.
The ASPCA keeps a database of plants toxic and non-toxic to dogs and cats. It says the list is not all-inclusive and to check the plant's exact name. If your pet eats a plant, call your vet or the ASPCA's 24-hour poison hotline.
Source: ASPCA Animal Poison Control — Toxic and non-toxic plants
Put a tall, sturdy scratching post where your cat already scratches
Choose a post that does not wobble and is tall enough for your cat to stretch fully, in the direction they like to scratch (upright or flat). Stand it next to the spot they scratch now, and keep it even when it looks worn.
Cornell says a scratching post should be sturdy enough not to topple, at least as tall as your cat standing with front legs stretched out, and placed next to the area your cat already likes to scratch. Cats that like nubby couches often prefer sisal or rope.
Check under recliners before closing them
Before you push a recliner or sofa bed back, look underneath for your cat.
Cats Protection advises always checking underneath for your cat before pushing a recliner back in.
Give your cat high places to rest and watch from
Add a cat tree, or clear a stable shelf or the top of a cupboard, and put a non-slip mat on smooth surfaces.
International Cat Care says cats need to rest and watch over their surroundings from high places, and that many wooden shelves are too slippery without a non-slip surface.
Source: International Cat Care — Making your home cat friendly; International Cat Care — Multi-cat households
Move climbable furniture away from open windows
Move shelves, sofas and cat trees that let your cat reach high windows you open, or fit window limiters or mesh.
International Cat Care suggests moving furniture that lets a cat reach higher open windows, and using limiters or mesh so a window can open safely. Cats, especially kittens, can squeeze through small spaces.
Add frosted film to full-length windows
If your cat is unsettled by cats outside, cover the lower part of full-length windows with decorative static film and put a high perch nearby.
International Cat Care suggests decorative static film on the lower portion of full-length glass, plus a high perch near the window.
Source: International Cat Care — Making your home cat friendly
Keep toys in a box and rotate them
Leave out a few toys at a time and swap them every few days. See the toy rotation activity in the Enrichment Lab.
International Cat Care says toys left lying around soon become predictable and boring, and suggests storing them away and bringing them back out. Cornell says rotating toys helps prevent boredom.
Source: International Cat Care — Making your home cat friendly; Cornell Feline Health Center — Safe toys and gifts
🍳 Kitchen
Keep dangerous foods off counters
Keep chocolate, grapes and raisins, onions, garlic, macadamia nuts, alcohol, caffeine and raw bread dough out of reach, and never share them.
All of these are on the FDA list of foods that are dangerous for pets. If your pet eats something on it, the FDA advises calling your vet or a pet poison control center right away.
Keep water away from the food bowl
Put the water bowl far enough from the food that food cannot fall into it, and keep both away from the litter box. Use wide, shallow bowls.
International Cat Care recommends food and water kept apart, wide shallow bowls that give room for whiskers, and the litter tray away from food and water.
Source: International Cat Care — Making your home cat friendly
Grow a pot of cat grass
Give your cat its own safe greens, such as oat grass, catnip or catmint, and keep your other plants out of reach.
Cornell suggests offering cat-safe greens such as oat grass, catnip or catmint, and says the only guaranteed way to protect houseplants and your cat is to block access to the plants.
🛏️ Bedroom
Put away string, hair ties and rubber bands
Keep thread, string, ribbon, hair ties, rubber bands and small batteries in closed drawers, and put wand toys away after play.
Cats Protection warns that string can cause life-threatening problems if eaten, that hair ties and rubber bands can get stuck in the stomach, and that small batteries are easy to swallow. Cornell advises against toys with string-like parts that can come off and be swallowed.
Source: Cats Protection — Keeping your cat safe in the home; Cornell Feline Health Center — Safe toys and gifts
Make a few hiding places
Pull a piece of furniture slightly away from the wall, leave a cupboard or the space under the bed open, or put down a cardboard box.
International Cat Care says secret hideaways are important to cats, and that pulling furniture away from walls gives them hiding places. In multi-cat homes, soft, dark, warm spots give each cat somewhere for "time out".
Source: International Cat Care — Making your home cat friendly; International Cat Care — Multi-cat households
🛁 Bathroom
Never give your cat human painkillers
Keep acetaminophen (paracetamol), ibuprofen, aspirin and other human medicines shut away, and never give them to your cat unless your vet tells you to.
The FDA lists medicine meant for people as dangerous unless your vet directs it, and says acetaminophen is fatal to cats.
Never use your dog's flea or tick product on your cat
Store dog flea and tick treatments separately and only use products made for cats on your cat.
The FDA warns that flea and tick products for dogs can be dangerous, or possibly life-threatening, if used on cats.
Keep pets out of the room while you clean
Close the door while you use strong cleaners in the bathroom or kitchen, and let floors and carpets dry before your pet comes back.
The ASPCA advises keeping pets out of the area when using any potentially toxic product and letting carpets dry first. Cats Protection suggests closing the door when you use strong cleaners in sinks or toilets.
Source: ASPCA — Pet poisons: household products and cleaning agents; Cats Protection — Keeping your cat safe in the home
🚪 Hallway & entrance
Lock away antifreeze, rat bait and insect killers
Keep antifreeze, rat and mouse bait, insecticides, mothballs, paints and solvents in a closed cupboard, including in the garage or shed.
Cats Protection advises keeping antifreeze, rat or mouse poisons and insect killers in a cupboard away from your cat. All of these are on the FDA list of household items that are dangerous for pets.
Source: Cats Protection — Keeping your cat safe in the home; FDA — Potentially dangerous items for your pet
💻 Home office
Tidy cables out of reach
Use cable tidies and clips to keep chargers and cables off the floor and out of paw reach.
Cats Protection recommends cable tidies and clips to keep cables out of paws' reach, and Cornell says anything with an electrical cord your cat can chew should be avoided.
Source: Cats Protection — Keeping your cat safe in the home; Cornell Feline Health Center — Safe toys and gifts
🌇 Balcony or terrace
Cat-proof the balcony with netting
Enclose the balcony with cat safety netting or mesh and check for small gaps your cat could squeeze through. Until it's done, keep your cat off the balcony.
International Cat Care says a balcony can give an indoor cat valuable space, but it must be completely cat-proof, using balcony safety nets and meshes and remembering the small gaps cats can squeeze through. Falls from a height usually need emergency treatment.
Check windows and balcony doors on hot days
Before you open windows or the balcony door on a hot day, make sure the screen is in place or your cat is shut in another room.
International Cat Care warns that on a hot day it's easy to leave a window or balcony door open without thinking of the risks. The ASPCA advises keeping all unscreened windows and doors closed.
Source: International Cat Care — High-rise cats; ASPCA — Hot weather safety tips
How we choose these tips
Every tip is written from published guidance — Cornell University, International Cat Care, the ASPCA, the FDA, the AKC, the House Rabbit Society and the Rabbit Welfare Association — and links to its source. Tips that need drilling or a permanent change are marked, so renters can check their lease first. This checklist is a starting point, not a safety inspection.