I have cats and Matt adopted two in the first few months of us starting to date. Matt's Boxer, Miles, however is NOT a cat fan ... or, perhaps, it's better said that Miles is
way too much of a cat fan - he freaks out. So we've chosen to keep the cats separated because poor Kreacher (our slightly neurological, 4 earred kitty) is just a bit too slow to be able to get away from Miles.
For so long I've wanted to do this post and I just kept putting it off. This isn't even the first time I've taken photos for it, but finally I've put together a tour of the "cat room" at Matt's.
{please forgive Big Dani's "basement cat" eyes here - whoa flash reaction!}
The cats have their own "suite" at Matt's. When you first walk in, this is what you see - the big comfy chair, some cat trees/towers, toys and the double-decker cage.
I just cleaned the room in this photo. About an hour before this, there were the shiny blue strips that were once several crinkly toys and carpet pieces pulled out from the cat towers.
The cat tower with all the tubes seems to be the favorite. Oscar likes to hang out in the bottom tube a lot, Norm can usually be found in one of them and Kreacher likes lounging on the very top, though he jumps right off as soon as you open the door. They all seem to scratch that one up the most too. Big Dani prefers that spot he's in and Oscar, well, she's usually in the hide out...
We have the chair in the corner pulled away from the walls a bit and there are two covered cat beds/huts on each side of it with a blanket (and a pillow) in between the two huts behind the chair. This is the "hide out" and where Oscar likes to spend a lot of her time, usually in one of the huts. Kreacher and LJ also like to hang out in the circle area that the chair's base creates too - watching while still being "hidden".
Behind the cat trees is the double decker - there are no words for how much I love this cage, so let me just say I
love it!! This double decker has socialized feral kitties, "re-socialized" Roo several times when she developed behavioral problems, confined sick kitties who needed to be fed separately or needed medication and is the "adjustment" cage for new cats. As Big Dani is displaying, it's an excellent perch also. We make sure it's always covered on top and it's had a bed up there since we realized there was always someone going up there. When Big Dani isn't up there, Kreacher is. He really likes snuggling up in that bed.
I completely forgot to get a photo of the "feeding station" where Oscar and Kreacher had their bowels. Since then, LJ's has been added and there's a big water dispenser too. Big Dani's food is over by the old closet and Norman still eats in the double-decker.
Against the back wall are the litterboxes - we have three big boxes and there's another in the double decker. We've got a big one, a corner one and a covered one. There's a little bit of everything because Kreacher is strange with his litterbox habits. Also, I'm not sure what everyone else uses, but Matt and I love Arm & Hammer's Essential Natural litter. It's expensive, but it smells so good and does a good job destroying other odors.
An old closet was converted for the cats. Matt built the shelf you can see in this picture and the really neat ramp which the cats like to leap off of - for a vision impaired cat, Kreacher really likes leaping. They also like hiding back there when I bring in the loud, scar vacuum - that's LJ, Norman (who is smooshed back in the corner) and Kreach.
On the other side of the closet is a cabinet we keep food and supplements in. There are shelves too that we keep clean blankets and sheets on for when we clean out the room and need to put new bedding down.
That's about it for "the tour"... Someday we'll have a fun house with a big yard to burn Miles's energy in and fun cubbies for the cats to get away from him when he's inside with them. For now, the boys (and Oscar) are being spoiled in their own room.
