We Like! Catswall Design

March 13, 2012June 5, 2013

We Like! Catswall Design

Though their products are still only available in Taiwan, I am seriously lemming for almost everything from Catswall Design. Hurry up and come to more markets!! The people behind Catswall started the company after they adopted their first stray cat and then 12 more. (via Margaret & Modern Cat) Be sure to check out the post on how to make your own DIY version!

I LOVE the idea of the Modular Cat Climbing Wall where you can rearrange things and add or subtract elements. I mentioned in the podcast on environment enrichment for cats how kitties seem fascinated when something familiar gets moved or rearranged. Being able to change up this cat wall would keep it forever interesting. Awesome!

The Cat Scratching Board is brilliant! Cats can prefer different surfaces for scratching—fabric, cardboard, sisal, carpet, and wood. The can also prefer different orientations—angled, upright, or horizontal. The best way to keep them from scratching inappropriate things is to provide options they like. Wood cat scratchers are much harder to find, so this is great. It also looks wide & long enough to really make a cat happy and you can have it at an angle, flat, or upright.

The Catwheel looks like so much fun for the right cat. You may have seen the video of the cat wheel someone made for their bengal kitties? This one from Catswall is pretty nice looking! I know a certain rotund cat of ours who could definitely benefit from a catwheel, if we could keep him from just lying down on it.

March 12, 2012

Woman Hiker & Cat Found

Margaret Page and her cat Maya were found alive in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. They’d been missing for 3 1/2 weeks. Page (who has a history of mental illness) and her cat sheltered together in her sleeping bag in below freezing temperatures. Maya the cat stayed with Page the whole time and was in better shape than the woman when found. Page had run out of food, but the cat apparently hunted for herself.

February 27, 2012

People Buried In Pet Cemeteries?

Monument in the Cimetière des Chiens (Dog Cemetery) in Paris. Photo via Owen Phillips. Check out more of his striking images at The Magic Lantern Show.

Before our 2 cats died years ago, I would have thought we’d just bury them in our back yard when the time came. But, when they did die, I couldn’t stand the thought of putting them in the cold, wet ground of the Pacific NW—especially at a house I knew we’d be moving from at some point. So we had them cremated and now have their ashes in little urns. The urns aren’t placed anywhere special, but I feel better knowing they’re inside our house. Kind of weird and not really logical.

Further along this continuum of attachment to our pets after death, is the growing number of people who want to be buried beside or with their pets. It’s possible in some areas to do just that. Recently, New York State reversed a decision and now allows people to be buried with their pets in pet cemeteries. Other states also allow it and one way to find out if your state does is to contact local pet cemeteries. As of 1995, people in Britain are also able to be buried with their pets.

Humans have buried themselves with their pets for thousands of years all over the world. In Peru, Tunisia and Egypt, archaeologists have found humans buried with dogs in graves thousands of years old. It’s well known the Egyptians buried cats with humans, but archaeologists in Cyprus have found a grave with a cat and a human that predates Egyptian finds by 6,000 years. Those are some pretty old traditions!

February 24, 2012