Home Studio: your pet-friendly home plan, room by room
Tell us who lives with you, which rooms they use, whether you rent and what you want to spend. You get a checklist of what to remove, set up and add in each room — every tip from Cornell, International Cat Care, ASPCA, FDA, AKC or rabbit welfare groups, with renter-friendly fixes marked.
1. Who lives with you?
2. Which rooms do they use?
Whole-home tips are always included.
3. Renting and budget
"Do first" safety tips always stay in your plan, whatever the budget.
4. Your houseplants (optional)
Checked against the ASPCA's list of plants toxic to dogs and cats. The ASPCA list does not cover rabbits.
My pet-friendly home plan
2 cats · owner · up to $25
🏠 Whole home
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
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 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.
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
Have one more litter box than you have cats
Keep as many litter boxes as cats, plus one, in different parts of the home, not side by side.
Cornell recommends as many boxes as cats plus one, in different areas of the house. International Cat Care says boxes grouped in one place count as one litter resource to the cats.
Source: Cornell Feline Health Center — House soiling; International Cat Care — Multi-cat households
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.
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.
Offer upright and flat scratching surfaces
Add at least one flat scratcher (cardboard or a mat) next to the upright posts, in different rooms.
International Cat Care recommends multiple vertical and horizontal scratching surfaces in multi-cat homes, because many cats have their own preference.
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
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
🍳 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.
Feed each cat in its own spot
Give each cat a feeding place where it cannot see the others eat: in different rooms, or at different heights.
International Cat Care recommends a visual barrier between cats at mealtimes, such as a wall (different rooms) or feeding on different levels.
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
Give a new cat its own room first
Set up a room for the new cat with its own litter box, water, food, bed and hiding place, and introduce the cats slowly from there.
Cornell says new or returning cats should be confined to their own room with a separate litter box, water and food, and that introductions can take weeks to months.
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
Put soft, raised beds in several places
Give your cats several warm, soft beds off the floor, in different rooms, so each can rest away from the others.
International Cat Care recommends soft, warm, raised beds in multiple locations throughout a multi-cat home.
🛁 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.
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
Use a baby gate or panel for introductions
Put a baby gate or a panel across the new cat's doorway so the cats can see each other without contact, and feed them on either side, far enough apart that both keep eating.
Cornell calls barriers such as baby gates or panels made of cardboard, light wood or plastic very effective, and suggests feeding the cats so they link mealtimes with each other's presence, moving them further apart if they won't eat.
Later, when the budget allows
Spread beds, water and scratching posts around the home
Put water bowls, beds, high perches and scratching posts in several different places, so no cat has to pass another to reach them.
International Cat Care says a common formula is one resource per cat plus one extra, in different locations throughout the home, and that hissing, chasing, swiping and fighting are signs of tension between cats.
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
Every tip is checked against its sources before it is published. This plan is a starting point, not a safety inspection — if your pet has a health condition, ask your vet what else to change.
Ready-made checklists
Looking for things to do together once the home is ready? Try the Enrichment Lab.