Hi everyone,

Today’s guest post comes from Duncan Colman.

How to get your cat to love their cat kennel

If your cat is anything like mine, you buy him or her a really comfortable cat bed or nice healthy new dry food and they behave in a contrary manner by snubbing your said new seating and/or sustenance arrangements.

So here’s the thing – there are always means and ways of getting your cat to do what you want when it comes to taking on the investment of a cat kennel.

Why get a cat kennel?

You love your cat and you want it to feel safe, secure and warm. Simples! For us true cat lovers we know our pets can be sensitive needs and we want to tune into what makes them really happy. Indoor & outdoor cat kennels fulfil different needs for different cats and owners. From our own personal experience as a pet owner family we have appreciated the dimension that a cat kennel brings when we moved into our current house. In our neighbourhood there are tonnes of cats – which our cat quickly realized and became increasingly jumpy and stressed about the neighbours’ cats jumping into our garden. One bruiser cat in particular tried battering down our This was perfectly understandable but unfortunately led to our ginger tom utilizing various nooks and crannies of our house as an indoor toilet. With a young family, this put a bit of stress on us at the wrong point in the day – not like there is a good time of day to clear up cat mess!

Other than protruding a super soaker out of our bedroom window to see off any other cats entering our back garden we were stuck.

For us, letting the cat sleep on the bed at night was becoming an option with decreasing feasibility. We needed to do something else.

Outdoor cat kennels

Having tried our cat in a rabbit hutch when he injured his paw a few years back, we contemplated the idea of a cat kennel for the back garden. Yes, cats like to roam – but they need a base; a place where their food, drink and bed isn’t compromised. This is why we invested in a cat kennel.

The routine we went with was putting him in to the outdoor kennel just before we went to bed – and then letting him out just before we went out to work at about 8am the following morning.

How to get them to use their cat kennel?

Treats work with cats. Big comfy cat beds might work but fresh chicken or fish in the first few days might make getting him or her enticed to the new arrangement. Going for a larger cat run with multiple compartments will give them plenty of room to move around meaning that they won’t view being put in as a relegation.

Have you ever tried using catnip? This herb drives many cats insane with delight – you can pick up sprays or toys (check out this range) that could well help with the adoption of their new habitat.

Really cool indoor cat kennels

So our problem was fixed with the introduction of an outdoor cat kennel and whilst we don’t religiously put him out there (particularly in the winter) we still have it after 4 years and its used weekly. We have not splashed out on an indoor cat kennel (also referred to as pods) but when we researched cat kennels we can across this range of cat kennels which gave us an insight into some of the most popular UK products – both indoor and outdoor.

So indoor cat kennels or pods seem pretty decadent as a proposition but could definitely have practical applications. For instance, it is common for house owners that keep their cats in the garage and the pet pod animal houses come as a snug offering for them with the added option of being heated. I’d view this as practical as opposed to spoiling your pet – if it stops them trying their hardest to get in last thing at night or worse meowing for half an hour when you’ve had a long day then I’d say go for it!

Other cat pods to consider

I was definitely impressed by the neat, modern look of the Pet Pod Animal House. Petzpodz similarly have a bright, funky looking product range – any of which would look totally fine in the corner of a kitchen, utility room or garage. They also come in small, medium or large and are double wall insulated.

The other manufacturer I found was called KatKabin. Again, a really neat looking product with an optional cat flap. Arguably the best looking ‘pod’ on the market. The Independent were quoted as branding this cat kennel as the ‘rolls-royce of shelters’ – one of the top ideas for cat Christmas presents. It’s really cool that this is a flexible cat kennel that could work either outdoor or indoor.

Verdict

If you are thinking about getting a cat kennel and you’re worried that they won’t like it or use it…it’s not a reason to not get one. Remember – bribery is your best friend as a pet owner!

Thanks for reading his tips and hope to see you here again soon.

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Thanks,

Marc