10 Best Home Features for Pets: How to Make Your Home Pet-Friendly

If you're a pet lover, there's no doubt that you want to make your home as pet-friendly as possible. Houston is a great city for pets, with plenty of parks and trails where they can run and play. But your home is also an important part of your pet's life. Here are 10 features that will make your home more comfortable and accommodating for your furry friends!

#1 Pet Bathing Station

A pet bathing station is a great way to keep your furry friend clean without making a mess of your bathroom. Houston has plenty of pet-friendly apartments that offer pet bathing stations for residents. Grooming Stations are becoming a staple in homes for sale and rent!

#2 Chicken Coops

Houston is home to some of the best chicken coops in the country. If you're looking for a way to provide yourself with fresh eggs, chicken coops are a great option. Check with your HOA if you have one! Make sure it is okay to have chickens and a chicken coop!

#3 Pet-Proof Flooring

Accidents happen, even with the best-behaved pets. That’s why floors with a hard, impermeable surface make your life easier. Think tile, hardwood, terrazzo, cement, or laminate. Stay away from wall-to-wall carpet. Adding wood floors to your home increases monetary value, too. The National Association of REALTORS® “2022 Remodeling Impact Report” says new wood floors bring a 118% return when it’s time to sell the house.

#4 Build-in Pet Beds

Pet beds tossed about your house are unattractive and consume valuable floor space. The alternative is building pet beds into cabinets, shelves, and other pieces of furniture. You can build a pet bed into the bottom shelves of a bookcase or into a kitchen or mudroom cabinet. Or tuck it under the stairs. If hiring a cabinetmaker or carpenter to build a seamless pet bed isn’t in your budget, you can also buy pet beds that look like furniture. You’ll be happier with the way your pet bed looks, and your pet will have a permanent space.

#5 Built-in Pet Gates

You don’t want your pets to go into certain places in your home, and most of us keep them out with baby gates. Plastic baby gates are flimsy and unattractive. A better option is a built-in gate. You can hire a cabinetmaker to build a custom pet gate for a door that’s mounted to a door jamb on hinges. Alternatively, you may build a pocket door-style pet barrier that slides into the walls. Do you lack the funds for custom work? Premade luxury pet gates to attach to a door jamb or staircase might be an option if that's the case.

#6 Outdoor Ramp

Just like humans, dogs and cats can get too old to easily navigate stairs. If stairs are separating your pet from the outdoors, build a ramp from the door to the yard to make your house accessible as they age.

#7 Enclosed Cat Patio

Also called a catio (cat + patio,) these outdoor enclosures provide a safe place for your cat to play outside. The structure, with a roof and four walls, keeps your cat safe and unable to harm wildlife. Catios can range from window-box sized ones to lanai-sized ones large enough to enclose a patio with human seating.

#8 Built-in Pet Doors

You can get exterior doors with built-in pet doors. Or, consider glass inserts with built-in pet doors that replace sidelights on an exterior door. If you want to spend more, you can get heavy duty pet door inserts that fit into your home’s exterior wall. Integrating a pet door into your home’s design is better for you and your pup because it’s more permanent, secure, and lovely.

#9 Built-in Pet Feeding Station

Food and water bowls are messy, so upgrade your setup with a built-in pet feeding station. You can build a dedicated space for pet bowls into the cabinets in your kitchen or laundry room. That means no more tripping over bowls. A built-in station organizes the space, turning pet bowls from clutter to part of the furniture. Consider installing a faucet near the feeding station so you can easily refill or rinse bowls.

#10 Fenced-in Yard

A meadow-like grassy yard enclosed by a secure fence is the holy grail for pet owners. An outdoor area for their beloved animals to play safely is why pet owners leave lofts in the city for single-family homes in the suburbs.

Your pet—and your wallet—will thank you.

Houston is a big city, but there are plenty of places to take your dog for a walk. If you live near one of Houston’s many bayous, your pup can romp in the water on a hot day. Houston also has several large dog parks, including Hermann Park and Memorial Park, where your furry friend can run off-leash. And if you’re looking for a place to take your cat for a walk, Houston has plenty of those too. Just kidding! But seriously, cats love to lounge, so give them a comfortable place to do it. Give your pets a home to love and live in. They might just start paying rent! (Just Kidding...)