20 Meowrvelous morsels of cat care advice we wish we knew sooner

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Mar 21, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

There's no manual you get when you adopt your first cat. You learn a lot as you go, but thanks to these tips and tricks from real cat owners, you can make a few less mistakes than we did along the way. From enzyme cleaners to washable mats, to accepting what "clean enough" is. Nothing about these morsels of advice are revolutionary, but they will make your day-to-day life as a pawrent much, much easier.

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  • 01
    Man Spending Time with His Cat at Home including '[These] few small things genuinely made day to day life easier for me'
    via Svetlana Lazhko

    Man Spending Time with His Cat at Home

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    I feel like a lot of cat owner advice is either too basic or too dramatic, so here are a few small things that genuinely made day to day life easier for me.
    via PositiveCorrect4213
  • 03
    Put a washable mat outside the litter box. Not just for tracking litter, but because it makes the whole area feel less gross immediately.
    via PositiveCorrect4213
  • 04
    Young Woman Cleaning Cat's Litter Box at Home
    via pixelshot

    Young Woman Cleaning Cat's Litter Box at Home

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 05
    Keep one dedicated blanket or towel for your cat's favorite spot. It is way easier to wash one thing than to lint roll an entire couch all the time.
    via PositiveCorrect4213

  • This piece of advice is one of the ones that changed the most in our daily routine. Instead of vacuuming the couch every other day, now we can just leave a blanket there and wash that weekly, and our couch stays purrfectly clean. It's much less embarrassing when people come over and 10x easier to turn our home from “cat sanctuary” to “hospitable and inviting home”. Plus, cats are creatures of habit. If you get them attached to the blanket you put down, they will 99% of the time come back to it because its part of their routine.

  • 06
    Do not buy toys in bulk until you know your cat's personality. Mine ignored half the toys. people swear by and got obsessed with one ugly little spring.
    via PositiveCorrect4213
  • 07
    Keep one basket for cat stuff. Toys, treats, brushes, wipes, clippers. I did not realize how much less annoying everything felt once all the little cat things had one place.
    via PositiveCorrect4213
  • 08
    Have one tiny cleaning tool you can grab fast. Most of the messes that wore me down were not big enough for me to want to drag out a full size vacuum. It was always small stuff like tracked litter, fur in corners, crumbs, grit near the litter area, or random mess in the carrier. honestly any small handheld vac helps here, and for me that ended up being a little hoto vacuum mostly because it was easy to keep nearby and grab fast
    via PositiveCorrect4213
  • 09
    Keep scoop and small trash setup right next to the litter box. Anything that removes one extra step makes cleaning easier to keep up with.
    via PositiveCorrect4213
  • 10
    Accept that clean enough is the real goal. Cat life got way less stressful once I focused on making cleanup easier instead of trying to make every mess disappear immediately.
    via PositiveCorrect4213

  • Once you adopt any sort of dependent, be it a doggo, a cat, or a hooman child, your definition of “clean” is bound to change. You're not just cleaning up after yourself anymore, you're cleaning up after yourself, probably your partner, and your baby, who can't clean up after themselves. On top of all the other responsibilities you have, you have to make some concessions on cleaning. It's not realistic anymore to have a purrfectly spotless house, unfortunately. Deciding what qualifies as “clean enough” will be not only your biggest time saver, but also your biggest stress reliever. 

  • 11
    No-Macaroon-7784 i would add enzyme cleaner before you think you need it
    via No-Macaroon-7784
  • 12
    Rottedhead Highly recommend: . Buy a water fountain: we all know how important is constant hydration for cats as they tend to not drink a lot of water and that leads to a lot of urinary and hepatic problems down the road. They actually like water fountains and drink a lot of water through them,
    via Rottedhead
  • 13
    Cute Ginger Cat Drinking Water from Automatic Pet Fountain on Floor at Home
    via pixelshot

    Cute Ginger Cat Drinking Water from Automatic Pet Fountain on Floor at Home

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 14
    • Be really careful with your plants, cats love to chew them but I swear that most of the plants are either toxic or cause them gastrointestinal problems. Do research of your plants and you can buy some grass for them to chew
    via Rottedhead
  • 15
    cuccumella All metal everything- litterbox, water fountain, etc The automatic litter boxes. are harder to clean than just a regular litterbox
    via cuccumella
  • 16
    No_Owlcorns A good air purifier (or 3). Well worth the cost.
    via No_Owlcorns

  • Once we invested in some high-quality air purifiers, we stopped having to worry about our house having a “cat” smell. You know the one we're talking about. It's a generic cat smell that's a mix of dander and litter, and it doesn't actually smell like your cat at all. But the air purifiers help filter all that out, and now we're at least back to our house having a neutral smell, which is “clean enough” for us.

  • 17
    the_m... Giving them their own room so they have their own space. All their things are in there with including litter boxes and food station. It's nice to have a space to put them when they need to go in a closed room with a closed door and I can access them without having to pull them from under a bed. They also feel safer having a place that they can go and self isolate.
    via the_morbid_angel
  • 18
    A XL fabric crate that will fit in your car in case of an emergency. It is also good to have on hand in case they need to recover and isolate after a surgery.
    via the_morbid_angel
  • 19
    Drinking fountains on each floor and away from their food. It may sound like a lot but it's increased their water intake and made drinking more accessible. Cats in the wild eat separately from their water source in case of contamination and to protect themselves from predators.
    via the_morbid_angel
  • 20
    Multiple cat trees throughout my home on each floor and spaces on each floor where they like to sleep. It gives me multiple places to check and places for them to retreat into during an emergency, and I can easily find them. Places for them to stretch up and scratch on so they leave your furniture alone, but they have to be near your furniture.
    via the_morbid_angel
  • 21
    Heated pads, makes it easier for them in both summer and winter as they age. A pet safe shaver for long haired cats that need sanitary shaves every few months. It's a game changer.
    via the_morbid_angel
  • 22
    Freeze dried minnows at bedtime for dental health, it helps me reduce the days I need to brush. I use enzymatic toothpaste so I don't have to brush as much. They also love getting bedtime snacks because it's a consistent routine for them. They know after snack time that it's time to bed down for the night -except for my Siamese because he has to scream and express his feelings for a bit before bedtime-.
    via the_morbid_angel
  • 23
    Multiple kinds of puzzles for days where I can't seem to keep them entertained. Bird TV on cloudy days. Different kinds of treats with different textures and flavors for enrichment.
    via the_morbid_angel
  • 24
    Churu indoor care daily for hairball control, I also add mussel oil with the churu for joint care. It helps long term as they age. Having a good brush that you can use a few times a week really helps, and it helps them with hairballs. Having access to a lot of sunlight as well will help them shed properly throughout the seasons.
    via the_morbid_angel

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tips for cat owners advice cat owners Cats cat advice animals cat care
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