Climbing and A Cat CONDO

Speaking of ‘could have reached them’ – apartments lack trees.  Climbing opportunities (apart from the back of the sofa) are non-existent.  I have been threatened with being made into a Davy Crockett hat if I ‘climb’ any of the furniture.

Fortunately F was bored enough after we moved to read a book (gifted to her) about cats; a scientific sort of book which she declared to be ‘dry fodder’ but from which some gems could eventually be extracted.  One of those gems, for which I shall be forever grateful, is that indoor cats need (at least) 2 beds: one as close to the ceiling as possible.  There followed a period during which all manner of bits of wood, scavenged off the street, were added to a growing pile on our balcony.  I could examine them closely for smells that painted pictures of the world below my balcony.

During one of the weeks that Mr B was at home the pair of them cobbled together what F eventually dubbed ‘the cat condo’. 

I wasn’t going to love it straight away.  I refused to even like it, but I couldn’t hold out forever.  It has got a bed close to the ceiling that is made of a discarded satellite TV dish upholstered with a luxury bath mat and a big cotton drill pillowcase. 

Prototype upholstery

It also has a hammock, ramps, plenty of scratching, a drawer out of a small cabinet, and a platform for my dining convenience.  

Not sure why my indoor 'igloo' is on the hammock in this pic

In summer it occupies a corner of the sunny balcony and I alternate between the top deck and being sprawled on the slightly cooler tiles underneath.  In winter it gets dragged into the lounge where I prefer the top deck with a view out the window on one side, a good view of the door on the other and an angle on a mirror in which I can keep an eye on F & G in their armchairs when they are watching TV.

Recently there have been some women’s meetings in our lounge. After spotting me observing from my satellite dish one of the guests referred to me in my elevated position as ‘Your Highness’.

I could get used to that.