Cat Views

“Never try to teach a pig to sing; it frustrates you and annoys the pig. Translate this bit of wisdom to your dealings with cats and you’ll avoid a good deal of futility and frustration.” – Mark Twain

How To Keep Your Cat Happy and
Still Maintain Your Furniture & Sanity Intact

by Dr. Christianne Schelling

Dr. Schelling’s article thought the long title may be perhaps a little too long, authors an absolutely terrific article, extremely well written, funny and informative. A “don’t miss” for cat owners everywhere!

“…scratching is Kittie’s way of adding her own personal touch to home …. her version of interior decorating!”

Dr. Schelling’s theme; Knowledge is Power covered by 7 clearly-explained lessons:

1. Scratching is a natural behavior for cats
2. You can’t keep your cat from scratching
3. Why do cats scratch? Marking, stretching & pleasure.
4. Provide your cat with an appropriate scratching post.
5. Remember, we said appropriate
6. How to get Kitty to prefer the post
7. Start them young.

Plus… some alternate solutions are also offered. Please take just a moment to learn more about how to handle your cat’s scratching behavior before you consider declawing.

Sly’s modern cat condo arrived this weekend. First, let me extol the excellent packing, delivered in perfect condition even though it traveled all the way from Germany! I am a bit like Rachel Maddow is about infrastructure when it comes to realistic packing. The very second I got it out of the box, Sly was in it! He adores it so much we haven’t had a chance to mount it on the wall. Every time there’s a lull in the chore list I think, now I’ll get the Rondo installed, he’s asleep in it! It is extremely-well made and so beautiful that even if he hadn’t become so attached to it right “out of the box” I would have been happy enough with it to find other uses for it [a multi-purpose cat condo!!] But he does love it so it’s a huge success all round. Thanks! – Diane

Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose. — Garrison Keillor

No… I don’t think so! Or if there is one more, we’ll have to ask the guys already in their preferred spots, which one is going give up their new favorite cat perch! Meet sweet Miss Melody (top), Max; middle perch who looks like he was built right onto it (!) & Nile; the cool-looking guy on the bottom shelf ready to fight-off any unwelcomed interloper! Most definitely, they’re all enjoying their new 47” custom Kitty Hotel with Perch Top. Here’s what their humans had to say:

“I’m sending as an attachment a picture of our kitties enjoying their new kitty condo. As you can see, they have really taken to it!!! Melody, the smallest of the trio, loves sitting on the perch, while Max and Niles play tag on the lower levels. We had originally planned on putting the condo in the office, next to the window.  However, we decided to leave it in the living room for our enjoyment, too! You’ve made a product that is attractive enough to have in the living room and sturdy enough to hold up to the Melody, Max & Nile’s Test! Thanks again!”

Sincerely,
Ron & Marsha :: Orange County CA

Like the rest of the world, I decided Doofie needed to have a Lotus cat tree. Honestly, it wasn’t like she really needed it, but oh well such is the extravagance of love. I got it last week, assembled it and put it out onto our back patio replacing the old tired carpet & sisal tree she’s had since she was young. The old tree was very large, heavy, quite ugly and tattered which is why I hid it outside! I dragged the old nearby out of the way, laying it on its side which was probably my first mistake. Lying down near it, she lamented its new posture while the Lotus cat tree stood proudly in its place ready for use. I got a dolly assist to dismantle the old one and she found me working on it in the garage! Oh dread, caught! She laid-down on the parts like wishing it to stay! We’re now into a week with the new Lotus. I put a cookie treat on the first level, then the next, then the next, and finally on top. Altogether, she gets about 6 cookies out of it! I decided today, she’s figured out if she hold outs, she can finagle the whole package of cookies! She probably will… she’s so smart!

I was contacted last summer by Bill. He was selling a web marketing service. I was warned by my web-gurus to avoid all those fast-talking SEO salesmen. And true, I went through a period when my phone rang non-stop with SEO salesmen promising instant results. Bill’s call was sandwiched right in the middle of them selling a blog service, so I had my doubts. How much for a blog?? Wow! As usual, I decided to “try it on my own.” Six months later, I resigned myself to the idea of investing in a blog. So the other day, Bill mentioned he needed to buy some new cat furniture. Seems his cat, Posie was pestering him while working at his home office. “She’s driving me nuts!” And no, he hasn’t bought a cat bed yet, but he will! Fairs, fair. I haven’t told Bill I bribbed Posie to demand new cat diggs but from the looks of the photo, she’s getting her message across! So why is it, cats think every piece of furniture in the house is theirs?

Several weeks ago, a customer emailed indicating she measured incorrectly after receiving her new custom cat perch. I emailed a couple of ideas to try to solve her problem, but eventually she decided to start over with the order. I agreed to have the perch returned since my custom shop’s policy states “complete satisfaction.” Well, I learned … not exactly! Nonetheless, MyCatsHeaven is committed to our Customer Satisfaction Guarantee so we honored our policy.

Within hours of arranging return shipping with FedEx, I received a very special email from a couple of Girl Scouts requesting a donation. Amy & Catlin indicated they are trying to earn a Girl Scout Bronze Award, the highest honor in Junior Girl Scouts. To earn this prestigious award, they are providing foster-care for a mother cat & her family of 5 kittens, caring for them until they are adopted. They’re working with the Foothills Animal Rescue in Arizona. Once their 4-footed guests are adopted, they plan to donate the perch to the animal clinic to be used by other cats also awaiting adoption.

I received a delightful“thank you”email from the girls with a photo of mother cat, Chelsey & her young family named: Mille, Gracie, Gizmo, Splash & Misty. The perch arrived last week with this email update:

Hi Nancy!

The perch arrived while we were at Girl Scouts! Wow … is it ever neat! Chelsey went straight to it and claimed the top area and started grooming herself. It took literally seconds for her to be on it! We will put it where the babies can get to it later – as they are only 3 weeks old tomorrow. Again thank you so much for your generosity!

Our pleasure, ladies! Besides, Chesley deserves more than a cardbroad box to raise her young family! Good luck in earning your Girl Scout Bronze Award!

Because We Care
Please spay & neuter your cats
Visit our website to watch this 
great video (at bottom page)
produced by Alliance For Human Action

Today, I decided to rearrange my office furniture. Even though I’m in Arizona, we still have “winter” weather – brisk. Because of it, my cat Doofie has been an unbelievable pest! First she wants out, so I make a special trip to the door as she trots in front of me, leading me the way like I didn’t know! She’s a very smart cat – has me very well trained! Then she wants back in; too cold outside! All day long, this has been happening since the beginning of the year. So this morning, I decided I needed to move my laptop desk out from underneath the window to accommodate her cat tree. Immediately, she figured out the whole arrangement. Up the tree to sit on the top perch, back down to sit on the sill, off to the floor to use her scratch post! Just as things should be; spoiled, spoiled … down right spoiled!

I have been contacted by a women who is about to adopt 2 soon-to-be very spoiled cats. She’s going “all out” to acquire a wonderful custom cat tree for them to enjoy. Only, she’s insistent on declawing them. I suggested that was not a good idea, but I fairly sure I’ve lost that argument. It’s such a shame that humans think it is humane to declaw a cat when we have such a terrific assortment of cat cat scratching posts available.

We received a great email today from one of our customers who just got their new Couchette by Kittypod. “Do you have any advice on how to clean it when the kitty barfs up a hairball on it?” It makes me laugh every time I read it, but Shannon’s question is a good one since she has a significant investment in “cardboard” cat furniture. We emailed the designer, Elizabeth Page Smith to ask her advice, suggesting perhaps vegetable oil could be used as a natural coating. Elizabeth promptly provided a very complete explanation which included wonderful insights about her design.

“Hi Nancy, Ha ha…yes, an issue I have personally addressed.  The best thing to do is to with a paper towel pick up the larger mess if there is any, in case of food regurgitation, and then allow it to dry. Once the spot is dry take a broom or brush and sweep the remainder of the mess away.  If there are still particles just use a vacuum cleaner with brush attachment.  This will clean the cardboard well.  No need to worry about sealing, the cardboard is sturdy and when dry will dry similar color to its original state.  This is all part of the use. Definitely no vegetable oil to be put on the material that will soggy the paper and give a really horrible smell.  It is best in natural state.  I say this also because the cats tend to also want to bite/chew on the cardboard so we don’t want to flavor the paper with something yuck.

In general, the couchette will receive ‘personalization’ by her cat.  This is the purpose of the couchette and is to be expected that there will be some wear and tear.  Every cat has their own way of interacting, some more aggressive than others, so the wear and tear will vary from cat to cat.

If you have something more to ask please do.

Best of luck and glad Shannon’s cat is finding pleasure and use of the couchette. +eps”

Inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Architectura is a pet house designed for cats – the ultimate cat condo designed by Pre-Fab Pets! Slatted walls on two sides provide excellent ventilation and a fun place for pets to hide but still see what’s going on around them. Or, perch top for premium high-rise snoozing!