Having a furry companion (or two, or more) can be rewarding, and if you’re interested in tiny homes, then you might be wondering whether you can bring your furry friends with you. In this blog, we’ll explore living with pets in a tiny home, and whether it’s possible to live comfortably with your furry friends.
Stairs, Ramps, Ladders
In some cases, there could be stairs, ramps, or even ladders incorporated into a tiny home. This includes both on the exterior and interior – if so, then you should consider making these accessible and safe for your four-legged companions. Older pets, in particular, might have trouble going up and down stairs, so installing ramps (or looking into designs that don’t require any stairs, ladders, or ramps) is key.
Their Own Space
While our pets love our attention and company, there might be times when they simply want their own space to rest and relax. This is common for cats and independent dogs. In this case, you’ll need to think about how you can incorporate their own resting space into the tiny home that’s easily accessible.
Cleanliness and Maintenance
As you’ll be sharing a much smaller space with your furry friends, it’s likely that your tiny home will get dirty more frequently, meaning that you’ll need to take cleaning and maintenance into consideration. From dirt to hair, both dogs and cats leave behind things that you’ll ultimately need to clean up. For cats, litter box placement is also worth taking into account.
Make Use of the Outdoors
If you own a dog or an outdoor cat, take advantage of your extra outdoor space by utilising outdoor pet beds or kennels, a play area, or other items that your pet can play with and relax in. Making your outdoor space pet-friendly ensures that they have space to run around (within your property area).
Here at Absolute Tiny Houses, our range of tiny homes offer an excellent way for you and your furry friend to live a simplistic and minimalist lifestyle. If you’re looking to downsize and enjoy tiny living, we have a collection of floor plans for you to choose from – including ones that can be customised to suit your needs. Get in touch with us today if you have any questions or enquiries about our services and our tiny homes.
It is unconditional, your pets are moving with you. We totally get that. We love pets and designing pet friendly tiny homes.
A few of us (at Absolute Tiny Homes) live tiny with our pets. Michael has Billie (the dog) and I have Zac (the cat). In this post, we explore the realities of living with pets in your tiny home and provide ideas that may help you and your pet:
- Move into your tiny home
- Live and play happily together
- Manage the essentials food, toilet, and general cleanliness
I also talk from a personal perspective, about the biggest challenge of them all, managing your pets when you’re not home.
Moving your pet into a tiny home
Transitions can be hard enough for most of us humans. Pets have an inbuilt radar that picks up when we are stressed. So, if we are stressed, they may also be.
What worked well for me (Tess) was taking Zac-the-cat to our new home several times before moving in.
Zac and my first big move was after my husband and I separated. About a week before I moved in, I took Zac to our tiny new apartment along with a cup and a kettle, my desk, and a chair. I took Zac three or four more times so that he became more and more familiar with the place. I would sit with him with a cuppa like I did at the old house. I would also work at my desk and he would sit beside me. When we moved in, he was relaxed about it.
And then we moved out Zac was upset. Seriously upset. It was a different experience. He saw all the boxes being packed and stacked and he ran away. When I found him, I picked him up. He told me how upset he was by scratching and biting me. I let go and he ran to the corner of my neighbour’s yard and glared at me. For me, it was a nightmare.
Living and playing happily together
Much of this depends on your specific pet. My experiences are based on cats and dogs and as you know every pet is unique. Indoor play, the belly rub on the floor, the head scratch on the couch, the game of tossing the ball. Having usable space is the key. Does the layout of your furniture allow space for play? If not, how can you improve it? Reflect on…
- how you used to and can play in your new space.
- the size of your coffee table (if you have a coffee table) and how much space ittakes.
- How easily can you move around your furniture?
Consider things like:
- a side table versus a coffee table
- an ottoman (with storage) versus a coffee table.
- fold away tables and work desks that you may never fold away.
Designing tiny homes for pets, specifically cats and dogs
The goal is to design the ultimate pet friendly tiny home so that both you and your pets are happy and comfortable. With cats, you can create some cool spaces for them to hang out. You can create cat shelves and high ledges that they can climb. You can add a small window for them to look out or even an outdoor window box. (I first saw that idea in a cattery, we have not done that yet in a tiny home, but we would love to). For cats, you can come up with great solutions by going vertically. There are many cat poles on the market. Consider building one on the wall.
You can even create an outdoor cat run with its cat flap… Did you know the cat flap can be set up to read your cat’s microchip and will only open for your cat? True. For dogs, playing inside versus outside will depend on the size of your dog. Unless your dog is small and you are transitioning from a small abode to your tiny home, playing inside will more than likely change. The simple fact is your dog will not have the same amount of space to run. Depending on the breed of your dog, this may or may not be an issue. If space is important then this can go a few ways. Unless you increase your outdoor play time, your dog will play less and burn less energy outdoors. Some dogs will adjust to a calmer indoor life while others still need to burn that energy.
Our daughter and hubby have two whippets in a small home with three kids. While not a tiny home, it is small with a small yard. When the twins turned up, the daily dog walks took a back step. To take pressure off themselves, they engaged in a dog walking service three days a week. Most of us do not have that sort of disposable income. Perhaps a friendly neighbor or a neighbor with a big yard could help out.
For us we had a different challenge, we had two dogs and a cat when we went tiny. The problem was not the dogs needing to burn energy, it was us when we were not at home. At that time, my husband and I had both stepped into semi-retirement and one of us was at home most of the time. When my husband took a 4-month contract overseas it created a problem for us. We could not leave our two little Shih-Tzu-poodle cross dogs in the house without them barking for attention.
In our old home, we had a big sheltered closed-in deck with a doggy porch potty, a day bed, and of course food and water. We could not leave them in the garden as they would find their way under the fence and go looking for us. Ultimately a friend offered to look after them while my husband was away. During this time, we came to realize that it was going to be a struggle with the dogs until we fully retired. We made the hard decision that they would be better off with our friends. For me, it was the hardest decision I had ever made.
Their own space
While our pets love our attention and company, there will be times when they simply want their own space to rest and relax. This is common for some breeds of dogs and most cats (especially when they have had enough of the grandkids). You need to bear this in mind when designing how you use the space. Where can the dog bed go so that you won’t trip over it? Where is their food going and the all-essential litter tray? Where will you store their toys? Will it be in a box that is put away or an open basket that they can easily access? Finally, their leads, collars, and coats. Where will these go? All of these items should be Considered.
Managing their essentials: food, toilet, and general cleanliness.
Managing pets in a compact home does not need to be a challenge. Here are a few of my ideas to start you thinking about your approach.
Managing pet hair
Since living in our tiny home, I sometimes feel as if my cat has shed more hair than ever before. However, the reality is that his hair simply went further afield in the bigger house. A quick whip around the house on my Dyson wand vacuum does the trick. Having smooth flooring makes it easy to clean. Many vacuum manufacturers promote that their vacuums will handle cat and dog hairs on the carpet.
Litter trays and where to put them
Naturally, we should clean the litter tray daily. We tried a few different litter tray products before we settled on the one that we are happy with from both an absorption perspective as well as not leaving small lumps of clay everywhere. We also replaced our large litter tray (from the big house) with a mid-sized tray which Zac is happy with. Zac prefers to go outside; however, it is not always possible. Where do you want to keep your litter tray? I have tried both in the bathroom and near the back door. Both have advantages. The former makes it easy to flush number 2s down the toilet, and the latter makes it easier to put the waste in the outside bin.
Food storage and feeding stations
Pet food takes up a lot of space. Dry food tends to come in soft plastic zip bags. These are great in one way as they keep the dry biscuits crisp, however, they are fat at the bottom and take up valuable shelf space. I want to find a tall narrow container to put the dry food in and gain back some cupboard space. I’m also looking at the gravity-feed food containers. I will keep pondering these until I either try them or switch my focus to the next challenge. Wet food is either in tins (which go off before they are finished) or small satchels in lots of wasted packaging. My husband came up with a great solution. He buys mince and makes Zac has his wet food which he loves. He cooks up a batch and freezes most of it in small Tupperware containers. When one is empty, he grabs the next one from the freezer.
Where to put the food stations?
Near a door, away from a door? Where there is not a major corridor it creates a trip hazard. We have settled for the bathroom and we hardly ever trip on it. Where do you think works for you?
Conclusion
In many ways living in a tiny home with your pets is the same as living in a larger space. The space constraints are not insurmountable. Furthermore, I hope Michael and my tips on how to keep pets comfortable in a tiny house, are helpful.
My two takeaways from 7 years of living tiny with pets are…
Takeaway #1 – In a smaller space it is essential to clean as you go. It makes a difference. Note: If you are building your own pet friendly tiny house, take into consideration the surfaces you choose to meet your and your pet’s needs. We can explore this with you.
Takeaway #2 – You and your pets needs will change with time. For Michael, his dog Billie is getting older. She always used to go to work with him. She wanted to be nearby. When she had enough of the noise or just simply wanted a nap, she would go to the car. She now chooses to stay at home some days. She is slowing down and opting for a quieter lifestyle. She will need a ramp soon to get onto the deck. The one thing that has never changed is that she is always happy to see Michael when he gets home.