There’s a reason cat owners are sometimes referred to as “staff.” Cats have a way of burrowing in and taking over not only your heart, but your home too. Take a look at your house for these telltale signs that a cat is running the show.

Random Litterbox Locations

A sure indicator of a home where cats rule the roost is litterboxes in unexpected places. Corner of the dining room? Sure. Smack dab in the middle of the home office? No problem. In the master bathtub? Easy-peasy — just lift the litterbox out when you need to use the tub or shower. Such an arrangement may seem ridiculous to people whose abodes are not run by cats, but cat owners know: Move the box and prepare for a piddle puddle somewhere you don’t want it. It's better to have the box where the cat likes it.

Cat Pillows

Once your cat finds a spot he likes, it’s hard to deny him the pleasure of returning there. Often, that spot is a pillow that sits on the couch where the afternoon sunlight hits it just right. You know better than to move the pillow, which typically sports a meatloaf-shaped indentation from your cat’s body and a growing amount of cat fur. Incidentally, such pillows are no longer used by humans.

Limited Access to Technology

Have a work deadline or an important email to send? That’s all fine until your cat decides the warm computer keyboard is just what he needs at the moment. Cat-ruled humans know that removing the cat from the keyboard sounds much easier than it is. Your cat will keep returning to claim his spot — or force you to abandon your computer.

Uncomfortable Sleeping Arrangements

In cat-ruled homes, nobody but the cat ever really sleeps where and how they want to. When you walk into your bedroom at nighty-night time and see a cat on your pillow, what do you do? Squeeze in somewhere else, of course! Cats are known to sleep on their humans' stomachs, stretched across the bed, on their owners' heads and more. And, in a cat-owned home, the humans just accept those arrangements.

Sleeping Schedules That Aren’t Your Own

Speaking of sleeping, or rather not sleeping, homes run by cats are households that rise early. If it’s not a furry face staring at you, willing you to wake up, it’s the incessant meowing, the blinds rattling, items falling off shelves or other disturbing noises the cat purposefully makes. No one sleeps through breakfast when cats are in charge. 

Shredded Cat Trees

The concept of tastefully designed cat trees that subtly blend with your home’s décor is fun to fantasize about, isn’t it? But alas, for owners like you, such thoughts are but a dream.

The 10-year-old, shag-carpet-covered, shredded cat tree is the one the felines want, so it's what a cat-managed home has. And cat owners know this truth: Get rid of the favorite cat tree and put your furniture, rugs, windowsills and perhaps even your own body in peril.

Compromises, coddling and work-arounds are all part of living in a household ruled by cats. But all the effort makes the rewards of soft cuddles, hilarious antics and adorable mews that much sweeter, doesn’t it?

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