4M6C2413.CR2: 5D Mk.III, EF 50mm 1:1.4 @ 1/125, f/2.8, 1600 ISO
I bought a board! All 2″×6″×10′ of it. Why?
Cats like a commanding view. I believe it comes from not only being a predator, but also from being prey. People I’ve lived with have had cat trees, so I looked up what that cost and quickly realized that I wouldn’t be buying any cat tree that I found acceptable. So what to do?
I’ve got quite a number of bookshelves, and I typically don’t make much use of the top of them. So what’s the easiest way for the cat to make use of the top of the bookshelves? A plain old board! A quick mental run-through of the Pythagorean theorem told me that if the shelves are 6′ tall, a 10′ hypotenuse would be inclined at a little less than 45°. The angle shown in the photo is much less than that because the boards placed one shelf down from the very top.
It turns out that the cat will still have none of it. I’m planning on wrapping the board in carpet so I’m hoping that will make the incline navigable. We’ll see!
Jacynth Mantha
Love it!! lol
Lori
Definitely needs carpet or some sort of tready-business to make it desirable for catties.
craige
Neat idea! It does look a bit steep to not have anything to grip on it.
Rick
And you’re right, Craige and Lori. My plan was to place treats along the board to lure her up the path. The treats just stayed in place, but as soon as she put a bit of weight on it, they all lost purchase and slid down. Carpet it is! Carpet was always the plan, but I thought I might get away without it until I got some. Nope!
Michael
I built a cat tree several years ago rather than paying the ridiculous price for it. Cost 20 bucks at most, including a few free extra pieces of carpet from a carpet store that had leftovers. Much better than paying 200 or so for it, and it was a fun carpentry project.
Rick
I’ve been thinking along the same lines Michael…but if I go that route, it’s going to have to wait until the summer!
Jennifet
Damn cats. They will ALWAYS ignore your “offering” at first. New cat beds have been known to be ignored for nearly a year before any of mine deigned to use it. Give it time. 🙂
Kathleen Masse
This is a great idea. It also has a simpler, cleaner look than a ‘cat tree’, which have always offended my aesthetic sense of ordered minimalism. As cats are curious creatures, I’m sure she will eventually make use of it — on her terms, of course. Good luck!