A home that lives well with a cat is not a home that has been surrendered to a cat. It is a home that has been read carefully - for sightlines, for sunlight, for the small territorial economies that cats keep track of when we're not looking.
We spent an afternoon with interior designer Ines Park, whose Brooklyn apartment she shares with two Norwegian Forest cats and a small, unbothered dog. Here are eleven quiet changes she recommends to anyone who wants a home that works for everyone in it.
1. Give height back
Cats want the second story of every room. A tall shelf, a wardrobe top, a windowsill cleared of clutter — these are not concessions. They are the room's real bedrooms.
2. Rethink the food bowl
"Kitchens are loud, high-traffic, full of scent," Ines says. "Cats eat better in the room they sleep in." A ceramic bowl on a small tray in a quieter corner will change your cat's relationship with dinner.
3. Let the litter box breathe
Never in a closed cupboard. Never next to the food. Always with a sightline to the door of the room it's in - cats will not use a bathroom they cannot leave.
4. Add a soft window
A cushion on a windowsill counts as a room, if the sun hits it.
5. Consider the couch
A textured throw across the arm your cat has chosen means the couch is theirs on their terms - and yours on yours.
6. Rugs over hardwood
Cats hate the slip. So do older dogs. A single runner in the hallway will change how everyone moves.
7. Vertical scratching, not horizontal
A tall post beats a flat pad, every time. Cats scratch upward to stretch.
8. Two water bowls, not one
In different rooms, ideally on different floors. Cats drink more when they have options.
9. Cables, contained
For the kitten years, and the anxious ones.
10. A door that stays cracked
The bedroom door your cat can push open at 3 a.m. is a door that will not be scratched at 2:45.
11. One drawer that is theirs
Not for storage. For the toy that gets forgotten under the bed. Every home needs a lost-and-found.