Wall Shelf Design Ideas Your Cat Will Love
If you’ve never heard of a cat shelf or cat perch before, they’re pieces of furniture specifically made for your cat to climb and get up high.
Some of them are wall mounted cat trees while other designs are simple catwalks or steps. The great thing is that you can mix and match pieces to create your own complete cat wall climbing system.
Below I’ll cover the best cat shelves and wall perches that I’ve found. Then if you’re still not convinced, I’ll go over all of the benefits a cat shelf provides your indoor kitty.
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- Wall Shelf Design Ideas Your Cat Will Love
- 1. Boxy Wall Tree Climber
- 2. Staircase Bridge Wall Shelf
- 3. Industrial Style Wall Steps
- 4. Cat Ceiling Hammock
- 5. Cat Feeder & Hammock Furniture Set
- 6. Transparent Bubble Cat Wall Bed
- 7. Kitty Play/Relax Center
- 8. Platform Bed Wall Shelf
- 9. Hexagonal Wall Shelves
- 10. Large Comfortable Cat Shelves
- 11. Complete Wall Furniture Set
- 12. Simplistic Catwalks
- 13. Square Floating Shelf With Carpet
- 14. Wave Plush Cat Shelf Bed
- 15. Curved Wooden Cat Bed Shelf
- 16. Cat Step Shelves
- 17. Shelf Scratching Post Perches
- Why does your cat need a wall shelf?
- Conclusion
- Want Even More Fun For Your Cat?
1. Boxy Wall Tree Climber
This wall mounted cat tree has exquisite woodwork. It comes with the three boxes, scratching post, and three wall platforms.
Perfect for a household with multiple cats to play on.
2. Staircase Bridge Wall Shelf
This cat wall furniture comes with two shelves and drawbridge-style stairs that connect the two shelves. Many cats like to sleep in the middle of the drawbridge staircase.
This is a nice feature to put on a wall close to a cat tree or other shelf. It comes in both a light and dark color option.
3. Industrial Style Wall Steps
These shelves have an industrial-style bracket holding them up. The simplistic wooden step design allows for maximum customizability.
4. Cat Ceiling Hammock
This ceiling hammock is made out of MDF and can be painted any color you want. It would need to be located somewhere your cat can access it.
The hammock comes disassembled but here are detailed step-by-step photo instructions that walk you through assembly.
For safety, make sure you fasten this bed directly into a ceiling stud.
5. Cat Feeder & Hammock Furniture Set
This cat furniture set comes with a large 32″ canvas hammock, a dual feeder bowl platform, and 5 steps. You can pick your canvas’ color.
This is great for families with kids and dogs who may get into the cat’s food. Instead, your cat can peacefully eat and drink up high. It comes in a variety of finish options.
6. Transparent Bubble Cat Wall Bed
A fun acrylic bubble tube so your cat can keep tabs on all the action. If your cat likes watching things from a high vantage point, this is a fun addition to your room.
7. Kitty Play/Relax Center
A complete cat tree for your wall. It includes 5 platforms, a bridge, scratching post, and hammock. You can choose from a few hammock colors to match your decor.
This set is large enough for multiple cats and can be rearranged however you’d like.
8. Platform Bed Wall Shelf
This wall shelf is minimalist and modern in design. It comes with a thick padded mattress for your cat to sleep on.
This shelf has many color options for the wood and also the bed.
9. Hexagonal Wall Shelves
With this wall system, you can easily add on additional hexagons to get the size that you want. You can even add in different design windows in the options.
Some of the side cutouts are in the shape of a cat’s face but are the perfect size for your feline friend to squeeze in and out of.
10. Large Comfortable Cat Shelves
This cat shelf system is built for large cats. It’s very sturdy and mounts into multiple studs. The cloth makes a comfortable hammock for your large kitty.
The design for this shelf system can’t be rearranged like some of the others so you’d have to make sure you have enough open wall space.
11. Complete Wall Furniture Set
This wall shelf set comes with smalls shelves, a scratching shelf tower, wobble bridge, scratching post, and box to sleep in.
A nice feature about this set is that it can be set up however you want so it’s versatile to fit your space. A complete cat wall climbing system.
12. Simplistic Catwalks
If you’re wanting a simple shelf design for your cat to walk around the upper perimeter of your house, then these catwalks are a great choice.
Having these shelves will vastly expand your cat’s living space and give them the high vantage point they love.
13. Square Floating Shelf With Carpet
If your cat is prone to slipping or simply prefers the feel of carpet, then this cat shelf is excellent.
This floating shelf comes in stained wood with a piece of carpet on top your cat can also use as a scratcher. Add as many as you want next to your cat’s favorite perching spot.
14. Wave Plush Cat Shelf Bed
A soft cat bed in the shape of a wave that attaches to the wall. The cover of the bed is removable for washing.
Highly customizable with lots of colors to choose from.
15. Curved Wooden Cat Bed Shelf
A small cat bed shelf made from eco-friendly birch plywood. It has a slight curve to it for maximum feline comfort.
Your cat will love perching up here on the soft bed. The shelf is available in a few wood finishes.
16. Cat Step Shelves
Small cat accessory shelves that help them reach higher locations. These shelves come in three shapes and colors.
Set them out for landing areas for your cat to jump up to a higher perch.
17. Shelf Scratching Post Perches
These cat perches double as scratching posts. Covered in sisal, they’re easy for your cat to grip and climb using their claws.
These scratcher shelves are great for adding interesting routes along the wall to get to a high perch.
Why does your cat need a wall shelf?
Interior wall shelves in your home may not seem natural but they do get your cat to show off many natural behaviors.
Even in a home environment, the goal of a good cat owner is to get their cat to be comfortable and their true selves. Here are some of the reasons a cat wall perch is essential:
1. Safety From Predators
A cat’s ability to climb keeps them safe from many predators on the ground. While it’s unlikely your house if crawling with predators, your cat will still prefer to have a safe place to get away.
If you have dogs or kids in your home, cat’s can occasionally get spooked or want to run away when their boundaries aren’t being respected. It’s better for your cat to have a place to go to rather than lashing out other ways.
2. Hunting Advantage
In the wild, a cat would spend most of their awake time hunting to stay nourished. In your house, a cat hunts as a form of mental stimulation and a natural instinct.
Being able to climb up high gives your cat a better view of their “prey.” Hopefully, it’s not your toes.
An indoor cat will still have hunting instincts and having a high perch overlooking a window or the main living space of your house is a good way to let your cat practice their skills.
3. Gives Your Cat Territory
Cats are territorial loners by nature. If fact, lions are the only social cat species; every other cat would rather be by themselves.
Domestic cats have evolved to tolerate one another indoors but they still enjoy a place all to themselves. If you have a multi-cat household, consider having two similar wall shelf areas so each cat can call dibs.
Wall perches expand your cat’s territory vertically and makes use of once wasted space.
4. Fun Enrichment
Even though your cat sleeps for most of the day, it’s still important for them to get exercise. Having wall perches and shelves your cat can climb allows them to explore, burn off energy, and stay fit.
Giving your cat new stimuli in their environment keeps them from being bored. A bored cat will usually find their own ways for entertainment which may be destructive. Instead, direct your cat towards things they can do for a stress-free home environment.
Conclusion
Now that you see the vast variety of cat wall shelves and perches that are available, use your cat’s natural tendencies to decide which one they’ll like best.
Larger cats will appreciate larger more stable platforms. A multiple cat household may enjoy lots of perches and boxes with holes to run in and out of.
Wall perches and shelves do more than just look cool. They offer your cat a safe place to hide to, a way to burn off energy, and mental enrichment so your cat isn’t bored.
Their space-saving design works perfectly in an apartment or in a house to make good use of the vertical space. If you use cat perches in your home, let me know which are your favorites and how your cats like them.
Want Even More Fun For Your Cat?
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Positive Reinforcement Trainer & Enrichment Specialist
Stephanie has over 12 years of experience training and enriching exotic animals as a Zookeeper. During this time, she received a certificate in Behavioral Husbandry from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums and is an expert in animal behavior.
In her free time, she uses positive reinforcement to train her numerous pets at home and is always thinking up creative ways to prevent her pets from getting bored. On Curiosity Trained, Stephanie now helps people make their pets’ lives better by giving them easy to follow tips and science-backed information.
Wow, my cat would love playing on any and all of these. Thanks for sharing! Gonna have to check into what might work in our house. My cat likes his cat tree but seems to be getting bored with it.
Thank you, thank you , thank you. I’m hoping these will give my cats the freedom to travel around the house without them and myself worrying about our dogs chasing them.
My boys Doogle and Roger got a couple of cat trees but I never thought of getting them a cat shelf or wall perches until I saw your list. Good choices, most of the designs only need minimal space. Great review, thanks for sharing!
Great post gave me a ton of ideas. Thank you from our Cats and my keyboard
Thank you for this comprehensive and fun list. It certainly broadened the scope regarding traditional pet furniture to include an exciting arena of new and innovative cat activity-rec area ideas. I look forward to incorporating as many of these innovative ideas as possible into our home renovation plans this year. The FIVE adopted cats who own us will undoubtedly give us the green light as soon as we show them the plans for their fun interactive play area. I’m sure they’ll be happy to feel a sense of calm security in the various hiding spots because integration within our tight family unit can be a stressful territorial issue. These great options will be so exciting to implement in our feline living home.