Cat Views

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?

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”

So lately I’ve been working a ton of hours, getting up really early and working. To maintain steam, I started taking what a good friend of mine calls, “micro-snoozes” in the afternoon. Doofie, my cat loves my new habit! It doesn’t work to close the bedroom door because she howls sitting on the other side of the door. Once in, she promptly takes position lying on my chest becoming a cat pillow with our noses about 2” apart, of course getting the royal purr treatment. As much as I love her company, this arrangement is not necessarily conducive for quality naps. After the allotted pet n’ purr time, I nudge her off by shifting to my side. Undaunted, she repositions herself on top of my side, again in purr-mode. Just thinking about it makes me smile and even though I might not get optimum rest, I kinda like being her designated cat bed.

With over 63% U.S. households having pets, it’s not surprising that a new trend has recently emerged, pet sitting. I don’t know about you, but I’ve started traveling less since I was adopted by my cat, Doofie. At first, it wasn’t too much trouble because my neighbor and I were “co-owners.” So when she left, I took over and vise-a-versa; a nice arrangement. But she moved away, and as #1 human in Doofie’s life, I took over sole responsibility. Then, I tried paying an acquaintance – a complete disaster! I learned when I got home from a 10-day trip he never came over. My cat broke out of our house in desperation for food and water. Thankfully, she survived albeit a with some weight loss over stress and worry. She’s a good hunter and very adaptable, but it took her three days to stop sleeping with a paw on my shoulder to assure I was handy. Then, I got her a nanny….yes, my cat had a nanny! Her nanny was an elderly friend, much more reliable than the first choice. But that too, had its pitfalls. So today, I just came across a website dedicated to home pet care, certification and all! They refer to their trade as animal guardians – I like that! I live a relatively small town, and was pleasantly surprised to see a company registered with their site. They have handy suggestions for pet owners to locate an ideal sitter. Now, Doofie can stay camped out in her own home, snuggled in her favorite cat bed.

We have a wonderful product line on our site from Germany by cat.interiors.de. Currently, we’re the U.S. exclusive retailer of these beautiful modern cat furniture pieces. However, we’ve been working since the beginning of the year to expand as their U.S. wholesale distributor. As part of this expansion, cat.interiors.de has also begun designing dog beds at their new, pet.interiors.de. The challenge was this; they offer such an array of color and finish choices, that we didn’t even realize the depth of the line! So to better illustrate, I’ve been working on a flash image gallery. This has turned out to be quite a challenge, but finally the solution came this week with a particularly successful display. Our new products include the Camilla pet bed & the Cube dog bed, each made of either leather or imitation leather. So, visit our new product pages & enjoy … but hold onto your wallet as this is definitely the Mercedes collection in designer pet furniture.

We need some advice for Little Divot. Divot, a minature yorkie just received a new set of custom pet steps. Unfortunately, since being viciously attacked by a raccoon, the little guy is just too tattered to use the steps. Owner, Linda was hopeful when she ordered them but apparently he’s unwilling to try them out. “The attack broke both his back legs, all the bones in his paws and took a chunk out of his side. It is a wonder he lived.” We’re hoping someone may have a suggestion to help this little guy. Cat lovers helping dogs!

I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I figured it was “just whatever.” This morning my husband made a comment that might just explain my new dilemma. He said that about 3am in the morning he noticed a lump lying on top of me! Now, I thought Doofie spent most of her night sleeping in her cat bed, but this new information reinforces that sure enough, I’m a human cat pillow! I love her and I love that fact that she wants to be close, but perhaps I need to find a solution. As you know, we sell premium cat furniture but now I find myself in a needy spot. Anyone out there have a solution? And please… don’t say, “get rid of your cat!” That’s never going to happen!

I’m constantly prowling the Internet for new, innovative cat furniture items to add to our site. A couple of weeks ago, I found a great looking pet bed. Their site is more focused on dogs, adding a few cat photos just to make it “unipet.” But after reading some of their testimonials, it’s apparent they’ve missed one of the most appreciative animal species, cats! Besides, cats are all about sleeping, right? Here’s a great example, “I bought my dog Charlie a beautiful Bella Pet Bed. Charlie snuggled right into his new bed without having to coax him with treats. He immediately knew this was HIS bed. Charlie woke up to play and while he was away, Rummy one of my cats began sniffing around the new “pet” furniture. Within seconds, he was burrowed into Charlie’s bed and fast asleep! Later that day, I took Charlie for a walk and when we came back, TWO cats were asleep in his bed! So I guess it’s really a communal unipet bed, now!“ It just goes to show you, humans think we have everything all figured out but most of the time we make it too complicated! Bella’s motto is, “Perfectly Simple. Simply Perfect.” Perfect!

What do taxes & cat furniture have in common? Oh, I really, really wish nothing! Last summer, I attended a “How to file your state sales tax” seminar. I recall telling the guy signing me up for it, “I really don’t want to know, everything you wanted to know about taxes!” He said since I was in business, I’d probably should consider learning as much as I could handle! It was good advice, but nonetheless – well, can’t I complain just a little? So I figured today was my day to tackle 2007. It wasn’t as bad as I may be making it out to be. In fact, by the end of the day all the records were neatly cataloged and filed away. We had managed to document pretty well through the year. Though we experienced a few really odd transactions which made reconciliation a bit of a challenge it wasn’t as bad as I’m making out. Yea… it‘s done!  So, not too much to comment on cat beds today, just about the business of owning a cat furniture website!

Spring has finally here in Arizona! Better late than never! Yep, the little goldenrod desert flowers are in bloom, birds have migrated back from their winter retreat and the grass is starting turn green again. I turned on my fountain this morning – a real joy as it’s right outside my kitchen window. But those events aren’t why I’m saying its spring. Instead, it’s because Doofie brought home her first baby bunny; a Cottontail proabably about 2 weeks old. It was very cute, but young to release. So, I dragged out my “critter rescue box” along with the heating pad for overnight stays. My critter box is nothing fancy, not like our snazzy modern cat beds, but well suited for its task. This morning, I dropped off Hoppy at Mrs. Beebe’s house filled with critter stuff other than cat furniture. She’s our local wildlife rehabilitator. I’m one of her best customers. Mrs. Beebe is known statewide for her dedication and expertise in rescuing all kinds of critters. So yes, Spring has sprung!