Cat Views

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!

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for humans! No, in fact I bet a lot of us live with cats who are a more affectionate than some people we know! In an article featured on our site at The Daily Cat discusses some interesting “I Love You” cat behaviors. Cat behaviorist expert Jackson Galaxy, (wow, what a name!) says, “Absolutely! …. cats are the masters of detached love.” I wonder, does that mean those of us so crazy about cats prefer “detached” love. Hum, that’s something to ponder. “They express love in ways that baffle us”. Here’s just a few “you’re my human” antics:

1. Grooming: Your cat licking you mimics their mother’s love
2. Purring (my favorite!): Associated with “kitty”hood milk-time feeding experience.
3. Rubbing, Kneading, Mock Spraying & Gumming: Scenting you to claim you as there own
4. Blinking: A stare (we all know that one!), followed by a blink, then open eye with second soft blink signifying trust.
5. Gifting Dead Critters (I get LOTS of gifts!!): Rather than a “gift” its bringing home to a safe place.

How do we tell them, “I Love You”? Offer them supreme bliss with a new cuddly cat condo! This is a wonderful article, filled with an insightful perspective on cat behavior. Be sure to take just a minute to learn more about “let me count the ways!”

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.

A few years back, I took Doofie to the vet for her annual check-up. Odd, now that I think about it, I don’t have an annual physical, but my cat does! Anyway, the vet said she needed to have her teeth cleaned. I must have laughed because the vet made a point of insisting it was necessary. We returned a couple of weeks later for her dental appointment. The vet-tech indicated that Doofie was going to be “put under” for the procedure. Yikes! Of course that makes sense as I can barely keep her quiet enough to brush her coat. I was asked if wanted to be present during the surgery – absolutely! They warned me about putting her under. Admittedly it was just awful, but I was confident that they knew what they were doing. Sure enough, she had several teeth removed. $150 or so later and a little unsteady, we both survived her ordeal. No high-rise cat perch sitting for Doofie for at least a couple of hours. Here’s a terrific article on the importance of your maintaining your cat’s health through proper feline dental care.

Up to this point, we’ve taken the position to boycott Made In China cat furniture. Not that I’m a particularly political person, but it seems every time I go to the store I’m barraged with “made in China” products. Is it unpatriotic to sell products made outside of the U.S.? We’re have a wonderful line made in Germany by Cat Interiors; a uniquely modern-style design which so far, we haven’t found any company in the U.S. that even compares. As such, I don’t think we’re jeopardizing a U.S. niche by offering products made out-of-country. Even so, Made in China has created a dilemma. About 3 months ago, I found a new design of cat furniture made of chrome and padded surfaces – a nice design. In talking with them, I’m convinced that quality has been maintained which is important to us. Now, too we found a very unique simple cat tree, again Made in China. It seems we’re destined to go with it. Is that a problem for our consumer? 

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!

We’ve been adding new cat furniture to our site like crazy lately, and still a stack of products to come! This week we uploaded products from Mr. Herzher’s pet furnishings. I managed to published onto a general product-line page but without the linking to the actual products because I was waiting on some detail information from the supplier. While on the phone with the supplier yesterday, I received and email inquiry about their designer cat tree. I replied, indicating it was brand new “in process” sending her a link to the actual product page. Before I finished with the supplier, here came an order! Unbelievable! I wish every order was that fluid!