Top 10 Most Unexpected Must-Have Cat Things

What strange times to be living in. I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had a lot more spare time recently to wander through my house, poking through drawers and harassing my cats. I say “harass,” but really my cats are delighted. Never before have my husband and I been at home for months on end, only leaving in hourlong chunks to grab food and necessities. We are at the mercy of our fur kids, and nothing could please them more. How are you guys coping in this pandemic?

More importantly, how are your cats?

(Just kidding, you are important too.)

I’ve had a lot of time to brainstorm new things I can procure or make to surprise and delight my cats. Well, I’ve always done this, but the brainstorming has definitely seen a dramatic uptick recently. My sister once expressed that she’d love to be reincarnated as one of my cats because I’m constantly hovering around “making sure they’re always pleased.” (Her words)

Over the years I’ve recommended a whole host of cat accessories, gadgets and implements that make kitty cohabitation a little easier and a lot more delightful. I’ve decided to compile a few of my favorites here, as an updated add-on to my 2015 list, My Top Ten Must-Have Cat Things.

While 2015’s list focused on core necessities like cat climbers, litter, and beds, this list is a bit more unconventional. Everything here is a technically “nonessential” item I discovered that’s quickly taken on mythic status in my household, because of how unexpectedly wonderful they ended up being. The fur burgers and I simply can’t imagine our lives without them at this point. The best bit is, many of these items aren’t even cat products at all!

I figure you guys are already doing an unhealthy amount of Amazon shopping to quell the anxious tremors in your soul (just me..?), so here are a few extra goodies that I’ve found make cat life just a smidge more wonderful.

1: Colorful Wool Crafting Balls 

(check price on Amazon)

These felt craft balls make best cat toys ever, without the cat toy markup. I store these in large sandwich bags with a generous scoop of catnip and rotate them out every few weeks. They’re colorful, sturdy, 100% wool, and dirt cheap. Basically better than any cat toy you could ever design.

If you’re feeling extra crafty, buy a billion of them and make your lucky kitty a DIY cat bed, like so:

Want a roundup of my favorite conventional cat toys? Explore the many wonders.

2: Board Game Box Tops

Absolutely essential for WFH-ers. Unless you secretly love it when your cats prance across your keyboard and send a nonsensical reply-all email to your entire company, grab a board game box top and lay your cat trap. I’ve never met a cat who could resist a good board game box top. We’ve got one deployed on my husband’s WFH station (the office room) and one on my WFH station (the kitchen table). No more cats poking their fuzzy little noggins into my zoom meetings. Except, of course, when I forcefully grab one and wave her in front of the camera for my coworkers’ viewing pleasure. Want more cat guardianship hacks? Say no more.

On the topic of board games, here are a few of my favorites. There’s no time like quaran-time to get in on some quality analog gaming action.

 Pandemic. I swear.. this is not intentional. (It’s a great game)

 Taboo. An oldie but goodie war of words.

 Telestrations. So fun, especially with bigger groups. So if you’re quarantining with family, lucky youuuu..!

 Anomia. The most furiously frustrating good time you’ll ever have. Expect lots of shouting.

 Sushi Go. Good, clean, adorable fun. Kids can get into it too.

In our house, we’ve been throwing down with tons of mahjong. And there’s obviously the classic Settlers of Catan for you strategic minds. But, lest I forget myself, this is a nerdy cat blog and not a nerdy boardgame blog. One day…

3: ChomChom Roller

(check price on Amazon)

The holy grail of de-furifying. Please, for the love of god, chuck out all your sticky lint rollers and little paddles and treat yourself to this ridiculous contraption. Sure, I laughed too. But then the Chom Chom arrived in the mail. I haven’t laughed since. (Except maniacally, in delight, while effortlessly chom-chomming the fur off my curtains).

4: Litter Genie

(check price on Amazon)

Okay, I know. This is literally the most boring and disappointing thing to ever grace a list of cat things. (Cat things! They’re supposed to be delightful.) I know. But this simple little canister has changed the course of my life. If you have a trash can you’ve been dumping your cat waste into that you empty every few days, please try this sucker out.

You’ll never go back to letting poopy odors waft through your house again.

5: Creme Brulee Ramekins

(check price on Amazon)

Finally, a curveball! Didn’t see this one coming, did you? I’ve given up on buying pet food bowls for my cats. Most are the wrong shape, size or material. If you want to get into real esoteric cat knowledge territory, read up on whisker fatigue. Essentially, when your cat’s highly sensitive whiskers brush up against the sides of their food bowl too often, it causes stress. It’s one possible culprit for a cat knocking food out of their bowl before eating, or howling at you in despair when only the very center of their food bowl is empty.

They make and sell lots and lots of specialized “whisker fatigue cat bowls” for lots and lots of money, but a nice shallow creme brulee dish will do the trick, for way cheaper. The material is also a bonus, since it’s incredibly easy to clean and sanitize (just pop them in the dishwasher), unlike plastic pet food bowls which can harbor bacteria that resists cleaning and causes feline acne. Yurgh.

6: Heavy Duty Packing Tape

(check price on Amazon)

Before you have me drawn and quartered, I promise this is not for restraining cats. If only it were that simple. This particular packing tape is, hands down, the most effective thing I’ve ever used to protect new furniture from rogue cat claws. In those areas that simply can’t be protected by a furniture scratch protector (also essential), heavy duty packing tape cleanly covers surfaces and is sturdy enough to resist pawing.

The key is to wrap exposed corners and enticing surfaces as soon as the new piece of furniture is brought in. This way, your cats will never associate those areas with clawing, and in a few months you can remove the tape and they’ll be none the wiser. If your cats have already been happily shredding your couch for some time, simply clip the stray threads and tape over the scratched areas. When your cat feels a smooth surface beneath her paws rather than the nubby woven texture she’s used to, she’ll scratch elsewhere. (Which is why providing scratch-approved alternatives is crucial. More on that here.)

7: Cat Litter Deodorizer 

(check price on Amazon)

One of the best parts of cat guardianship is just how fuss-free and tidy most cats are. Their litter boxes, however, are a completely different story. I hunted down this supremely simple deodorizer—it just needs to be sprinkled over your cat’s litter every few days to absorb all those funky fumes. We’ve been spending so much more time at home, and since our cats’ litter boxes are in our office room, this little concoction has literally saved my husband’s poor nose from mutinying straight off his face.

The best part is that it’s completely fragrance-free, non-toxic and biodegradable! Yay for de-chemicalizing our lives and extending our cats’ lifespans.

8: Nubby Plastic Spikes

(check price on Amazon)

There are very few places in our home that our cats are not allowed. They have more clearance than the NSA. The few spots we’d prefer them not to traverse are designated as such for their own safety. For instance, my windowsill lined with cat-toxic houseplants. In these areas, these transparent “cat scat” mats are perfect. They’re non-obnoxious looking, harmless to the touch (just irritatingly poky for cat paws) and super easy to trim down to size.

If you’re trying to train your cats to stay off your dining table or countertops, just pop a few of these along the edges (tape them down if necessary) for a few days or weeks until your cats have learned to steer clear. Or, if you have neighborhood cats doing their business in your flower beds, simply stake a few of these into the dirt with landscaping fabric staples. Problem solved!

Confession: We also use these to keep our dog off the couch when we’re not home. (She has her own orthopedic memory foam bed, damn it.) The possibilities are endless! Tape a few together and make yourself a suit of armor!

Jk. Isolation is making me nutty.

9: Memory Foam Seat Cushions

(check price on Amazon)

If you spend your life fussing over the comfort of your kitties like I do, you must know the pain of that dreaded cat product markup. A simple cat bed can run anywhere between $20 to $50+, which is why I’m always looking for alternatives in the non-cat-product world (see creme brulee ramekins). When my husband began to complain that I was running up a ridiculous amount on our credit card buying little cushions and beds to tuck around the house for our cats, I knew I needed to find a cheaper alternative.

These memory foam chair cushions are a HIT with our cats. I put them on bookshelves, window sills, in our closets, under our beds—anywhere our cats like to nestle. Sometimes they’ll even go on a chair! A set of four costs about as much as a “real” cat bed, are just as comfortable and cozy, and are arguably even more durable and attractive.

They come in a ton of blends-in-with-your-decor colors, too.

And last but not least…

10: Sisal Rope

(check price on Amazon)

An amazingly easy, elegant, cat-friendly DIY for when you’re tight on space but still want to give your cats attractive scratching solutions.

Simply wrap a table leg, stair railing or a column in your home tightly with sisal rope and you’re done.

Observe:

Looks so contemporary and nautical, and doesn’t use up a single extra inch of floor space. Here’s a cute step-by-step DIY for wrapping securely with sisal rope (stools, in this case, though you can apply the technique to anything).

Your turn!

Have any awesome, unexpected cat things doing double-duty around your home? Share the wealth! I’m always looking for the next great cat thing to change my life.

And of course, stay safe out there y’all. We’ll get through this together. If nothing else, think of how much your cats must be enjoying this quality time with you. Watch lots of Netflix together. Make zucchini bread. Bedazzle a sweatshirt. Plant some blueberry bushes. Gardening season is almost here!

Read on:

My favorite diversion for troubling times: Cat Comics

Keep yourself busy with my favorite Cat Cardboard Box DIYs

Cats feeling the pressure from being cooped up together? Teach them to be pals again