Cat Care
New to cats, or bringing home a kitten? The new kitten checklist covers what to buy and set up before day one, and it works for adult cats too. For a job many cats resist, how to get a cat used to a carrier builds up in small steps so vet day starts calmly.
To save the sofa, how to get a cat to use a scratcher explains where to put one and how to make it the easy choice. More cat guides sit in the other topics, from brushing schedules to winter warmth and car trips. The scratcher, litter mat and other basics mentioned are in indoor cat essentials.
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How-to
How to Set Up a Cat Corner in a Small Home
A cat does not need a whole room, but they do need four things in one place: somewhere to hide, somewhere high, somewhere to scratch and somewhere warm. This guide builds that corner in a small home.
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How-to
Working From Home With a Cat: Fewer Paws on the Keyboard
A home-office plan for cat owners: a warm bed beside the desk instead of on it, cables and coffee out of reach, play before calls, midday puzzle and lick-mat jobs, a kind fix for keyboard walkers and a gentle switch back to office days.
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How-to
Where to Put a Litter Box in a Small Apartment or Studio
The bathroom usually wins, with the door wedged open. See the next-best spots in a studio or one-bedroom, the places to skip (kitchen, bedside, laundry closet), how to make a screen or cabinet work for your cat, a studio layout, and how to move the box without accidents.
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How-to
How to Stop Your Cat From Waking You Up at Night
Cats wake you before dawn because it is hunting time, the gap since dinner is long and waking you has paid off before. Here is a three-step plan: a bedtime hunt and meal, breakfast that doesn’t depend on you, and a firm no-response rule, plus a night setup, troubleshooting and signs to see your vet.
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How-to
How to Stop a Cat From Running Out the Door
Indoor cats dash for the door because it offers more smells and movement than anything else in the house, and often because that is where they get greeted. Learn a household door routine, how to teach a rewarded spot away from the entry, how to handle guests and moving day, and what to do if your cat gets out.
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How-to
How to Prepare Your Cat for a New Baby: Before and After the Birth
A month-by-month plan for expecting parents with a cat: who scoops the litter during pregnancy, moving the box and bed early, crib and nursery rules, baby sounds and smells, a retreat your cat can always reach and the first weeks home.
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How-to
How to Make Vet Visits Less Stressful for Your Cat, Start to Finish
A calmer vet visit for a nervous cat, from booking a quiet time and lining a top-opening carrier to waiting in the car, an exam in or beside the carrier, pre-visit medication and the other cat who hisses when you get home.
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How-to
How to Keep a Cat Calm With House Guests: A Retreat Room Plan
Guests bring noise, new smells and doors that keep opening. Here is a host’s plan for your cat: a retreat room set up a week ahead, play and a meal before the doorbell, what to tell visitors, overnight stays, suitcases and visiting dogs, and the stress signs that need a veterinarian.
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How-to
How to Introduce a New Cat to Your Cat: A Step-by-Step Plan
A staged plan for adding a cat to a home that already has one, from a transition room and scent swaps to sightings and short supervised meetings, with how long each stage takes, the body language to watch and what to do if it goes wrong.
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How-to
How to Clean a Cat Carrier After an Accident and Get the Smell Out
A cat that pees, vomits or soils the carrier needs a cleanup that removes the smell, not just the stain. Taking the carrier apart, enzyme cleaner for urine, washing soft-sided, backpack and hard carriers by the label, drying it fully, and lining it for the next trip.
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How-to
How to Clean a Cat Without a Bath, From Sticky Fur to Messy Bottoms
A cat with one dirty patch or a messy rear end rarely needs a bath. Brush first, spot-clean with a damp cloth, soften soiled fur instead of pulling it, keep wipes for people and scented products off the coat, and know when a veterinarian or a real bath is the better call.
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How-to
How to Help a Cat Adjust to a New Home After Moving
A settling plan that starts at the new front door: what goes in the base room, how arrival day and hiding should go, why the old bed and litter stay, when to open more rooms, how to secure doors and screens, how long settling takes and when to call your veterinarian.
