Cats and Feng Shui: Where to Put the Litter Tray and Pet Beds

Pets as moving energy in the house

How a pet changes a space

A pet is a live presence in a home in a way that furniture is not. It moves, it responds, it makes noise, it wants particular places, and it registers what is happening in a room more directly than most people do. In feng shui terms it is closer to a moving qi source than to an object, and that has practical consequences that are easy to observe.

Where your cat chooses to sit is diagnostic. Cats seek warmth, height, sunlight and safety, and they avoid draughts, noise and places where they are disturbed. A cat that spends its day on a windowsill in the south-west is telling you that position has good light and good warmth. A cat that has hidden under the bed for a fortnight is telling you something else entirely, and no amount of rearranging of feng shui objects will address it. The tropical plants guide also has notes on which plants to avoid where pets are concerned.

Movement helps. This is the most straightforward way pets affect a home's feng shui, and it works in both directions. A cat that moves through the whole flat throughout the day keeps the qi moving through spaces that would otherwise be static. A flat where the pet is confined to one room, or where the animal is stressed or unwell, tends to be a flat where the energy has become heavy in the same places.

The litter tray: the one thing to get right

Where it goes and where it must not

A litter tray is the least desirable object in feng shui terms and the most frequently misplaced in practice, so it deserves attention.

The balcony guide covers the outdoor half of a cat’s territory, and the wardrobe guide covers the storage half. Both matter for the litter tray decision.

Where it goes. In a quiet corner of a utility area, a bathroom that is not the ensuite, or a corner of a utility room — somewhere quiet, out of the main line of movement, ideally not visible from the front door and not in the middle of the flat. Cats value privacy and quiet, and the instinct to bury waste in a calm, sheltered place is strong. A tray in a hallway, a kitchen corner, or a laundry room that is the main thoroughfare will produce stress and accidents, and it will also produce the smells that make a home feel unsettled.

Where it must not go. Not next to the food bowls. Not directly behind a cash desk or in the money position of a home business. Not in a bathroom you use as a powder room, where visitors will see it. Not in a small, closed cupboard, where the concentration of ammonia becomes a real air-quality problem — enclosed litter cabinets are popular but must be very well ventilated and are best avoided in a small flat.

What helps practically. A washable mat under and around the tray, a covered bin for the waste, and a scoop. Keep the tray clean: cats stop using a tray they consider dirty, and the reason for refusing a tray is nearly always hygiene rather than preference.

Pet beds, bowls and where the animals actually go

Bed placement follows the same principle as any other object in the house: give it a wall behind it and take it out of the traffic.

Pet beds. Put the bed against a wall or in a corner, ideally in a room where the family spends time, so the pet is part of the household rather than shut away. A bed in a hallway or a doorway is a trip hazard and, in feng shui terms, a small blockage in the flow of the house. For a house with more than one pet, put beds in separate rooms; cats in particular will not share a bed with another cat, and forcing them to produces stress and marking behaviour.

The materials guide covers the bowl surface itself, because stainless steel and plastic are not interchangeable in the elemental scheme. Bowls. Bowls go in a stable, low-traffic spot, on a washable mat, and away from the litter tray. The position is less feng shui sensitive than the tray because the bowl is a small object with a positive function, but a scattered, cluttered feeding corner in the middle of a kitchen is worse than a tidy one against a wall.

And the things cats choose

Rather than moving everything to suit the theory, allow your pet to tell you what the house needs. A cat that sits on the top of the fridge has found the highest point in the room, which it wants for security, and that is a reasonable thing to provide deliberately with a shelf.

Aquariums and the money point

Position, the hood and the numbers

A fish tank is the strongest water feature most households will own, and it therefore deserves the care you would give a water feature or a fountain.

Position. Traditionally a water feature is placed in the north or the east of a home, and in the north-east of a room, which is the water position in the flying star system. For a home business, the aquarium is the classic money point remedy, but it belongs at the front of the sales floor where customers can see it, not behind the till, where the water would be in the money position itself — that is the one arrangement every tradition treats as a fault.

Never in a bedroom. A tank in a bedroom is described as doubling the water element in the room where you sleep, and it is also a genuine practical problem: the hum of the filter, the light from the tank and the algae you will inevitably have. A tank set into a dividing wall with a viewing panel solves that.

Keep it covered and clean. A tank with an open top loses water through evaporation and lets a cat in, which is a disaster for the fish and for the carpet. A fitted hood is essential in a home with pets. Keep the water clear, clean the filter on schedule, and remove the algae. A neglected tank becomes a stagnant water feature in the worst sense, which is precisely what the tradition says to avoid.

Toxic plants, safe plants and the practical overlap

Where pets and plants live in the same house, the animal's safety takes priority over the feng shui of the plant, every time.

Not safe in a house with cats: lilies of all kinds, including tiger, Asiatic, Easter and Stargazer, and daylilies. These cause acute kidney failure in cats and can be fatal from a small amount of contact, including pollen on the fur. If you have a cat, lilies should not be in the house at all, including in cut arrangements. Also worth knowing: sago palm, oleander, foxglove, yew and several common houseplants including philodendron, pothos, dieffenbachia and alocasia, all of which cause irritation or worse if chewed.

Mildly toxic: peace lily, money tree and lucky bamboo, all of which cause drooling, vomiting and mouth irritation if eaten. Not usually dangerous, but they should be kept out of reach of a determined cat.

Safe: phalaenopsis orchids, spider plants, Boston ferns, calatheas, peperomias, prayer plants and most succulents including echeveria and haworthia.

Setting up for a cat

Rather than removing every plant from a home with pets, place them where they cannot be reached: high shelves, hanging planters, wall-mounted planters and closed terrariums. Cats are less interested in plants they cannot get at, and a wall of greenery is a better solution than an empty windowsill. The tropical plants guide covers the full list of what to check before buying.

A whole-home checklist for pet households

Ten points, and none of them require anything expensive.

1. The tray is in a quiet corner, out of the traffic, away from the bowls and the front door.
2. The tray is clean. Every day. It is the biggest single factor in whether a home smells of cat.
3. Beds against walls, in rooms people use, and separate beds for each animal.
4. Bowls on a washable mat, in a stable corner, with the water bowl away from the food and the tray.
5. Any tank has a hood, and is out of the bedroom and the money position.
6. No lilies if there is a cat, and every other plant checked against a toxicity list before it enters the house.
7. High shelves for plants, so the pet has its own elevated territory and the greenery is out of reach.
8. Scratching posts go where your cat actually goes, not where you would like it to, and should be vertical.
9. Enough space. A cramped flat with two cats produces stress, and stressed cats produce stress elsewhere. This is both the kindest thing you can do and the arrangement most likely to keep the home calm.
10. Watch what your pet does. A cat sleeping in one corner for months is telling you where the energy in that room sits. If it is a spot you would rather it did not use, change what makes it attractive — heat, height, a draught, a noise — rather than moving the cat.

One closing thought

Animals are among the most effective feng shui instruments in a home, precisely because they are not trying to be.