Nov 10, 2021
How To Successfully Live in a Tiny Home With Pets
Downsizing doesn’t mean you need to forsake pet ownership—cats, dogs, or otherwise. Here’s how to successfully live in a tiny home with pets.
Posted by: Amanda Delatorre
Whether they be fuzzy, feathered, or otherwise, pets are nothing less than family. Because of this, many people are often wary of downsizing into tiny homes for fear of not having enough room to properly take care of their pets. While admittedly, larger pets can be a greater challenge, living the tiny home life with a pet is still very much possible. Here’s how to successfully live in a tiny home with pets if you’re looking at prefab tiny homes in Washington state.
Place Bowls in Recessed Areas
A common annoyance is food and water bowls being underfoot as you try to move around your home. It’s easy to stumble over them, causing you to fall and create messy spills that eat up your time to clean. The most convenient solution to this is to find a recessed space within your tiny home to store the bowls under so that they’re easily accessible to your pets but never sitting in your path. If your prefab design doesn’t include a good recessed spot for bowls, talk to us about it, and we’ll find a solution.
Forego Carpeting
Another key decision in the building process is to forego carpeting if you’re concerned about your pet making a mess. Whether it be shed fur or unfortunate accidents, a solid floor like hardwood will always be much easier to clean up. If you prefer carpeting still, you can usually get away with it if your pet is short-haired or, obviously, if your pet is a bird or fish.
Create a Cozy Nook
For cats and dogs, we encourage you to set aside a small space within your tiny home to dedicate as theirs. This is typically far easier with cats, as they’re smaller, but just having a corner with a dog bed is always a good and easy way to successfully live in a tiny home with pets. This gives your pets a comfortable place to lounge and will keep them from constantly getting in your way. Even if you don’t try to create one yourself, your pet will most likely find a favorite spot of its own that you can build around.
Entertaining Pets
Exercise and entertainment are important concerns when it comes to having pets with a tiny home lifestyle. Cats are easily solved by adding features like scratching posts and steps for them to play on, but a dog requires a bit more work. Be prepared to get some exercise, as you’ll need to ensure your dog has plenty of opportunities to get outside and use up its energy—otherwise, you’ll have a rambunctious animal making a whirlwind of your home. Keep in mind that dogs and cats both enjoy looking outside and smelling the fresh air, so, when possible, ensure they have access to windows that they can peer out of and watch the world around them.
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