29/07/2025
🐾 The five pillars of a healthy feline environment 🐾
🧡 A safe place: Cats are highly sensitive and need to have a choice of private, safe, and quiet places where they can retreat to help them feel secure, protected, happy, and in control. Places where cats feel safe include elevated spaces for perching and observing from above (e.g., on the top of some shelves), private enclosed places like cat igloos or boxes, and hiding spots inside a wardrobe or underneath a bed. Placing cosy bedding in the places they like can give them an extra sense of comfort.
🧡 Multiple and separated key environmental resources: The essential resources that cats need include food and water stations, toileting areas, places to scratch, opportunities to play, and areas to sleep, rest, and hide. Be sure to have multiple options for your cat to choose from, especially for multi-cat households.
🧡 Opportunities for play and predatory behaviour: Cats have a strong innate need to engage in predatory behaviours like stalking, capturing, chasing and pouncing and they need opportunities to express these important natural behaviours. The good news is cats can put these instincts into practice with toys and food. You can hide food or treats for them to find, provide a variety of toys that encourage predatory behaviours and, importantly, you can engage in interactive play with your cat.
🧡 Positive, consistent and predictable human-cat social interaction: Cats benefit greatly from positive, consistent, and predictable interactions with people. The earlier these interactions start, the better, as this helps reduce any fear or stress a cat may feel around people during their lifetime and can strengthen their bond with their caregivers. It is important that when you interact with your cat, this is on their terms, so they feel safe and that they are in control of the situation. Follow their lead; they will let you know what they want, when they want it, and for how long. Respecting this helps build trust and harmony between you and your cat
🧡 An environment that respects cats' senses: Cats use information gained through all their senses as an important way to assess their environment. This includes assessing the environment for threats, communicating, searching for food, and more! The physical environment, other animals, and people will all have impacts on a cat’s senses (smell, sight, hearing, touch and taste). The impacts can be positive or negative and should be considered when creating and sharing a cat friendly home, including when interacting with cats.
Based on guidelines by Ellis et al. (2013) and Taylor et al. (2022), published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery.
Want to know more about how to meet your cat's fundamental needs and provide a feline friendly home?
Check out our free guide at 🔗 safeandhappycats.com.au/ -a-safe-place
