Pet accessories can help dogs and cats feel right at home

Getting your paws on sleek puppy beds, cool bird cages and haute cat collars has become easier than teaching a dog tricks, thanks to a new generation of chic pet companies. What began with a few high-end designers offering modern, handmade wares has evolved into a growing part of the pet-product industry, which the American Pet Products Association puts at $45 billion.

But you don't want your home to be overrun with pet gear, no matter how posh. Here are some tips for stylishly organizing your pet's life -- and yours.

Strategize furniture. When your Great Dane's paw print alone takes up a sizable chunk of your 600-square-foot condo, organizing pet gear is essential. "It's important your furniture multi-task," says Julia Szabo, a pet columnist for the New York Post and author of "Pretty Pet-Friendly: Easy Ways to Keep Spot's Digs Stylish & Spotless" (Howell Book House, 2009). That could mean an end table that doubles as an animal house or a pretty hook where you can hang jackets and leashes.

Go modern. For years, the only accessory options for cats were covered in carpet. Those "monstrosities were not cutting it," says Kate Benjamin of Phoenix, who owns six cats and writes the Moderncat blog (http://www.moderncat.net). Benjamin has featured such design-forward products as sleek cat perches and a "Jetsons"-esque cat pod by Hepper ($155 at http://www.hepperhome.com), whose raised platform provides animals a view.

Play defense. To peacefully coexist in even a small animal kingdom, you want to keep pets in mind when furnishing your pad. You can protect upholstery from fur and muddy paws with slipcovers such as those by Sure Fit (http://www.surefit.net) and use heavy-duty blankets such as Crypton's Throver ($100-$149 at http://www.amazon.com). Szabo suggests discouraging Mr. Whiskers from clawing your new sofa by wrapping heating pipes with untreated sisal twine for a makeshift scratcher that won't take up space.

If you must sheath your floor, forget cushy rugs (so tempting to pee on!) and go for mix-and-match modular carpet tiles by Flor (http://www.flor.com). "It's like a Post-it note for your floor," Szabo says. "If a pet upchucks on it, you lift up that tile and clean it."