Problem Solving & Advice by Pam Johnson-Bennett Cat Behavior Expert & Best-selling Author
Chances are, if you’re looking for your cat somewhere in your house she’s probably in an elevated location. When it comes to napping or just chilling out, cats often prefer being above ground level. Being able to safely climb is an important aspect of your cat’s daily life. Climbing to an elevated spot enable cats to watch over their environment more effectively. For outdoor cats, the ability to climb is crucial to survival in order to escape predators as well as watch for prey. Cats are predators, but because of their small size, they are also prey to larger animals. The ability to climb over a fence or up a tree provides that added escape option should a cat get chased by a potential attacker.
Indoor Cats Need to Climb
Although you understandably don’t want cats scaling your drapes or climbing up unsteady or delicate furniture, it’s beneficial to make sure they have safe climbing opportunities. for kittens, climbing is one of the ways they start to learn about their skills and abilities. They’ll learn to perfect balance and will work on developing muscle strength and flexibility. For adult cats, climbing is first and foremost FUN! It’s also good exercise. Additionally, climbing enables indoor cats to safely reach those elevated areas where they feel more secure, should they prefer to not interact with family members or the family dog.
Climbing is often the way to access locations to watch the goings-on out the window. Whether it’s for the visual entertainment of watching the birds outside, or the need to keep watch over the yard for feline interlopers, gaining access typically involves a climb, if jumping to an elevated location is too difficult or awkward.
Climbing Increases a Cat’s Territory
The more vertical areas available to your cat, the more it increases territory. This becomes even more important if you have a multiple cat household. Vertical territory will go a long way in reducing cat-to-cat conflicts and will provide safety and security for more timid cats.
A cat of higher status in a multicat household may choose to climb to an elevated location (often the highest location) as a way to show indifference when there’s is a potential for confrontation. That display of climbing to the top perch will often prevent an actual physical altercation.
Photo: Pam Johnson-Bennett
A fearful cat may climb to a high location as a way to watch for opponents, and also for the reassurance of knowing she can’t be ambushed from behind.
Climbing to a top location can also be temperature related if the cat is seeking a little more warmth.
Safe Climbing for Cats
Since climbing is a normal behavior for cats, if you don’t want your drapes being used, then safe alternatives need to be provided. A sturdy, tall, multi-perched cat tree is a great place to climb. If you have some vacant wall space, consider installing a few cat shelves. A client of mine who lives in a NYC loft chose to wrap one of the support beams with sisal. His kitty gets a state-of-the-art scratching post and has a great place to climb. There are so many ways to create climbing opportunities for your cat no matter the size of your home or apartment.
There are many cat structures available for climbing and elevation. You can find cat shelves, walkways, stairs, cat bridges. When shopping, look for products that are sturdy and wide enough for your cat to be comfortable. Walkways and shelves should be covered in a non-slip material. In a multicat household, if you create shelves, stairways, or walkways, be sure to include more than one way to ascend and descend to avoid having dead end locations. You never want a cat to feel trapped on a shelf or stairway by another cat.
Multi-perched cat trees are not only great for climbing, the staggered perches often allow more than one cat to share that one space and still remain far enough apart. Cats who normally wouldn’t share space at the window, might happily now do so because they each have their own resting perch on a slightly different level.
For older cats who still want to enjoy elevated locations but may no longer be able to leap up to reach them, the ability to now climb to those spots is important. For some cats though, even climbing is too difficult and in those cases, consider providing a ramp for easy access.
The Nature of Your Cat
When it comes to behavior and training, don’t fight what comes naturally to cats. Instead of shooing cats off the furniture or getting angry when they want to scale the living room drapes, provide better options. You’ll both be happier.
Need More Information?
For more specific help with cat training, cat behavior problems, or environmental enrichment, refer to any of the books by Pam Johnson-Bennett. Pam’s books are available at bookstores and online. We’ve also included Amazon links here on our website.
If you have a question regarding your cat’s health, please contact your veterinarian. This article is not intended as a replacement for your cat’s veterinary care.
