26 Pet-Friendly Tiny Houses Your Dog and Cat Will Love

Several years into living in our tiny house, we adopted a cat.

We love our cat, but she immediately raised a number of questions about the design of our home. It was clear that nobody had thought of a cat inhabiting the home. We didn’t know where to put her litter box, and we weren’t sure how to keep her inside.

Since then, we’ve come up with solutions to adapt our home, but it means that when I am checking out other peoples’ tiny houses, I always get excited when I notice pet-friendly features built right into the homes.

What Features Make for a Pet-Friendly Tiny House?

Some examples of pet-friendly features in tiny houses include:

1. A spot to put the litter box where it will be out-of-the-way.
2. A special area for dog or cat supplies and/or a special feeding zone.
3. Literal catwalks upstairs.
4. Tunnels that lead outdoors but keep a cat in a protected zone.
5. Any feature that makes it less likely your dog or cat will jump out the door whenever you open it.
6. Conversely, a dog or cat door, if you want your cat or dog coming and going freely.
7. Storage spaces for dog kennels.
8. Easy-to-clean floors (i.e. hardwood).
9. A special loft just for your pets.

Those are just a few special pet-friendly features to be on the lookout for when you are checking out tiny houses. Now let’s take a look at some cat- and dog-friendly tiny houses and the unique features which make them perfect for pets.

Dog-Friendly Tiny Houses

Let’s start out by showcasing tiny houses that are perfect for dogs. After that, we’ll move on to a selection of tiny houses that are ideal for cats.

1. Two Engineers and Three Dogs in One Tiny House

This tiny house belongs to a pair of engineers living in Oregon with a trio of canine companions. The house, called “Basecamp,” features a storage space for stowing a large dog kennel underneath the live-edge counter. Check out the post with the full set of photos, and you will be amazed at how clean and clutter-free this house is even with three dogs!

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2. 117-Square-Foot Dog-Friendly Tiny House in Orlando

This woman lives with her dog in just 117 square feet of space in an 8-foot-wide Orlando tiny house. With its outdoor garden, the house offers plenty of room inside and out for the owner to relax and spend time with her pet. It just goes to show that if a home is well-designed, you don’t need a ton of space to live comfortably.

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3. The Dandelion Tiny House

This home measuring 8’ x 28’ includes “2 sofa beds with storage, upstairs sleeping loft, pet loft, plenty of storage space, and many other custom features.” That’s right, it has a special loft just for pets! Either a dog or a cat (or several) would feel like lord of the manor looking down from their very own loft in this tiny house.

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4. The Mustard Yellow Tiny House

The blog for this home describes it as “Two Kiwi guys, two little dogs, one tiny home.” While the special features for pets aren’t described, you can see that the dogs sure love the warmth of the stove. Plus, with its rural location and lovely yard, it looks like the perfect place for dogs to play outside.

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5. A Blue Tiny House With a Dog Named Murphy

This tiny house was designed by its owners, a couple with a dog named Murphy. With its beautiful blue siding and roomy interior, it looks to be comfy and un-crowded even with a canine companion. The hardwood floors are easy to clean, and the large L-shaped couch offers plenty of room for the couple and their pet to relax.

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6. An Austin, TX Tiny House for a Couple With Two Dogs

Mint Tiny Homes in Vancouver built this tiny house for a couple in Austin, TX with a pair of adorable pets. Even though the house measures only 276 square feet, it has more than enough room for all four of its occupants. Just look how happy these two dogs look on that comfortable couch!

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7. This Tiny House Was Built With Dogs in Mind

MitchCraft Tiny Homes of Colorado built this 24’ tiny house for a client named Dennis, who requested specific features for his dogs. These include a doggy door built into the front door and beautiful hardwood floors which are easy to clean.

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8. The Blueridge

This tiny house was constructed by Timbercraft Tiny Homes in Guntersville, Alabama. Its striking blue interior houses a matching blue interior, complete with features such as a built-in kennel space under the kitchen counter for the family’s dog.

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9. Tiny House With Built-In Dog Condo

Lola is a lucky dog that lives with owners Zack and Annie in a tiny house which was converted from a 2001 Thomas HDX school bus. The couple handled the majority of the work on the home personally so that they could customize it with all the features they wanted. Among them is a dog condo built right into a standing desk.

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10. This Tiny House Literally Features an Entire Bedroom for a Dog

Proving that a tiny house really can have a “place for everything” (and everyone), this tiny house measuring only 210 square feet includes a dog bedroom! Okay, so the little nook which serves as the dog bedroom isn’t only a dog bedroom—it is also a closet and office. But when the couple doesn’t need to work there, it becomes the dog’s own exclusive space. It also is right above the couple’s bed, which rolls into the wall below it during the day and out at night. That way everyone is sleeping cozy and close together!

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11. Dog-Friendly Tiny House Featured on HGTV

This pet-friendly tiny house was built by Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses, and was featured on HGTV in 2014. While the house was noteworthy for its use of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) in its construction, it also included some dog-friendly features such as a pet door built into the front door.

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12. Tiny House for a Family of Three Plus Three Cats and Three Dogs

You wouldn’t think that three people, three dogs and three cats could live comfortably in 480 ft.², but this tiny house built by Triple B Construction of Castalian Springs, Tennessee proved that it can be done. As the house includes many artistic design elements and some surprising features such as a clawfoot bathtub, is well worth visiting the post to check out the full selection of photos.

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13. A Traveling Tiny House with Two Dogs

Michelle and Blake wanted a tiny house where they could travel regularly and live with their two dogs in comfort. So, they commissioned Tiny House Nation to build them a custom house which would include plenty of room for them and for the two furry members of their household.

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14. Full-Time Living for a Couple and Their Dog

This tiny house belongs to Alek Lisefski of the “The Tiny Project.” The photos in the post show off the house after years of habitation rather than staged for portfolio shots by the builder. You can see that with just 240 ft.², the couple was able to find room to live comfortably with their dog. The dog bed is situated next to the couch, and to ensure that no space goes to waste, the wall above it includes hooks for jackets.

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15. Eclectic Tiny House With Outdoor Features for Dogs

Here is a tiny house that you probably have seen before, as photos of its colorful front steps have gone viral. The house was commissioned by Aaron and Meredith of Austin, Texas, and was designed with the help of Kim Lewis. What you may not know is that the couple has to rescue dogs, and the outer bench features built-in sleeping spaces for each of them. This clever design saves space and add functionality to the outdoor living area.

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16. Dogs Love Living in This Converted Blue Bird Bus Home

Sometimes, it is the simplest features which can make a tiny house appealing for pets. As a reminder of this fact, consider this tiny house which was converted from a Blue Bird bus. One look at how happy that dog is enjoying the sunlight through the window is enough to convince me that almost any tiny house can be perfect for pets. Animals love fresh air and sunlight, and tiny houses contain plenty of each!

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17. Tiny Loft Cabin With a Shaded Porch

One of my favorite tiny houses is this 10’ x 16’ loft cabin in Topsham, VT. The house’s two canine occupant look right at home under the shade of that large, wraparound porch. That looks like the perfect spot for dogs and their human companions to relax, especially surrounded as they are hereby 2 acres of stunning rural land.

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Cat-Friendly Tiny Houses

Now that we have had a chance to check out a number of dog-friendly tiny houses, let’s take a look at tiny homes that are perfect for felines.

18. Riverbend Cottage Tiny House Featuring a Literal Catwalk

The Riverbend Cottage is a creation by Incredible Tiny Homes, and currently has two cats living in it. Along with the large windows which let in lots of natural light and fresh air, one extra-appealing feature is the high catwalk, which, as you can see, is living up fully to its name and potential in this tiny house.

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19. The Lucky Penny Trailer

This fairytale caravan tiny house belongs to Lina Menard of Portland Oregon, along with her feline companion. The house is cozy and imaginative, and is part of a dedicated tiny house community. As the house has a very unique look and feel, you will definitely want to check out the full selection of photos.

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20. Tiny House With a Smart Built-In Space for a Litter Box

As mentioned previously, one challenge of living in a tiny house with cats is trying to figure out where to put the litter box. That was something that owner Michelle Jonice had in mind from the off when designing her custom tiny house. As you can see, there is a space right underneath the steps specifically for the litter box.

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21. Another Tiny House With a Litter Box Space Under the Steps

It turns out that building a space for a litter box underneath the steps it is something that other tiny house designers have thought of as well.

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22. The Dandelion Tiny House

This tiny house includes not one, but two, amazing features for pets. First of all, there is a dedicated pet loft which is spacious and beautifully decorated. Secondly, there is a catwalk that runs the length of the tiny home, connecting to the loft and featuring a stunning natural wood railing.

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23. The Blue Mountains Luxury Tiny Home: The Ultimate Tiny House for Kitties

Perhaps the most impressive tiny house I have seen to date when it comes to accommodating cats is this modern tiny house by Tailored Tiny Co. If it looks familiar to you, that is probably because it has been making rounds lately through a lot of viral sharing. There are a few cat-friendly features worth checking out. To start with, there is a narrow catwalk connecting the two lofts. It looks like both humans and cats can make good use of this feature.

A convenient kitty door makes it easy for feline occupants of this tiny house to move in and out. But where the door leads to will surprise you. The cat door leads out into a sheltered, safe tunnel. But it gets even better. The tunnel connects the tiny house directly to a large, covered outdoor play area for cats. This is an amazing feature for cats that love to be outside and owners who want to make sure that they stay completely safe while they are enjoying the fresh air.

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24. This Tiny House Houses Two People, Two Cats, and Four Chickens

Here is a tiny house which has room for two humans and their six animal companions, two of which are cats. I don’t know whether the cats are allowed to go outside or not, but it looks like there are all sorts of exciting surfaces to climb around on both in and out of the house.

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25. The Judy Blue Eyes

This eye-catching tiny house was built by SimBLISSity to the specifications of a “delightful, colorful, young woman on her way to California to become a film maker” who wanted a home to “warm her soul and future.”

The exciting feature for cats is the custom-designed “cat bridge.” This catwalk spans the distance between the two lofts, offering cats a place to run around or relax while also adding an artistic touch to the interior. I feel this home is a particularly striking example of a completely personalized tiny house, so I recommend checking out the post for full details.

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26. The Spirit Tiny House

This 238-square-foot tiny house by Tiny Green Cabins offers an additional 138 square feet of upstairs space in the two lofts. Among its unique features is the set of cabinets above the couch, which doubles as a walkway for cats, complete with a series of cat beds.

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A Tiny House Can Be a Wonderful Home to Share With Your Furry Loved Ones

If you have been holding off on making the leap to tiny living because you were worried about whether it would be the right move for your cats or dogs, you now know just how pet-friendly tiny houses can be. Be sure to also check out 9 Borderline Genius Tips For Living In A Tiny House With A Pet, where you’ll find even more great pictures of pet solutions in tiny homes!