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Everyone always talks about how cats aren’t kind to human furniture—so much hair, so much scratching. But then again, cat furniture isn’t always appealing, especially not the kind you’re probably thinking of (you know, the tall, strangely shaped tower covered in banal beige carpet).
To top it off, if you live in a small space with cats, you need items such as litter boxes and scratching posts that your cat will actually use, that you won’t hate, and that won’t get in your way. Luckily, cat furniture for apartments has come a long way, baby.
From cat trees to cat condos, cat beds to cat perches, today’s cat furniture can be fashionable and functional without taking up too much space in your 500 sq ft apartment. Here are 20 of the top pieces of cat furniture for apartment dwellers.
The Top Cat Furniture for Apartments
Cat Trees
What is a cat tree, exactly? Well, it’s a tall tower that has several levels, and like a tree, branches out and up, offering your extremely special cat many places to perch and chill that aren’t your very expensive couch.
In the seventies and eighties, these objects were the highest offenders of Ugly Cat Furniture. But they’ve gotten much cooler. Here are some favorites.
Luxury Cat Tree
This luxury cat tree lives up to its name—literally—as it’s designed to look like an actual tree with a faux grass bottom and shelves (aka jumping and landing perches) hidden beneath fake bushes. It does double duty as a piece of cat furniture in your apartment: working as both artificial greenery for your home, and as a decent approximation of the great outdoors, where kitty can engage in natural behaviors such as hiding, exploring, and the famous “surprise attack.”
Buy Now on ChewyVesper V-High Base Cat Tree
Over four feet high, this modern and minimalist cat tree comes in several color combos, including black and tan, walnut, and oak. Sisal-wrapped legs provide multiple scratching opportunities, and three platform perches, each with a skid-resistant topper, provide for endless non-skid jumping and pouncing. A cozy cubby to nap in and a dangle ball toy sweeten the deal and will likely make this cat tree irresistible to your cat, as well as a multipurpose option for you when considering various cat furniture for apartments.
Buy Now on ChewySphere Cat Tower
It’s so cool and so space-saving you can display it in a prominent place or stash it wherever you need to. The tower has a tripod base, topped with a round, braided pod, and has one leg serving as a scratching post. Kitty can sleep in the pod, lounge and play on the bottom shelf, scratch multiple surfaces, and hang out all over it.
The Bookshelf Cat Tree
This modern cat tree, which doubles as a bookcase, solves a space and usage problem common in small apartments. Books and decorations can line the shelves and share space with hidden cubbyholes for your very own bookstore cat. Outfit it with a cute cat bed or blanket for kitty to curl up and snooze.Comes in white and black.
Buy Now on OverstockBoomer & George Bookshelf Cat Tree
Another slick option in the world of cat furniture for apartments is this handsome bookshelf/cat tree, this one has four carpeted perches and more space for your furry friend to chill out on. Stands nicely and unobtrusively against the wall, which is great for storage, but if you store your books elsewhere, kitty has two concealed hiding places. Comes in white.
Buy Now at WalmartStackable Wicker Cat Hideaway House
On its own, this can be just a cat bed. But you can buy more than one and stack them on top of one another—then it becomes a unique-looking woven cat condo. Though made of woven rattan, it’s built with a metal frame and designed to stand on its own. Bonus: it comes with a removable soft cat bed for the interior. You can also choose from dense or loose weave (let’s face it, your cat is going to scratch either one).
Buy Now on AmazonCat Beds
Cat beds, like dog beds, can be basic or super fancy. But you know what they don’t have to be? Ugly. Don’t worry, we’re here for you with the coolest looking cat beds around.
Fhasso Luxury Bamboo Cat Bed
You know how cats like to sit in small boxes, inside hidden spaces, and in sinks? This bamboo cat bed, shaped like a sphere, scratches that particular itch. (And bonus, it looks cool, too.) While it’s not lined with any soft materials, you can always put their fave blanket inside. It also doubles as great storage for magazines or newspapers, well-known cat attractants in their own right.
Buy Now on AmazonMEOWFIA Premium Felt Cat Bed Cave
A similar concept and design as the bamboo cat bed, this cat “cave” is soft and great for cats who like to curl up and get cozy. It’s made of 100 percent Merino wool and comes in four colors schemes: slate grey, dark grey, light grey, and black and aqua.
Buy Now on AmazonThe Igloo Deluxe Pet Bed
You want nothing but the best for your kitten, so why not get this refined igloo pet bed? It’s got the cave-like opening they love, a soft, washable removable bed for the inside, and the top can serve as a table, so it can do double duty as an end or night table in your apartment.
Buy Now on AmazonBraided Banana Leaf Cat Bed
The round rattan wicker basket comes in two shades of brown (darker and lighter) and two heights (27.6 inches and 20.5 inches) and is made out of natural banana leaf, great for lounging, jumping, and scratching.
Buy Now on AmazonPrimetime Petz Hauspanther Nestegg
Where to start with this ingenious object, which is a cross between a bed and a perch? Is it the name (Hauspanther) as in “house panther?” Is it the concept and pitch (“Cats love sinks. Give them what they want.”)? Is it the way your cat will look like a content furbaby inside? That it doubles as storage, and a side table? Yes, it’s all those things.
Buy Now on Amazon
Cat Perches
Somewhere in between the full-on tower and a bed, the perch is the perfect place for your kitty to watch “Cat TV” and get some R&R, too.
Kitty Cot Original World’s Best Cat Perch
A minimalist perch (seen here with a cat bed, sold separately) for sitting pretty and watching life go by near the window.
Buy Now on AmazonEZ Mount Window Bed Kitty Sill
A cat perch that attaches to the windowsill with just a smidge of style allows your cat to perch, get cozy, and appreciate a good view—all things cats love—while keeping a small footprint in your space, making it among the best cat furniture for apartments.
Buy Now on AmazonLuxury Cat Hammock
Your cat gets their own freakin’ hammock because they deserve only the very best. This one comes with a complimentary cat toy for you and your cat to play and bond together—over good fun, and your good taste, of course.
Buy Now on AmazonLitter Boxes and Litter Box Furniture
You don’t want to see or smell the litter box, but unfortunately most of them just sit awkwardly in a strange corner of the house. Smart cat furniture designers have figured a way to make them more useful in your home and better to look at.
Cat Washroom Night Stand
It’s not a litter box, it’s a cat washroom. Got it? (But also it’s an end table with a bottom section that hides the litter box. No word on whether or not it hides the smell, though). In black, espresso, walnut, and white.
Buy Now on ChewyModkat Litter Box
It’s a tall rectangular plastic box that looks like it came out of the set for 2001: A Space Odyssey. The unique tall design makes it easier to keep litter contained, cats like the privacy, and the accompanying scooper is easily stored on a small peg, always there when you need it.
Buy Now on AmazonHidden Cat Litter Box
The cat box is tucked inside a faux clay pot which holds a faux palm tree. This design gets extra points for being both decorative and useful (if you’re handy, you could hack the fake tree topper and install a pallet of cat grass or other cat-friendly (live) plant. And, this being a list of the best cat furniture for apartments, if the only place to put it happens to be your living room, you could also you could also turn the opening towards the wall (as long as there’s enough room for you cat to access it) so you and your guests don’t have to stare deep inside the kitty litter abyss.
Igloo Litter Box
It’s a litter box that’s shaped like an igloo (and bonus: a built-in, step up grate helps keep the litter inside), great for cats who like their privacy, and great for you, in a palette of understated colors complimentary to most home decor.
Looking for More Cat Furniture?
- The Best Cat Furniture at Every Price Point
- 21 Cat Scratching Posts to Keep Your Kitties Off Your Furniture
- 17 Gorgeous Cat Litter Box Furniture Options
