On The Prowl:

A Feline Purr…spective

Feline Furniture

By Stacy Mantle

Right now, I’m watching my cog (that’s short for a cat who thinks she’s a dog), hang off the top level of our brand new, cutting edge, state-of-the-art, cat activity center. She’s doing this for a reason, and it’s to torture our very easy-going Tonkinese, Ghost, into abandoning his spot on the hammock of the second level.  Mama-san, who has the most coveted place deep inside the cat condo, will be next on the cog’s list.  Ultimately, a fight will break out between the three of them, and two more of our cats will move in for the prime position, prompting me to return to my computer and purchase several more furniture pieces from Feline Furniture in order to create a larger activity center. 

And this is how it’s been since we incorporated the innovative new Cat Activity Center into our home – nonstop fun…

If any of you have ever tried to keep 18 felines happy indoors, you know that it can be a challenge.  You have to have more than just regular old cat furniture, or else all of your people furniture quickly becomes cat furniture, which defeats the purpose of having people furniture in the first place. But with this many cats, there are certain qualifications that need to be met in a purchasing a set of cat furniture.  It has to be easily movable, it needs to be durable, it should be entertaining (for us AND the cats), it should have lots of hiding places, it should be calming for the cats, but should also incite activity, and it should be easy to expand upon.  On top of all that, it should be easy to clean and affordable.

Normally I could wish for something like that all day long and never see anything appear.  Yet, I must have done something right in a past life, because one day it did appear.  It appeared on my computer screen at a website called www.FelineFurniture.com.  And so we wasted little time in contacting this unique company.

Now, I have to admit, when I first opened the 2-ft square box that was delivered to my front door, I was somewhat skeptical. I had requested the starter kit to begin with, and if you were to go to the site and look at the picture of the finished product, and then look at the box it was delivered in, you would also be scratching your head.  But, not one to shy away from a mystery, my husband, my cats, and I all unpacked it, anxious to begin assembly. 

My husband is a direction-reader.  Me, not so much.  So, while he was reading the directions, the cats were busy helping me assemble everything.  Most people who know me understand that I am easily distracted and more easily bored, and in this set there are 26 beams to fit together with 11 connectors, before you finally get to the put on the hammocks and the cat condo.  True to form, I got bored putting it together around the 14^th beam. I really just wanted to play with the hammock and cat condo, because that’s the fun part – I mean – there’s Velcro involved.  So – I let my husband finish the beam connections while I figured out the best place to put the hammocks and condo.  And the entire assembly process still took only 20 minutes.  But, the cats were exploring it long before assembly was completed.

One great feature of this product is that I can lift it – by myself.  I consider myself to be pretty strong (for a girl), but some pieces of cat furniture weigh more than my house.  This one, while incredibly sturdy, weighs very little.  I can move it easily to clean underneath it, but it’s heavy enough that the cats cannot move it while racing to the top at 35 mph.

Perhaps my favorite feature is the ability to expand it.  Its like real-life Lincoln logs!  For example, you can begin by purchasing the starter kit.  The Starter Kit comes with one cat condo, two hammocks, and sets your favorite felines up on two levels of play stations, all for less than $100.  There are many different ways you can design this initial stage of your cat activity center, and to learn all of them, you’ll have to either visit the website or use your imagination.  But, the really great thing is that you can add on to this product for the rest of your life.  If one leg happens to be stripped of carpet before the others, you just order a replacement leg.  If your cat prefers a hammock to the condo, you can order another hammock.  If you would rather have a leopard condo instead of a gray condo, order it.  Each element of the set is sold individually. 

If you have cats, this is one product you should invest in.  Particularly if you have indoor cats.  Today’s felines, like today’s children, are suffering from obesity more than ever.  They are in need of not only mental stimulation, but physical stimulation as well.  This unique activity center provides just that.  My cats were playing with it before we even had it fully assembled, and while the carpet on the legs of the activity center is taking a beating, my furniture has honestly never looked better.  Although we currently have 3 pieces of cat furniture in the house, this is where all of my felines now congregate to play, sleep, chat, have afternoon tea, and terrorize the dogs. 

Cleaning this activity center is a breeze.  Just take off the hammocks and condo and toss them into the washer, then vacuum or brush the tubes.  If you opt to move it into a different room, just change the shape from a corner unit into a wall unit.  If you decide to add another cat to your brood and need a “change in setting”, this would be one of your easiest changes, as it forces everyone to find a new “space” and helps everyone to adapt more easily.

In all, I have to highly recommend the cat activity center from FelineFurniture as your next purchase.  It’s sturdy, easily movable, easy to clean, and very affordable.  If you add more cats to your home, just add a few more beams and a hammock.  You’re good to go!  

Special Savings:  Use the coupon code TCSShip206 to receive free shipping on your order.

From the Cats:

Hisses & Spits:  (Silence from the cats as they purr contentedly in their hammocks) 

Purrs:  We love our new activity center!  We also read that you can add catnip into the beams – when can we expect that, mom?

From the Humans:

Two opposable thumbs up!! We love our new activity center!  And it keeps everyone off the “people furniture”. 

Drawback?  The carpet on one of our activity center legs is taking a beating, but it’s a lot cheaper to replace a $6 beam than it is a $600 couch!  Therefore, it’s difficult to consider this a drawback!