Ideas for Decorating and Equipping Balconies for Pets
Odds are, if you live in an apartment, you have a balcony or patio, and if you’re lucky, you have one if your home is a condo or a townhouse. This tiny little “urban porch” may well be the only bit of outdoor space you can truly call your own, so why not take full advantage of it?
This post is aimed at making your balcony a fulfilling place to be for both pets and their owners, but anyone with a little bit of private outdoor access will benefit from reading these tips.
The pet owners among you will want to give your furry friend a little exposure to the outdoors in a safe way. Of course, your pet getting harmed or stolen is always a concern, so here’s how to prepare your balcony to be a safe, happy haven for your dog, cat, or bunny.
Real Grass Crate – Growing live grass in a basin on your balcony is marketed toward dog-owners short on time, but cats and bunnies would enjoy sniffing around on this their own tiny yard, too, without you having to worry about bugs or snakes hiding in the grass. If your animal does their business outside, commercial options will have a small sprinkler that washes urine into a collecting area, and you will need to pick up droppings yourself.- Protective Balcony Fence – Fears of jumping off a balcony probably are not a cause for concern with dogs, but cats and bunnies may well jump or step off without realizing how far up they really are. I used a grid storage set like the ones described here to create a fence all the way around the inside perimeter of my balcony, and held up against the posts of the balcony with cable ties so that I can let my cats out safely. Always keep an eye on your pets while they’re out there, though! Cats especially can be reckless when they’re exploring.
- Separating Pets and Plants – Many pets enjoy eating the fruits of your gardening work, and some plants are poisoning to small animals, so it’s best to keep the two apart. That doesn’t mean pet-owners can’t garden, too, though! Hanging planters and window boxes
attached to the side of your balcony will make your balcony a more positive place to hang out, with or without a pet.
- Water Fountains – If your balcony is covered, a pet-friendly water fountain can serve the dual purposes of providing fresh, running water to your pet, and adding natural sounds and sights to your balcony. For non-pet owners, larger water fountains can be very appealing and promote tranquility, but these fountains usually don’t have filters to ensure they are safe for drinking out of.
Dealing with the Cat’s Litter Box
Pursuing the dream of microliving does not have to mean you give up on your dream of having a feline (or canine, or any other kind of -nine) companion, any more than it means you can’t have children in small environment. And one of the great things about cats is you never need to worry about taking them outside at 3am if you’re 45 floors up.
But that advantage also means that you have to figure out what to do with kitty’s literbox. How large and how messy your cat is will affect your choices, and definitely consider how much they fling litter about when they are digging around or covering up their waste. If you buy a litter pan that looks great but is too short to hold in their flinging of their litter, you’ve just guaranteed more mess and morer work for yourself. Litter boxes can range from narrow flat pans that get stinky and messy pretty quickly, to covered boxes, to fancy self-cleaning litter boxes.
Generally, you want a litter box that doesn’t take up an entire area of space on its own, whether that means you can fit it under a counter or a table, or if you can set something on top of it. Remember that we’re trying to use space as effectively as possible, and the litter box poses a challenge, but not an insurmountable one.
Another option is to find a practical way to conceal the litter box, and be able to set things on top of it and use the whole space above it. There are pieces that are made to look like bedside tables, armoires, and free-standing bathroom cabinets. Many of these products are made of wood so they look more upscale and will blend in better with your existing furniture. You will know you are successful if your friends look around for your cat’s litter box and are unable to find it.
You can also make a litter box cover yourself. One of the submissions on ikeahacker features a wooden hinge-top litter box cover, with hanging storage for the the other litter box accessories, including a scoop and spray deodorizer. If you can find a way to get all the necessary cat items in one place, you can save time going back and forth, and be even more space-efficient. Just remember that if you want a concealed cat bed/feeding station, you’re going to need to buy or make a different piece of furniture and place it a fair distance away from the litterbox. Cats are clean animals, and if you wouldn’t want to eat or sleep near your toilet, they wouldn’t, either.
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