While you already know I love helping cat parents solve the indoor/outdoor dilemma, did you know part of the reason why is my background in Feng Shui? Before founding Catio Spaces, I started out as a Feng Shui consultant working with clients to create harmonious homes for success and wellbeing. Our primary environment as humans is our home, and for cats, their preference is to be in nature where they can experience fresh air and the sights, sounds and stimulation of the natural world. After all, who doesn’t enjoy the great outdoors? Catios are an extension of my own love of nature and to keep cats safe while protecting birds and wildlife. Creating a purrfect space for you and your cat, indoors and out, helps bring harmony into your home for all family members, and the results of happier homes and happier cats speak for themselves!
What is Feng Shui?
Feng Shui is the Chinese art of placement and a design system to create harmonious living spaces based on “chi” energy – the life force that exists in all things, animate and inanimate. Pets add positive energy to our homes and lives – and cats, in particular, are highly sensitive to their surroundings. By creating positive chi for your cat, you’re really creating it for your whole family.
Here are a few ways you can create positive chi for your feline:
1. Find the Power Spot in a Room and Make It Welcoming
Power spots for cats (and their humans) are located out of the direct path entering a room. It’s likely near a wall that provides support from behind and with a commanding view of their territory. Choose and place cat furniture or a cat bed there based on your feline’s comfort zone – up high in a cat tree or low to the ground in a dome shelter or box. Before you know it, this will be your cat’s favorite spot in the room.
2. Choose A Serene Feeding Area for Health and Well-Being
In the kitchen or feeding area, avoid placing the food bowl in the traffic flow of family members or other household pets as it can startle and upset your cat’s digestion when eating. Remember to avoid having food in a catio as it can attract unwanted critters. Keep feeding spots indoors.
3. Give Your Cat a Zen Space to Relax
Chi energy is both yin (restful) and yang (stimulating). A home needs both for the right balance. Give your cat a cozy bed or hammock in a quiet room or Zen space for a catnap away from chi disturbances, including loud noises, remodeling, the vacuum cleaner, or unfamiliar people.
4. Stimulate Yang Energy with Sun, Playtime and Birdwatching (and a Catio!)
To stimulate yang energy for your cat, consider daily playtime and a shelf near a window that offers the warmth of the sun and birdwatching. For outdoor stimulation, a catio, or “cat patio” enclosure, provides a safe and enriching space for your cat to enjoy both physical and mental stimulation. Consider building a DIY Catio with our award-winning plans. Another safe outdoor activity is training your cat to walk on a leash.
5. Be Mindful of Litter Box Placement and Odors
Bathrooms can be a convenient place to locate the litter box. However, if the door is left open it can negatively impact household finances by creating a “chi leak” through the drains, toilet and shower. Water relates to money energy so keep the door closed and add a stylish cat door for access. Other litter box locations include the catio or a room where the litter box is out of direct view, camouflaged with cat safe plants or located inside furniture. Be sure to keep the air in your home fresh with an air purifier or open the windows enough to let air in (just be sure you have quality screens so your cat doesn’t escape!)
6. Consider Water Fountains and Avoid Dripping Faucets
The flow and sound of a water fountain creates vitality and enhances the energy of a home. Consider adding a drinking water fountain for your cat in the career (north) or wealth (southeast) area of your home or in another room in the vicinity of, but not next to, your cat’s food bowl. Be sure to keep the water clean to avoid stagnant chi and adjust the water level to create a pleasant water sound. Avoid a dripping faucet for your cat to play with – leaking water drains vital energy from your home and can affect emotions, health and finances.
7. Create a Balance of Human and Feline-Friendly Décor
A harmonious home for your cat is clean, clutter-free, feline-friendly and provides a consistent routine and sense of security while meeting basic needs, such as food, shelter, rest and stimulation. Keep cat hair on the sofa under control with a blanket or throw that can be removed before guests arrive. Choose cat décor in colors and styles that complement your home for visually appealing and harmonious surroundings.
8. Devote Some Extra Together Time Each Day
Whether you play, pet while they purr or teach tricks like “sit” and “up,” daily interaction is essential for human and feline bonding. It also helps keep your cat stimulated and happy while reducing unwanted behaviors that could cause stress for yourself and family members.
Lastly, don’t let your cat dominate your life and personal relationships. If you have four cats sleeping on your bed and no room for a romantic partner, your relationship energy is definitely blocked! And remember, your personal chi affects both your cat’s chi and the energy of your home. Keep your life in balance with good self-care and care for your beloved feline family members.
May positive energy flow as you create a feline-friendly and harmonious home!
And if your cat longs for a safe and stimulating outdoor experience, consider adding a catio to complement your home and garden. Catio Spaces offers a variety of DIY catio designs and sizes for a window, porch, patio, deck or yard. 10% of purchases through our affiliate program is donated to animal welfare organizations. Life is good in a catio!
INTERESTED IN A FENG SHUI CONSULTATION?
If you live outside the Seattle area, I offer Feng Shui consultations via phone to help bring your home into harmony for greater success and wellbeing. A consultation includes a photo and floor plan review, furniture placement and room by room Feng Shui recommendations. Email Cynthia for more information with the subject line “long distance Feng Shui.” If you live in the Seattle area, I offer onsite consultations. Visit: www.CynthiaChomos.com
Cynthia Chomos is a Feng Shui Consultant, Catio Designer and the Founder of Catio Spaces, creating harmonious indoor and outdoor spaces for her 4-legged and 2-legged clients. She lives in Seattle with her adorable tabby Serena (who has four catios) and is the inspiration for Catio Spaces. Cynthia offers free catio tips, DIY Catio Plans and custom catios to keep cats safe and protect birds and wildlife. You can contact Cynthia at CatioSpaces.com.
Tags: Catio, Feng Shui, Free Catio Tips
