Last year I adopted a cat from a local shelter and brought him home to my apartment. Since then I’ve spend a lot time figuring out how to make the perfect living environment for me, my cat, Fox, and my roommate.

adopting-a-cat-in-an-apartment
Meet Fox!

Here’s what you need (and one thing you really don’t) plus some tips I picked up over the past few months of having a pet in a rented space.

LITTERBOX – I looked at a lot of options and ended up getting a Modkat litterbox. At first I just had normal box and was vacuuming the floor around it every day, but this one has a screen on top to clean the litter off and it looks cooler than most litterboxes I’ve seen.

TIPS:
🐱 Your litterbox should be 1.5x bigger than the cat.
🐱 Put the litterbox where there’s people or stuff going on. Most cat owners hide it because it’s a litterbox, but cats like it near people. I keep it in my room.
🐱 Scoop everyday. I do it twice a day, morning and night. Since I live in an apartment, that ensures there’s no mess or smell.
🐱 Don’t put your cat’s food near the litter box. They’re not into mixing the two.
🐱 If you switch litterboxes, take some of the old litter and put it in the new box so they know where to go.
🐱 Even though cats can navigate the dark well, I still have a light near the litterbox so my cat can find it easily.

PET WIPES – The first couple times cats use their new litterbox it’s probably going to be messy and they’ll probably step in it. You can either bathe them with a pet shampoo or use pet wipes. My cat learned pretty quickly that I check him when he’s done and eventually they figure it out.

SOMETHING TO SCRATCH – If you want to save your furniture, you’ll also want something they can scratch. At first I just bought a normal-sized scratching post, but my cat didn’t like it so I bought an infinity shaped one (like this) that seems to be working well.

TIP: Even if you have something for your cat to scratch, I found out the hard way that you need to watch out for things with little holes- like the dust cover on your computer, etc. because cats love putting their claws in there and can get stuck.

ENTERTAINMENT – If you’re not at home all day, cats get bored. Especially if they’re in a small space. I subscribe to Meowbox, which is a monthly box filled with cat treats and toys. The company does research and figures out what cats like best. It’s nice because you can get a variety of toys and figure out what your cat likes best.

TIP: I also buy dental treats since gum disease is common in cats.

SMARTFEEDER – I talked to a vet who told me that you’re supposed to feed a cat 4x a day because it’s better for their health. Since I work all day, I decided to get a smartfeeder and I really like it. I have one that tells you the quality of the cat food and when the food is running low.

TIPS:
🐱 When you feed your cat or program a feeder, keep the schedule consistent so your cat is not asking for food at random times.

🐱 Make sure any wires on your feeder are super strong. My cat is really into biting wires and has so far ruined a laptop cord and a phone charger. Alternately, you can pick up a special spray for wires the keep cats away.

TRASH CANS – If you have open trash bins, cats will always knock them over and jump in. You should either put it in a cabinet or get one with a closed top (that isn’t easy to push open).

Things you don’t need:

A BED – It’s not necessary to have a special cat bed for your pet to sleep on. A box and a towel is just fine for most cats. My cat sleeps everywhere and loves one certain chair in particular.