Stair of the Week: For Cats

One of the problems with having purely indoor cats is that they lack the stimulation found outside and rarely have their hunting instinct satisfied. Adding in a "Cat run" ensures the health of the cat and gets them out from underfoot when the evening crazies set in.

Must be great, getting out the ladder every time you have to clean up a hairball. :/

If you need a fixed guideway cat transit system means you have too many cats.

I wonder how soon after installation the owners got tired of being smacked from above when walking through the arch.

This is definitely a form of high density that my cats can get behind. They would just love something like this.

I love this. I'll bet the cats' antics are more entertaining than what's on that TV. Perhaps when we settle down in our "forever house," we'll rig up something like this. Unfortunately, we have to keep resale in mind; for un-handy people, this would be hard to undo!

Trust me, you do not want to encourage ceiling cats.

WHAT BETTER WAY TO HAVE KITTIES WHEN YOU LIVE IN A PLACE THEY CAN'T GO OUT I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT...THANK GOODNESS I LIVE ON LAND WHERE MINE CAN GO OUTSIDE TO PLAY

Melody,

I hope your cats are properly managed so as to keep them away from birds.

I'm serious! It's a huge problem.

Domestic cats are responsible for a staggering amount of bird deaths in North America. Cats are fed inside and then sent out to play... From this, they have a huge advantage over other animals.. also... yes... please no cats outside, or put bells on... or de-nail or something :)

Good day.

To Anonymous:
Actually, declawing is one of the most inhumane things you can do to a cat. If that's the ONLY way to find them a home (indoor home that is), then I guess there's no other way. But in order to declaw a cat, they cut off the "fingers" at the first knuckle. Look at your hands and imagine having your fingers cut off at that first knuckle.

I have four indoor only cats and they are not declawed. I clip their claws once a week and employ water bottles and such to keep them from clawing the furniture.

As for cats hunting birds; it's natural instinct and I really don't think there is any chance of domestic cats destroying the bird population.

I've had cats all my life, kept them indoors and alive for 17 to 21 years, and started feeding and attracting birds to keep them entertained(I found I liked watching birds too!), and through the past 30 years, perfected a pretty convenient way to keep everybody fairly happy and safe.

We have three cats that have all their claws, but they go outside only when we do. Also, we keep them on harnesses and leash.

The harnesses are the kind that go around their necks and body so that they can't choke the cats. The leashes are 20 feet long, with a loop at the end and in the middle at 10 feet. I drove in posts in the middle of the back, side and front yards, so I can move the cats around with me while I do some gardening, or mow the lawn (with a push mechanical mower) or weed the flower beds, or just sit to do some bird watching.

The loop and post system lets me untie them quickly when we want to go elsewhere on the property.

Yes, somehow, the birds know the cats' movements are limited, and come to the feeders and surrounding greenery even if we are outside.

I must admit that even with all these precautions, one cat caught a bird, once. But I was quick enough to spook the cat into letting go, and the bird flew away, hopefully unharmed. But one bird in 30 years isn't bad. And yes, house cats DO kill a lot of birds, and are a big cause of mortality of our songbirds.