One Cat, Two Cats

I've written before about building the cats a bunch of climbing areas within the catproof fence .   It helps to satisfy the cats need to explore to add new bits and pieces all the time.  I've seen a number of really beautiful cat runs, tunnels and 'catios', but I personally love the ability to change, add or remove features, or even whole sections of playground for the cats by using free materials.  Using reclaimed materials also means you're never quite sure what you'll get, so structures grow somewhat organically.   I watch the cats and see what they like, and what they rarely use.   If they don't use something, I pull it apart and remake it, or add something to make it more appealing.  Sometimes it is width that's the problem, the inability to turn around on a structure that doesnt join somewhere else.   This can be fixed by building a new connector, or by replacing the skinny section. Today, I picked up a nice haul of free timber from a loca

I love buying new toys for the cats, some are a hit and become lifelong favourites, some are treated as if I brought dog poo into the house. Price is often inversely related to the popularity of the new toy. One of my cats, Noomi,  likes catnip but a toy stuffed with dry catnip is no guarantee of success either. So when all is said and done, my opinions on a toy are irrelevant.  Despite a box full of purchased cat toys, Noomi loves a piece of old washing line, and Lily is currently obsessed with a piece of soft rope.  Noomi does like a few toys that have been purchased;  an old knitted mouse that has been repaired many times, and some cheap mice made out of a stretchy string over a plastic body.  These seem to be preferred because of their mouth feel.  Noomi will demolish the plastic bodies, like a pitbull with a chew toy until I have to take away the tattered remains and put down a new one. Lily is endlessly thrilled by a soft piece of rope I could almost rewrite this post a

Cats live in 3 dimensional spaces. When your 2 dimensional space (we humans tend to live in length and width, rather than climbing heights too) is limited, you can still create great spaces for your cats by using height.  Walls, fences, trees - anything can give you additional places for cats to play and sleep.  Don't be worried  about materials either.  Whether you are on a tight budget, feel deeply about resources (reduce, reuse, recycle), or are building as you go, using lots of different materials will make your cat's life more exciting.  I use found materials, natural materials (tree trimmings), and recycled stuff from the garden as it develops. About the only new materials I used was the mesh used for the catproof fencing. In one corner of the garden I created a hammock/climbing step out of an old baluster thrown out by someone down the road renovating their verandah, and some weedmat initially used to clear a new section of garden (I don't use sprays to kill