I’ve been telling a lot of people about this blog lately, and explaining the two main threads – green development and cat-friendly design. The concept of an ecohouse is very well understood, but I’ve been seeing a lot of blank faces when I talk about designing for cats.
We don’t generally think about the environment that we provide to our cats – we just assume that they’ll be happy in our houses as they are. Cats are pretty flexible creatures and they’ll make the best of where they find themselves, but in the UK we generally let our cats outside, where they get the majority of their exercise and stimulation.
But what if you couldn’t let your cat out? What if there were some serious threats to her safety that made it unwise to let her wander? Kevin’s brother lives near Dallas, TX, and has lost a number of cats that he suspects have been taken by coyotes. Even in the UK, there can be danger. When I was a kid living in Dorset, we lost cats to speeding drivers hurtling down a nearby road. Maybe, sometimes, it’s best to keep kitty in?
If that’s the case, if your cat isn’t allowed out, how do you ensure that she gets enough exercise? Enough stimulation? It’s good, of course, to have more than one cat so that they can socialise and play with each other. My cat, Fflwff, who lives permanently with my parents now, has benefited immensely from having two kittens to chase her round and steal her food: she was getting overweight and doing very little except sleeping, but now she’s regained a spring in her step and has lost several pounds.
But having multiple cats isn’t the whole answer. They also need a stimulating environment that caters to their needs. There’s inspiration out there already, and I’ll be looking at all the cat design I can find, but I’ll also be trying to understand what makes cats tick, and how I can best provide for their natural behaviours.
Nekobukuro, the Tokyo Cat House, by _Dorothy_
We don’t own a cat right now, because our flat is too small, but when we build our own house, it will be with cats in mind.
