Environmental modification using cat-centered design principles can dramatically improve welfare for indoor cats by meeting their need for territory, hunting behavior, social control, and cognitive stimulation.
Environmental modification for indoor cats is a welfare intervention that requires no financial expenditure — it requires understanding of feline behavioral needs and willingness to design living spaces around cat requirements rather than purely human aesthetic preferences. The difference between an environmentally enriched home and a barren one can be the difference between a cat that spends 16 hours sleeping and 4 hours engaged in behavioral diversity and one that spends 22 hours sleeping out of boredom. Vertical space alone — achievable through repositioning furniture, installing shelving, or adding cat trees — can transform the functional territory available to a cat living in a small apartment. The evidence that environmental enrichment reduces stress-related illness including FLUTD and improves behavioral welfare indicators provides a medical as well as ethical justification for investment in cat-centered home design.