Sufficing the need of a bush dweller means you want to create one or more places for your bush dwelling cat in your house that will make them ultra happy. Bush dwellers like to hide in places low at ground or at chair level, such as under sofa’s, within covering cat beds, cat condo’s and cat tunnels.
What Defines A Bush Dweller?
There are two types of cats:
- Bush Dwellers
- Tree Dwellers
Bush dwellers generally do not climb or sit on high places. They do not climb trees when they are in nature or cupboards and shelves at home indoors. Often bush dwellers do go underneath places or cuddle up in a blanket.
As such they hide in nature in bushes and below trees and rocks.
A typical bush dweller loves to sit underneath the pillows of the sofa. They also love to go underneath your blanket in bed or under a blanket on the sofa. They might want to sit in a box or hide in a bag. Note that not all box kitties are automatically bush dwellers. A better rule of thumb is that bush dwellers especially do show interest in boxes and bags.
Just as with children, bags can still be dangerous to cats as well, so be sure to not leave any hazards behind in your house to provide in a cat safe environment.
What Is My Cat?
If your cat is often up on shelves, high up in your cat tree, on top of cupboards and tries to get higher up whenever they are sitting on your shoulder (for example trying to get on top of the door), you got yourself definitely a tree dweller and can forget about the whole bush dweller thing.
Or can you? There are of course the exceptions where tree dwellers are also bush dwellers or behave in both directions a bit. You will have to figure out whether your cat is behaving more like either of the two to determine their official ranking in dwelling behaviour.
Do you see your cat below sofa’s, in bags, in boxes, in cat tunnels, under beds, under tables, in the bushes outside and trying to get under your blanket, you can be sure to have a bush dweller in your cat.
Do however not confuse the bush dweller behaviour with a scared and anxious cat. The mildly aggressive, anxious cat that hides underneath the bed or the sofa or is perched in a corner on the fridge is actually feeling not all that much at home. Make room in your house for your cat to thrive so that he or she can develop a proper relaxed personality.
It isn’t about what type of dweller your cat is, but about how to help your cat thrive optimally within your household
While some would say that there are other types of dwellers in cats, such as beach dwellers and fridge dwellers, usually these cats share one of the above two main dweller cat types. It isn’t all that much about what type of dweller your cat is, but about how to help your cat thrive in your household optimally.
Offer Your Bush Dweller Space
Why would anyone want to offer space for a bush dweller you may ask? The simple answer is because then they will feel ultimately happy. A happy, healthy and thriving cat will develop their personality and become the cat we all love, instead of the anxious and aggressive variant.
Offering them space also means you will have more space for yourself and you can reduce the spread of cat hairs and cat sand greatly.
What Do Bush Dwellers Prefer
Bush dwellers love to be tugged away in tight spaces where they can feel secure of their environments. It is therefore important that you offer enough hiding places within your house.
It’s often easier for people to equip their house for bush dwellers because they often already have a lot of hiding places available. You most likely already got furniture under which your bush dweller can hide.
Some might say that it is crazy to spend (so much) money on cat and cat equipment, but I am pretty sure that you treat your cat as your own child. It is worth it to spend a little money on your cats so that they will thrive and be a great companion to you.
So what can you add to your house hold to help your bush dweller?
Think about the following:
- covering cat beds
- cat tree with condo’s
- cat cubes
- cat tunnels
- home made cat tunnels and caves
Covering Cat Beds
A covering cat bed is a cat bed with 4 extra walls. These cat beds are usually round or square shaped structures of plush or felt material with an opening on the side for them to enter and exit. A great example of such a bed is the Shark Cat Bed we reviewed recently. Inside the bed is often a separately pillow that can be cleaned in the washing machine.
Cat Tree With Condo’s
A cat tree is a special structure designed for cats to play and sleep in. They offer platforms and cat beds as well as condo’s for them to be at. The condo’s offer again the many walls of protection around them, an excellent place to hide from all the busyness in the household. Especially when you got a multi-cat household it is a guaranteed success to add a cat tree to your house.
Cat Cubes
Cat cubes are stack able boxes of plastic or wood, similar to the type you would have used as a shelf for books and things, cats would be able to lie down in these and hide away. I would add a cat bed to a cat cube, just so that they have something warm and soft to cuddle up to while being there.
Cat Tunnels
A cat tunnel is simply a type of tunnel or pipe made of soft material through which cats can run or play in. They come in all shapes and sizes, from straight lined tunnels to bends and crossings. They can often easily be bend around tables, chairs, sofa’s and other things in the house, which make it interesting for cats to run through. You could also connect them to each other to add even more interesting place or simply a cat highway in your house. Read our cat tunnel review here.
Home Made Hiding Places
Another option is to make your home made hiding places for your cat(s). You can put up shelves, make some room for your cat to hide in between or behind the books and stuff you already stored there. You can add tunnels or leave space for a tunnel like area between sofa’s, tables and chairs and the wall and so on. The sky, or your creativity, is the limit.
Conclusion
There are many solutions for bush dwelling cats to make them thrive and be happy within your house. It is a great way to introduce one of the many solutions to your house that add and fulfills the values of the bush dweller. You will immediately see the results when your cat nestles itself in one of the hiding places.
When you a place where you cat can fill fully at home, you will create confidence within your (anxious) cat. In due time you might find that your cat isn’t that much hiding anymore and coming out for your attention and play. That is truly how we want our cats to be around us, isn’t it?
Got a tree dweller instead? Read How To Help A Tree Dweller Thrive.