As is the case with children, you want to give your cat (or cats) the best that you can, whether it’s your time or the products they use every day. And while cats seem to never be quite pleased with anything we do (a long-lasting scratch is inevitably judged as lesser than, well, a longer-lasting scratch), we can certainly ensure that we cover their essentials to best elevate their lives — and ours. So we gathered some of the best selling and most intriguing cat essentials into one place to help guide you when you’re ready to upgrade your cat’s daily life — or to help you ensure you’re not missing one of these in the first place.
Bowls
First, let’s be sure your cat’s eating on regularly and comfortably — which is definitely one of the most essential essentials for any pet.
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The highly-rated, best-selling, simple, and functional self-dispensing feeder from AmazonBasics uses gravity to keep your cat fed and watered.
If your cat’s on the older side, it might be a bit hard to lean into delicious situations. Raised pet bowls help alleviate that strain by bringing the food closer to your cat.
When you’re ready to upgrade your cat’s feeding bowl, consider an automatic pet feeder. It’s it’s-dinner-time!-capable, enables portion control, and is programmable so that it can basically take over feeding chores and execute them more efficiently than you ever could.
Litter boxes
You (hopefully) have this in tow already, but when’s the last time you took a good, hard look at your litter box and considered upgrading or replacing it?
Affordable Simplicity
Simple, sturdy, and constructed with a built-in sifter, the Pet Mate is Amazon’s No. 1 best selling standard litter box.
In an apartment, a litter box is part of your daily life — and that’s why I like mine covered. Best selling covered litter boxes include the Clean Step dome you’ve definitely seen in someone’s home by now and a top entry model from the same company — and for $10 less.
Elevated Elegance
When your litter box is in a higher traffic area of your home, you might want to disguise it somewhat (not completely since that would be cartoonishly impossible). This covered litter box is designed to resemble a clay pot sporting a plant.
Regardless of placement, maintaining a litter box is a pain. Take some of that hassle off your shoulders with robotic assistance: This No. 1 best selling, self-cleaning litter box senses your cat’s done its doing and then cleans up the mess, keeping itself poop-free for up to seven days.
Litter mats
Whatever model litter box you end up getting, placing it on a mat will help quarantine the litter residue your cat’s going to leave around it (and yes, your cat will find a way to accomplish this feat despite your best efforts).
Key features on these highly-rated and best-selling litter mats are that they’re easy-to-clean and slip-resistant. The Gorilla Grip is a bit thinner and utilitarian than the Blackhole mat, which offers a thicker, more stylized design. Both come in a variety of colors.
Litter
Of course, you need litter. And while you might still be scrambling to get some after work and trying to figure out the quickest way to get the chore done, getting it delivered is a pretty simple affair.
The best-selling and all-natural litter from Dr. Elsey’s has about 14,000 reviews and a 4-star rating, making it Amazon’s Choice and mine, too.
Also highly-rated and likely much more recognizable is a collaboration between Fresh Step and the iconic Febreze.
If your cat… goes hard or even if you have multiple cats, consider Arm & Hammer’s best selling clumping, odor-sealing litter.
Stain and Odor Removal
While this is true for all pets, it’s certainly applicable to every single cat owner I’ve ever met, whether they want to admit it or not: There will be stains. And there will be odor. Good news, though, is that you can fight back.
The No. 1 best-selling Stain and Odor Eliminator has more than 7,000 reviews and a 4.3-star average rating — when it comes to the cleaning products market, that’s not an easy feat.
If less recognizable brands don't turn you off, consider the multi-surface and commercial grade cleaner from the Angry Orange, which is likewise highly rated and comes in liquid form as opposed to a spray.
Scratching posts
There are many scratching posts out there, including the very Amazon boxes used to ship them to you — no matter what choice you make, be sure your cat has something to claw at so that it at least believes it’s still got its groove.
Simple, affordable, and discreet, this horizontal scratching surface won’t affect your decor — or dent your wallet too much.
If you’re more into the vertical scratch, check out the Pioneer Pet: 32 inches of fibrous, durable material on a sturdy base your cat will have a hard time knocking off no matter how hard it tries.
Carrying cases
When you travel with your cat, you want to be sure it’s comfortable, safe, and everyone’s favorite: airline-compliant.
This best-selling pet carrier is machine washable and can hold up to 22 pounds — and you can likely take it with you into the airplane’s cabin as a carry-on.
If you want something a bit nicer, check out this highly-rated and much more stylized pet carrier, which comes in multiple colors.
No one will ever understand the love and loyalty you hold for your cat or cats — not even other cat owners. Yours is a unique bond and that’s part of the allure cats have used to entrance us. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
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