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If you live in a small studio apartment, don’t like cleaning too much and don’t have much free time but would still love to have a pet then getting a cat is the perfect solution for you.
Why is this so?
First of all, cats are small enough animals that don’t take up much space and also cats are “liquid” and fit in incredibly small spaces. A small apartment will be like a giant box for them and we all know how cats really love boxes.
A cat will feel really safe in a small studio apartment and safety and food are the top most important things to cats. By providing these two you have already made a cat almost completely happy.
So why almost completely happy?
Well, although cats sleep most of the time they do have incredible bursts of energy that need to be spent somewhere.
A cat still needs exercise during the day, especially young cats and kittens, they are balls of energy when not sleeping, so one of the things you have to provide is toys. And not just any toys but carefully chosen toys that keep a cat’s attention for a long time, make it spend energy and I would say best of all are automatic, at least partially.
Some people may think that it is cruel to keep a cat in a small apartment but believe me this is not true at all. My cat spends most of the time sleeping or snoozing, right by my side which shows that the most important thing for a cat is to feel loved and safe, close to its human.
As I have already mentioned, with a cat living in a small apartment you do have to take care that your cat is not bored when it is awake. You can achieve this in several ways which I will list below. If you can do them then I guarantee you your cat will be very happy living in a small space.
Get Yout Cat Lots Of Toys
You will have to buy quite a lot of toys, but luckily cat toys are not very expensive and there are lots of items that you can make yourself and keep your cat perfectly entertained. Check my list of best free toys for cats that you can do yourself.
One type of toy I warmly recommend that you get is automated cat toys. A cat can play for a long time before it gets tired and having an automated toy means that you can do your business while your cat is enjoying itself. makes both sides happy: the cat and the owner. These toys can get expensive, although not very much, so I advise buying these in a few months span.
Personal advice: if you notice your cat stopped playing with a particular toy, hide it for some time, when you take it out again it will be brand new. They do forget their toys – which is actually a good thing for us 🙂
Get Your Cat A Cat Tree
A cat tree is the best thing I ever bought for my cat! You may think that your cat can lay on the couch, on your chair or on your working desk and although this is all true you will really see the difference when you get a cat tree.
Ever since I bought a cat tree for small apartment, my cat uses it every single day. She loves the view through the window that the tree enables for her, and especially sunbathing on the top platform.
It is best if you place the cat tree next to a window (or in my case, it is next to my french doors to the balcony). This brings me to the next point:
Make A Place For Your Kitty Next To A Window (Or An Open View)
A window is for a cat what a TV is for us. An endless source of entertainment. A cat will love watching the world outside from the safety behind the glass.
If you can get a bird feeder attached to the window your cat will have perfect fun every day. Just make sure the birds are not reachable for your cat (so you won’t have to wake up next to a bird in your cat’s grip like I did one morning – not fun at all, saving a bird first thing in the morning).
Enable Ouitside Noise
One thing I have to emphasize: as much my cat loves a view of the world by the windows, it also very much loves outside noise.
My cat really can’t stand a closed balcony door when the weather is warm. Although she stays inside, laying beside me or on her cat tree she is always following noise from outside. I see her ears moving toward certain noises and I know my cat is aware of every little sound coming from the outside world.
Outside noise is a very powerful stimulant for your cat so don’t neglect it, especially when you keep a cat in a small space.
Cat Proof The Balcony And Let Your Cat Enjoy It
I have a tiny balcony, big enough only to put a clothing dryer outside. But it is a great blessing as I also keep the litter box outside – helps incredibly with the smell and it is easier to clean a litter box outside.
After I did a cat proof of my balcony my cat loves spending quality time on it. It’s a tiny piece of the world that she can taste and she loves the space.
Take Your Cat Outside Once In A While
Cats are not like dogs and they are pretty much content staying inside a known space.
I have thought it is not good to keep a cat in a confined space for long periods of time so I have tried taking my cat outside.
But guess what happens now when I take the leash: my cat hides under the bed! I feel so sorry for her when she does this, it seems these walks have been very stressful for her. She even does this sometimes when she sees me getting dressed for going out :(. And I have even bought a new cat carrier over the shoulder for taking her outside so she won’t feel too heavy for me.
I have seen videos of cats going hiking but nope, my cat is not that type.
I will tell you that what my cat loves doing is walking my building floor hall and one-floor level up every day. So that is our daily walk :). Yes, cats are definitely strange 🙂
Get A Second Cat For Company? Watch Out – This Is Very Tricky!
I spent a lot of time at work (before lockdown and Covid) so I really felt bad sometimes for my cat spending so much time alone. So I tried getting a second cat to keep my cat company.
Let me tell you – it was a complete disaster!
My cat felt threatened to the point of vomiting, she was SO stressed out by the new kitten and one time it came to a very serious fight when even I got afraid to separate them. My cat could not stand the new kitten.
So based on this experience of mine, I think cats love being the only master of the home, especially if the place is really small. *I* would definitely advise against it.
A Cat Door Would Be Really Helpful – For You Mostly!
As I have already mentioned my cat loves open doors, so in cold weather, she just drives me absolutely crazy with her demands to go to the litter box 90% of the time just to sniff the air outside.
And she has learned that this is annoying to me to no end, so being the little devil she is, she just pretends to want to go on the balcony when she, in fact, is just purposely annoying me!
To prevent this behavior I suggest you get a cat door, so you won’t have to depend on your cat wishes to go in and out.
If you have french doors like me (glass doors top to bottom) do check these cat doors for window. A cat door is a lifesaver believe me!
To convince you that a cat can truly be happy living in a tiny home let me show you just how small my apartment really is (25 square meters or 270 feet):
Another thing I would advise you is if you are going to get a cat when living in a studio apartment is to get a kitten. It will get used to the small space from little and it will never feel that it is missing something.
My cat is a rescue one and I assure you she is far happier and healthier in my small apartment than living on the streets where she would have probably perished by now from all the dangers on the streets.
Give your cat lots of love, hugs, and kisses, and occasionally play with it, follow my above advice and your cat will be perfectly fine living in a tiny apartment!

