Cats in a city apartment

*Bonus on one of his favorite spots, the One Connect Box cover*

I get lots of questions about this so today I thought I’d share how I take care of my cats in my city apartment in Stockholm.

First I think I should mention how we ended up in this apartment. Oh, I should also mention that I own it so technically it’s a condo. My cats Mini and Bonus who are turning 17 in April were born on a farm outside of Norrtälje, just north of Stockholm. We brought them home to a small house in a Stockholm suburb and my son Wille and I later moved with them to a different house. They were indoor/outdoor cats and could go as they pleased through a microchip cat flap.

After 20 years of living in houses I really longed to move back into the city but was worried how to do that with cats. I went on an apartment hunt and basically only had two must haves. 1) Within the inner city 2) Outdoor space that could be enclosed. It took a while to find it and also to create the catio.

But here we are, at Södermalm, in the city and have lived in this place for three years.

My apartment is 57 m2 and the patio/catio is about 30m2. We still use a cat flap so Mini and Bonus can go outside and come inside as they please but I’ve deactivated the microchip function on it. Since it’s to prevent other cats from entering and the outdoor space is completely enclosed we don’t need it. It makes a clicky noise when it opens and sometimes if they just sit there and haven’t made up their minds to come inside or stay outdoors, it keeps clicking which was a bit annoying.

Where my cats are allowed

I pretty much allow my cats everywhere they want to go. They walk around on all the furniture, shelves, window sills and counter tops. I make sure it’s safe for them to do so and keep the amount of things displayed to a minimum. I do have things out that I enjoy but I’m not precious about them so if something would break, I’d be ok with that. It very rarely happens that they knock something over though. I make sure that the items I display are heavier rather than light so they don’t get knocked over easily, so for instance when I chose this lamp I picked the heaviest of the versions they had and it has stayed put ever since despite the delicate look if it.

One of my super powers is cord maintenance (how boring am I on a scale?) so those who asked how I deal with cats and cords, there’s no cable spaghetti that they can get into. That was also probably more of an issue when they were kittens, they’ve totally lost interest in that kind of thing.

Allowing my cats everywhere of course means that I clean surfaces more than perhaps petless people. I have a spray bottle with water and a few drops of dish soap and wipe often. As for pet hair, watch this video where I share how I deal with that.

The litter box

Let me tell you straight away that I would have done things differently when it comes to the litter box and kitty litter.

If I had known about cats using the WC I would have loved to try that from when they were kittens. I would also have loved using a litter box with the opening at the top to prevent the litter to spill onto the floor so much. I did get one of those but by that time my cats were too old and I could tell they weren’t comfortable using it so I switched back.

I use this litter box. It comes with a flap but I removed it because I could hear it swing all the time when I was in bed. The kitty litter I use is this one. I get comments all the time saying I should switch to something more sustainable and I have tried wood pellets but the noise those made in the box when Mini or Bonus were using the facilities didn’t work for me, having the litter box just outside my bedroom.

The litter box fits perfectly into a little nook in my entryway and I keep the scoop on a hook next to it. I scoop into “green” plastic bags and throw those in the trash bin in the courtyard of my building. Wish I had a better solution, but that’s the reality.

Places to sleep

I learned early on that Mini and Bonus tend not to enjoy when I create beds for them, they much rather pick their own places to sleep. I did add little pads for them on a couples of the window sills where they do hang out a lot but when I’ve tried buying little cute beds they’ve just not used them.

I did get a cat head shaped bed/cave when they were kittens and I kept it because I loved, it despite the fact that it took them a whole year to start using it. Where I got it is probably one of the most frequently asked questions I get. I bough mine on eBay 15 years ago. It was listed as a promotional item from Whiskas Germany. Try googling “cat head bed Whiskas”, they sometimes pop up!

Aside from those spots Mini and Bonus also enjoy Wille’s old bean bag which I created a washable cover for. Mini loves the basket where i kept pillows and a blanket. That’s no longer storage, it’s a cat bed.

Bonus also enjoys the dining chairs and the sofa and loves to sleep at the foot end of my bed at night. Mini always tucks herself next to me on the armchair in the evenings.

Food and water

We discovered that Bonus had some type of eczema early on. The vets we consulted couldn’t figure out what the cause was but we tried eliminating all kinds of foods and were also told that it could have to do with the materials in the food and water bowls. They recommended we only use clear untinted glass. Not sure if he grew out of the eczema or if it was actually the bowls but the skin issues are long gone and we’ve stuck to clear glass ever since.

I won’t get into the specific wet food they eat but they also have always have this brand dry food on paw. I keep a water bowl on the mat where I feed them as well but they also have access to water elsewhere. Again, you don’t just tell your cats what to do, they would much rather figure out for themselves and finding water is one such thing. When temperatures allow I keep a water bowl outside and when it’s too cold they can find water in a drinking glass on the dining table or in a bowl on the floor in the bathroom. Mini also enjoys drinking from the tap in the kitchen.

Cats and plants

I often get comments telling me that some plant or other that I either have inside or on my patio is poisonous to cats.

Like I mentioned before, my cats have always been indoor/outdoor cats. While I’ve had the option and possibility to choose new plants or to remove existing plants in my own yard, they would still get exposed to whatever has been in my neighbors yards, that I have no control over.

Of course you should always make sure that your pets are as safe as can be, but I also think we don’t sometimes give them credit enough to take care of themselves. If they’re given better options they’re less likely to chew on poisonous plants. Mini and Bonus have never chewed on my indoor plants as adult cats (kittens are a different story so do take extra care when they’re small) because I’ve offered them things that are ok to chew, like cat grass inside and outside and cat nip outside (although I hear that’s debatable). I’m sure there are cats that do chew on ALL plants and if your cat is like that obviously go by that and remove poisonous ones! I can of course only speak for myself, Mini and Bonus and If you get a new cat, also be extra careful to see what they’re like around plants. I obviously can’t be responsible for other cats than my own.

Before I buy a new plant I do always google it as I’m standing in the store or nursery. I just type in the name of the plant + cat and can quickly see if it’s good or not.

This web shop clearly marks which indoor plants they sell are pet friendly which I think is great!

Toys

Neither Mini nor Bonus are much into toys anymore. They used to enjoy them when they were younger but these days the only thing they show any interest in are catnip toys. And not just any old catnip, it has to be from this brand for some reason. When I make catnip toys for them I try to get that brand of loose catnip.

How to avoid scratching

This is also a question I get a lot. How to prevent cats from scratching furniture.

I try not to be precious about my furniture. I’ve avoided getting nicer upholstered pieces and rugs just because I know it would bother me if they’d get ruined. Instead I let them scratch on my bed, my armchairs and on my rugs. The only thing I try to keep them from scratching is my sofa. To prevent it I cover the sofa with blankets that their claws get caught in which they don’t enjoy. I’ve also used a spray that cats supposedly don’t like the scent of. It works just after you sprayed but you do have to reapply all the time. I use it if they’re being particularly naughty but most often don’t bother with it.

Again giving them options is a good idea. We have a scratch pad on the floor close to the sofa that they can use instead. Ours is one can you mounted on the wall but we keep it on the floor since both my cats prefer to claw horizontally rather than vertically. Mini uses it several times a day and Bonus occasionally.

Hope that answers your questions if you were wondering!

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