What you must know when adopting a large house cat.
Bringing a large house cat into your home is a special event. When you bring any new pet into your home you want to be ready to make them welcome and comfortable.
Large house cats need a few things that smaller house cats may not. You not only want to have food and pet dishes on hand, but you may want a few other things you may not think about when it comes to bringing a cat into your home.
What to do when bringing your kitten home for the first time.
Make a safe room with the following:
- Toys
- A Bed
- Food/Water
- Litter Box
- A place hide
- A scratching post
As a kitten your large cat will take the same care as any other kitten. However once they grow up their needs will change. If you are bringing a grown large cat into your home or just want to be prepared for when your kitten grows up, keep reading.
Why bringing a Large House cat into your home is different than a normal-sized cat.
A large cat needs toys and furniture that will hold up to their weight and height. Larger cats also need more food, so larger dishes may be needed. They also tend to have more energy then normal sized cats and many of the large domestic cat breeds are slow to mature, meaning they will act like kittens for much longer.
4 tips to help you bring a large domestic cat into your home
1. Make Sure You Have Enough Room
You may not think about the amount of space needed in your home for a large cat, however most large cats are very energetic and need room to roam. You can check out my post 10 of the Largest Domestic Cats from Largest to Smallest to see what type of large house cat may work best for you.
Large cats can be in small apartments, however, you will need to make a few investments to make sure they are happy and healthy. Large active cats in small spaces can cause a bit of trouble and usually, large cats take longer to mature meaning they will be in the “kid” stage for a lot longer than smaller cats.
Create running space
Large cats need room to run and play. Having open space in your home or apartment is a must. They will need room to get out their energy and be able to play.
You may want to invest in a laser toy that you can put in this open space. This will allow them to play without harming your belongings and get some energy out. I have a great toy I got on Amazon. It is a laser that turns on and off. You can find it here.
Take them for a walk
If your home is really small you may want to consider expanding their territory and help release some energy by taking your cat for a walk. Many large cats will walk on a leash and if you’re interested in doing this you can check out my post: 5 Great Reasons You Should Walk Your Cat.
2. You Will Need A Large Litter Box
If you have never had a cat before you may not think that a litter box a big deal, you just go find one you like and buy it. However it’s not as simple as that.
Cats are very picky when it comes to using the bathroom and having the wrong litter box could be a huge problem. For a large cat you need a large litter box.
How to buy the correct litter box
You want to find a large litter box that will allow your cat to move around and be able to bury their waste without going outside of the litter box. You will want to pick up two boxes to start with one with a lid and one without a lid. Some cats like using one with a lid, while others hate having a lid.
You need one litterbox per cat plus one.
You may think this is crazy, however many bathroom issues that cat owners have can be avoided by having that extra litterbox. I have two cats, one small domestic and one large Ragamuffin. I have three litter boxes for them and they do use all three. Having three boxes lets me clean them less often.
You May Want An Automatic Litterbox

With two cats and a busy life, I had been looking into buying an automatic litterbox. Automatic boxes clean themselves so that you don’t have to scoop multiple times a day. Having an automatic litterbox may be a great idea if you are a busy cat mom or dad.
I invested in a litter robot for my cats. Cleaning daily and having three litter boxes was just getting to be too much. I decided it was time to make my life easier and keep things simple. They are expensive, but there is a great payment plan option if you are interested in getting one. You can buy the Litter-Robot Here
If you are still unsure of what litter box to get you can check out this in-depth post from preventive vet here
3. Have Toys Built for Large Cats
Having a large cat involves buying toys for large cats. If you have adopted a large cat as a kitten you should be able to get away with normal-sized cat items for a year or so, however after that be prepared to invest some money into items for your growing cat.
Cat Trees for Large cats
You need to do some research when buying a cat tree for your large cat. You need something that will hold them, and allow them to move around without destroying the cat tree.
Go Pet Club 62-in Faux Fur Cat Tree & Condo

This is the cat tree I decided on after doing some research. I loved that it was tall, and had large purchases that would actually hold my cat. It’s sturdy and allows my large cat to climb and play without falling over. I don’t even have mine attached to the wall.
The Go Pet Club Cat tree was also my pick main pick not only due to being strong, but because it had a basket on the side for my cat Dixie. The old cat tree had a basket and it was her favorate spot to sit.
You can buy the Pet Club Cat Tree from Chewy.com here
Frisco 68-in Faux Fur Cat Tree & Condo
If I had not needed a basket for Dixie, I may have gone with this cat tree instead. I have read great things about it and I love that it has the scratch ramp and the multiple purches on top.
It also seems to be built well and will hold up to a large house cat. If you are interested in this cat tree you can buy it from Chewy.com here.
Purches for Large Cats
You need to find good purches for your large cat. I reccomend the Lotus Leaf Cat Shelf from the Refined Feline. It is a very sturdy cat shelf and will hold up to your large house cat.
Cat Scratching Posts
You may think you can just go out and get a cheap cardboard scratching post for your large cat and your right you can. However you going to have to make sure it’s up high. Most large cats, including mine, love to streach out when they scratch and they ususally prefer something tall to do it on.
For a good scratching post I’m once again going to refer you to the Refined Feline. They have an amazing cat scratcher called the Calypso Everlasting Cat Scratcher and it holds up really well to my large cat. It has taken him a while to use it, however he climbs on it and scratches with ease.
4. Be prepared to protect your trees and holiday decor.
Cats love christmas trees. They love to play with the orniments and some enjoy chewing on the branches. However, if your large cat is like my large cat they also enjoy climbing into your tree. Normal sized cats may be able to hide in the tree with no problem. However a large cat will break or damage your christmas tree.
In fact Pumpkin has ruined three christmas trees. The first and second he bent the branches and the third he broke the top right off. If your someone who would kick your cat out for doing something like this, you may want to rethink a large house cat.
Owning a large house cat is something that needs to be thought about. They do reqire a bit more then a normal cat and each breed has different needs. Some are more active then others and you may find your cat hates heights, but enjoys snuggling with you instead.
Just remember, you need to adapt to your cat, be prepared to try out new things and see what they like and don’t like. Eventually you will learn what they do like and be able to shop for things they will love, and things that will keep them happy.

