BOOKS
Published
Read Time
7 min read
Reader ratingreader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
4.7
· 1,073 Amazon ratingsShare This Review
Catification: Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat (and You!) by Jackson Galaxy & Kate Benjamin Review: A Practical, Photo-Rich Home Design Guide
by Jackson Galaxy, Kate Benjamin
Co-authored by Jackson Galaxy, star of Animal Planet's My Cat from Hell, and Kate Benjamin, founder of the cat design website Hauspanther.com, Catification is a New York Times bestseller that doubles as both a feline behavior primer and a practical interior design manual — earning praise from Library Journal as its Best Interior Design Book of 2014.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Design-conscious cat guardians who own their home and are frustrated that conventional cat furniture clashes with their interior aesthetic — and want a visually rich, actionable guide to resolving that tension.
Worth it if
You want to enrich your cat's environment without sacrificing your home's look, and you'll benefit from over 400 photographs, real-world submitted projects, and DIY tutorials pitched at a range of budgets and skill levels.
Skip if
You're primarily seeking deep behavioral science or clinical feline psychology, or you rent and cannot make structural modifications — the book's more ambitious built-environment projects may simply be out of reach in those circumstances.
What readers & critics say
Barnes & Noble's listing records critical coverage naming it "Best Interior Design Book of 2014," signalling crossover appeal well beyond pet-care shelves. Fully Feline praised the real-world input from cat guardians around the world, concluding it is "definitely worth the investment," while Covered in Cat Hair highlighted the book's emphasis on responsible pet ownership and the wealth of ideas it provides.
Sources: Barnes & Noble, Fully Feline, Covered in Cat Hair4.7from 1,073 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
Ask LuvemBooks
Was this helpful?
Catification: Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat (and You!) is a New York Times bestselling home design guide co-authored by Jackson Galaxy — host of Animal Planet's My Cat from Hell — and Kate Benjamin of Hauspanther.com, pairing Galaxy's behavioral authority with Benjamin's design expertise to show cat guardians how to enrich their cats' environments without sacrificing their own aesthetic. Illustrated with over 400 color photographs, DIY tutorials, and real-world projects from cat guardians worldwide, the book earned Library Journal's Best Interior Design Book of 2014 and praise from critics for its accessibility across budgets and skill levels. The book is essential for design-conscious cat owners frustrated by clunky, utilitarian cat furniture — though readers seeking deep clinical feline psychology, or renters who can't make structural modifications, will find certain limitations.
- Is it worth reading?
- For cat owners who maintain design-conscious interiors and are frustrated by conventional cat furniture — carpeted towers, utilitarian litter enclosures — Catification is a genuinely useful and well-produced resource. Its New York Times bestseller status and Library Journal's Best Interior Design Book of 2014 designation reflect strong crossover appeal beyond the pet-care shelf. The main caveat is that readers hoping for a clinical deep-dive into feline behavioral science will find the book prioritizes design solutions over behavioral theory; Galaxy's behavioral insights are present but serve the design framework. Renters who cannot make structural modifications may also find some of the more ambitious projects impractical for their situation.
- Similar books
- Readers who enjoy Catification will find strong companions in other titles focused on feline behavior and cat-guardian relationships. Jackson Galaxy's own Total Cat Mojo: The Ultimate Guide to Life with Your Cat goes deeper into behavioral theory, making it a natural next step for readers who want more of Galaxy's behavioral framework beyond the design context. For science-grounded insight into how cats think and feel, John Bradshaw's Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet is a well-regarded resource. Pam Johnson-Bennett's Think Like a Cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat — Not a Sour Puss and Mieshelle Nagelschneider's The Cat Whisperer: Why Cats Do What They Do — and How to Get Them to Do What You Want both offer practical behavioral guidance. For readers who appreciate the human-animal bond angle, Arden Moore's The Cat Behavior Answer Book rounds out the shelf.
- Who should read this?
- The book's clearest audience is cat guardians who already care about interior aesthetics and feel frustrated that conventional cat products — carpeted towers, utilitarian litter enclosures — clash with their home's design. It is also well-suited to DIY-inclined readers across a range of budgets and skill levels, as the publisher and multiple reviewers note the book presents ideas accessible even to those who are 'DIY challenged and on a very tight budget,' per Adopt-a-Pet.com. Readers seeking clinical behavioral science or who rent and cannot make structural modifications will get less from it than those who own their homes and want actionable design inspiration.
- Is it more design or cat behavior?
- The balance firmly favors design. Galaxy's behavioral insights are woven throughout — his background in diagnosing cat behavior problems informs which environmental features cats actually need — but those insights serve the design framework rather than the other way around. The book's recognition as Library Journal's Best Interior Design Book of 2014 (rather than a behavioral science title) reflects this orientation accurately. Readers wanting clinical feline psychology or a deep behavioral science resource should look to a title like John Bradshaw's Cat Sense or Galaxy's own Total Cat Mojo.
- How hard are the DIY projects?
- The book explicitly covers ideas across every budget and skill level, according to both the publisher and multiple reviewers. Adopt-a-Pet.com noted that 'even if you are DIY challenged and on a very tight budget, there's such a range of ideas for all types of people, cats, and homes.' The step-by-step tutorials and real-world project examples from cat guardians worldwide are designed to translate inspiration into action for a broad audience — though the most ambitious built-environment projects may require structural modifications that aren't feasible for renters.
- How was it received by critics?
- Critical reception at publication was notably strong. Library Journal named Catification the Best Interior Design Book of 2014 — a designation that signals crossover appeal well beyond the pet-care category. Examiner.com described it as 'a must have' for households with one cat or ten, and Adopt-a-Pet.com highlighted its inclusivity for readers of all budgets and skill levels. The book became a New York Times bestseller, reflecting reach well beyond the core cat-enthusiast audience.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
Is it more design or cat behavior?
How hard are the DIY projects?
How was it received by critics?
Summarize this book
Catification: Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat (and You!) is a home design manual co-authored by Jackson Galaxy (host of Animal Planet's My Cat from Hell) and Kate Benjamin (founder of Hauspanther.com). The book walks cat guardians through a step-by-step process of creating environments that serve a cat's behavioral and physical needs — vertical space, territory, enrichment — while remaining visually attractive for the humans who live there. It draws on over 400 color photographs, DIY tutorials, and projects submitted by cat owners from around the world to ground the concepts in real homes rather than idealized showrooms. It became a New York Times bestseller and was named Best Interior Design Book of 2014 by Library Journal.
Follow up
What makes it stand out from other cat books?
Are the projects in the book from real homes?
How visual is the book?
Synthesized from verified book data & published reviews · How we review
Press Enter to ask. Answers come from our editorial Q&A — start typing to see related questions.
Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
Reading level
Adult
who it suits
Skip if you're looking for a clinical deep-dive into feline behavioral science rather than a design-forward enrichment guide
Our Review
A New York Times bestseller co-authored by two of the most credentialed voices in cat-friendly design, Catification makes a persuasive case that a home optimized for a cat's wellbeing does not have to look like one.
What the Book Actually Is
Catification: Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat (and You!) is a home design guide aimed at cat guardians who want to enrich their cats' environments without sacrificing their own aesthetic sensibilities. Jackson Galaxy — widely known as the host of Animal Planet's My Cat from Hell and as the author of the memoir Cat Daddy — teams with Kate Benjamin, the founder of Hauspanther.com, a destination for cat-friendly design. Together they walk readers through a step-by-step process of designing an attractive home that is also an optimal environment for cats, drawing on design strategies for solving what the book describes as even the most daunting kitty challenges. The book features projects submitted by cat guardians from around the world, grounding the concepts in real homes rather than idealized showrooms.
Scope, Structure, and Visual Presentation
The book is illustrated throughout, deploying over 400 color photographs to document the breadth of cat-friendly design possibilities. It includes DIY tutorials, tips for understanding a cat's specific needs, and a wide range of examples intended to provide inspiration. Critics called it the Best Interior Design Book of 2014, a designation that signals its crossover appeal beyond a strictly pet-care audience. The publisher describes the book as presenting design ideas for every budget and every skill level, making it accessible to households with varying resources and varying degrees of DIY confidence.
Credentials Behind the Collaboration
The pairing of Galaxy and Benjamin is deliberately complementary. Galaxy brings behavioral authority — his background is in diagnosing and addressing cat behavior problems, and his television work has made him the most recognizable name in cat advocacy in the United States. Benjamin contributes the design expertise: Hauspanther.com has long been a resource for readers who want cat furniture and home modifications that align with modern interior aesthetics rather than clash with them. The result, as the New York Daily News noted in its coverage, is guidance on how to transform a home into a cat-friendly space "without wrecking a room's aesthetic" — a tension the book positions itself explicitly to resolve.
Reception and Reach
Critical reception was notably strong at publication. Library Journal named it the Best Interior Design Book of 2014, and Examiner.com awarded it five out of five stars, describing it as "a must have" for households with one cat or ten and praising its range of ideas across budgets and skill levels. Adopt-a-Pet.com highlighted its inclusivity: "Even if you are DIY challenged and on a very tight budget, there's such a range of ideas for all types of people, cats, and homes." The book went on to become a New York Times bestseller, a marker of its reach well beyond the core cat-enthusiast audience.
Who Will Get the Most From It — and Where It Has Limits
Readers who already maintain stylish, design-conscious interiors and are frustrated by conventional cat furniture — carpeted towers, utilitarian litter enclosures — are the book's clearest beneficiaries. The step-by-step tutorials and real-world project examples are structured to translate ideas into action. However, readers seeking deep behavioral science or a clinical approach to feline psychology will find that the book's emphasis is weighted toward design solutions rather than behavioral theory; Galaxy's behavioral insights are present, but they serve the design framework rather than the other way around. Similarly, cat guardians who rent and cannot make structural modifications may find that some of the more ambitious built-environment projects are beyond what their living situation permits, even with the book's stated attention to budget range.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Further reading
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Books like Catification
Curated picks for readers who enjoyed Catification, with our reasoning for each match.
If you liked Catification
