Your kitten isn’t literally looking down on you (at least we don’t think so), but they do enjoy surveying their surroundings from up high.
Not only is climbing a natural cat behavior, but giving them vertical spaces to enjoy has multiple benefits:
- You can provide a safe space for young cats to retreat from other pets or children. Even the most social of cats will sometimes need alone time, and a high space is a great place for them to go and rest without worrying they’ll be disturbed. This may decrease conflicts between cats and reduce the anxiety and stress of cats in the home.
- Your young cat can get more exercise by vaulting to new heights. Obesity affects over half of North American pet cats, contributing to shortened lifespans and chronic diseases like diabetes and arthritis. By increasing your cat’s exercise, they’ll burn more calories on a daily basis.
- You can stimulate your young cat’s mind. Enrichment is vital for indoor cats. Vertical space allows them to switch up their perspective on the room. Some spaces, like window seats, also provide them with the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. Birds and other creatures outside provide endless entertainment to cats. You can also hide enrichment objects like special treats, catnip or a favorite toy up high, which will increase the fun of the hunt for your cat.
The following ideas are a great way to make use of vertical space for your cat:
- Cat trees. Cat trees allow for climbing and scratching. They sometimes have little hideaways as well. Make sure that if you set up a tall cat tree, you have it anchored to the wall to prevent injury to your cat or others in the home. You can also consider looking at DIY cat trees online to create your very own cat tree.
- Window seats. Window seats hang against the glass of a window. Your cat will love relaxing in the window seat and resting in the sun. Make sure the window seat is approved for the size of your cat to prevent fall accidents. You can also consider placing the window seat within the view of outdoor trees or bird feeders to increase the entertainment value for your cat.
- Cat shelves. Cat shelves are attached directly to the wall. These allow the cat to jump from shelf to shelf up the wall. You can strategically place cat shelves to connect other high spaces, such as building an elevated path from the top of a bookcase to the higher levels of a cat tree. Make sure to check the maximum weight restrictions. If you have multiple cats, be sure a shelf can support more than one cat’s weight.
- Floor-to-ceiling climbing posts. This one is a little more DIY, but it’s possible to install floor-to-ceiling climbing posts. You can also put items like cat shelves or cat trees off to the side of the climbing posts to encourage some jumping between items.
- Repurposed furniture. In the absence of cat trees and other high spaces (or maybe sometime despite those), your cat may try to climb objects in your home. Some of these objects can be repurposed. For example, if you have a bookshelf that your cat loves to jump on top of, consider placing a bed at the top.
You don’t have to turn your home into a jungle gym, but vertical space goes a long way for your young cat’s mental well-being. Enjoy watching them leap, scratch and climb!
Check out other options for cat-friendly furniture that will entertain your feline explorer.
