We have all heard jokes about growing old and being the crazy cat lady. What about the men? It’s always been thought that women are more cat lovers while men prefer dogs, but that isn’t always the case. Peter Cohen of California is a cat person and after two of his feral cats were injured outdoors, he set out on a mission to transform his property into a cat paradise for 22 rescued kitties.
What began as an act of kindness quickly revolutionized into a project that every animal lovers’ dreams of doing. Cohen, a home builder, rescued cats that were abandoned and kept in shelters where they were not being adopted. After reading the book The Cats’ House by Bob Walker, he knew his skills in home building could be put to great use. When his full-time job reached a point of free-time, he traded tools with contractors and carpenters and consulted with experts on how to design his home and add additions for his serval cats.
Pampering Purrr-Y Pets
In today’s society, cats are the real-world stars of all social media. The most famous internet cat being Grumpy Cat. The pur-fectly amazing pets make great social media status, but there are tons of cats and kittens that never have the opportunity to let their personality shine. It doesn’t take a lot to make a cat happy. They deserve a stimulating environment and are genuinely happy as long as they have a clean litter box, cool water, fresh food and an elevated place to snooze.
A devoted, dedicated and doting cat parent like Cohen often go above and beyond when it comes to pampering purring pals. An issue many cat owners have is the time and financial commitments it takes to create the ultimate cat paradise. In many news interviews conducted with Cohen, he mentioned spending $40,000 or more on the transformation of his home. His home remodel included:
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- Adding walkways to ensure the cats has plenty of vertical space from potential threats.
- Creating amply window space and perches.
- Supplying toys for a stimulating environment.
- Providing unique food and water outlets.
- Making room for clean litter boxes.
- Stocking up on hiding places, scratching posts and cat trees.
Remodeling for a Happy Feline
Once obtaining plans for the remodel of this home, Cohen began building and constructing unique tunnels and catwalks for his rescue cats. Being a skilled artist, Cohen was able to construct perfect walkways that allows the kitties to walk, crawl, jump and clime throughout the entire house. One of the most unique elements of Cohen’s home is the floor-to-ceiling spiral walkway that wraps around a scratching post. The other walkways were even designed to connect to 24 large litter boxes, which are hidden in air-circulating closets and the garage. He designed the house in a way that smell would not be detected, and he claims there is no smell of cats or cat odor.
Scratching into Cat Psychology
Just like humans, cats react differently to colors. Even though they are color blind, there are still shades that make them feel safe and calm and others that make them frightful. Research shows that the best colors for cats are pastel blue, the pastel green, the pastel purple. This is primarily due to the fact they see duller colors than humans. When designing his home for rescue cats, Cohen chose to involve an artistic element and paint the walls, walkways and more bright colors. Some of the shelves are so exquisitely designed that they look like they are floating.
In the main bathroom, catwalks crisscross above the floor and lead to an opening od a tunnel that looks like a shark’s mouth. The shark is pastel blue, the walkways are an emerald, bright green and the platform below is yellow which shines directly a pad, and throughout the room, to create a favorite napping spot.
Cohen mentions on Love Meow that he spent about $40,000 to build the catwalks alone. “Way more expensive than a sane person would build, but I didn’t care,” he says. “I love my cats, my house and art, so I designed it to be beautiful to me.”
Tunneling Your Inner Cat
Throughout history, cats have been known as predators. Not to say they are mean and dangerous, but they like to hunt, watch and hide. Tunnels give cats a private space to sleep, stalk and play. Aside from boundless entertainment, cat tunnels also serve as a source of control and security for their owners. Cohen remodeled and designed his home with the ultimate cat tunnels in mind. There are steps in the rooms that lead to windows and tunnels, little squares at the base of rooms that lead to tunnels and the garage, plus even more tunnels in the garage that lead straight to the kitchen.
In every location in this house, the cats have two ways to get in and out. Cohen mentioned an interesting finding when there was only one way to pass through a tunnel, a cat would be stingy and not let another pass through. He also specifically designed the tunnels, so the cats are never more than an arm’s length away in the tunnels. This allows for easy clean up and easy access to scared or lost kitties.
A Smart Home for Curious Cats
You’ve heard the popular saying, curiosity killed the cat. Being a cat lover, Cohen knew that having more than one cat in the home could cause issues. With this in mind, he made his home a smart home featuring 25 security cameras. From his computer or phone, he can control the temperature, window shades, music, lighting, locks, and much more. It’s hard keeping up with 20-plus cats, so a home security feature was definitely worth the investment!
Meet the Cats
When Cohen interviewed with Love Meow, he introduced his cats and their crazy names:
CoffeeBean, Donut, Cheesecake, Chocolate and Poppyseed, Smudge, Nugget, Nutter, Butter, Crumple, Rumple, Cookie Monster, Secret, Mikan, Climber, Blackbird, Jupiter Jones, Vanilla, Mango, The Professor, MiniBean, Smokey!
