Dear Readers,
I'm working on another PAGE, this time on feline design. But there is such good news that I cannot wait to share it. You MUST check out Olive and Pepper's article about how feline design principles were used to help them end their cat fights.
They live in a small apartment with narrow corridors, ripe for cat attacks. Olive used to corner Pepper who had no means of escape. But that is a thing of the past.
Thanks to interventions by behaviourist Jackson Galaxy - shown on the Animal Planet program, My Cat From Hell (Season 3, Episode 1) with the important assistance of Kate Benjamin to design a more appropriate environment, they live in peace.
The article will give you a very good idea of how this was accomplished. And you can always download the actual episode from iTunes if you are curious.
Note the particularly innovative use of cat trees that are well-secured WITHOUT the need to drill into the walls. You MUST have a look to see how compact and well-designed this set up is.
As well the article mentions some very sound design principles you should consider in the renovation of your own interiors:
1. Designated cat-only spaces using existing furnishings and a few, inexpensive materials (like landing mats).
2. Using the revolving door concept so a cornered cat has two different escape routes. In a two-cat household, this means that the victim can always get to safety.
After all, what do your purrsons prefurr: cat fights and vet bills? urine sprayed
around the walls? or some anxiety-relieving design that takes the need
to monitor, intervene, and clean up completely out of the situation.
So have a look at Kate's website which is called Hauspanther. And if you are looking for more, click on Design Ideas at the top and select Environmental Design. Some of these are so enchanting (and such sound behavioural ideas) that it should be a relatively simple matter to convince your purrsons to implement them. (And just a note: I'm not a fan of all the items shown on this site, even if they are appealing to look at. Not everything shown makes behavioural sense.)
For your consideration,
Greyce
