Keeping cats fair Story
The story began more than 15 years ago and its course was by no means planned...
How it all began: It was 2006 and I, Stefan Hofmann, had rented an apartment in the Rhineland with my partner. What we didn't know at the time and which was the seed of the cat fairness story was that a family with the tomcat Mogli was moving into the house. Our previous tenants - a nice family with a mother, daughter, son and tomcat Mogli - had moved into the attic shortly before we moved in. During the renovation work, Mogli strutted into the apartment through the open door at every opportunity and was not easy to escort out again. For him, this apartment was his usual place of rest and he did not want to give it up under any circumstances. The only thing that annoyed me was my allergy to cat hair, which was now to be put to the test. Mogli did not want to give up his position in the apartment and kept sneaking back into the apartment by any means possible. With this persistence - a medical sensation for my GP - my very intense allergy to cat hair suddenly gave in and disappeared overnight! Instead, Mogli lay around almost everywhere that was comfortable and was happy. Infected by so much endearing persistence, the cat spark jumped over and my partner suddenly wanted a kitten too. To ensure that nothing happened to the velvet paw, she should be an indoor cat. I had objections, but not the power to decide, and now I thought about it further. The idea was born: If the velvet paw was not allowed out into nature, then at least a piece of nature should find its way into the apartment. It should be a tree or a piece of a tree that encourages the cat's natural instinct to scratch and play. At the same time, it should also be a place to rest and look out. After a long search, we found what we were looking for in my parents' forest and discovered a willow tree that had been blown over by the wind. It had the ideal sequence for the natural scratching post. We roughly sawed off the good piece and carried it on our shoulders home to my workshop. There, the remaining moisture was allowed to escape gently over a period of months before it was stripped of its bark and sanded. I had also given a lot of thought to the accessories for keeping cats, in particular the litter boxes available on the market were a thorn in my side. The cat equipment was purchased, a Depot base cabinet was planned and the litter box was then integrated into this.For me as a carpenter and object artist, this was not a great challenge. So the toilet disappeared into the Depot base cabinet, above it there was enough space in a storage drawer for the smaller utensils such as brushes, wet and dry food, sweets and of course toys. The Depot base cabinet became the basis:The Depot base cabinet became the basis for the natural scratching post No. 1 in furniture quality. The tree was then sawn to size on the Depot base cabinet so that it reached from the top edge of the Depot base cabinet to the ceiling of the apartment. The top of the depot base cabinet was made from a 40 mm thick multiplex birch board to be able to bear the weight.From now on, my partner was in charge again and in the following weeks she told me her wishes regarding the equipment of the natural scratching post. So the natural scratching post continued to grow and was given climbing aids in the form of lying boards that were attached to the side of the trunk.The resting boxes that were later mounted under the ceiling were also very important. Two of them in number because Mogli was also to be able to visit. However, he was not particularly interested in the construction work; there was more for him to take care of on the street. After all, he was the boss there.A few weeks later, the time had come. My partner had fallen in love with a female cat and adopted her with me. It was nice to see how the female cat Tiggi accepted the tree and, in her insatiable play instinct, looked for new areas to conquer. We quickly realized that the natural scratching post would not be enough, and so in the following months we developed more and more items that turned our hallway into a complete cat room. The current equipment includes the ceiling-high natural scratching post, a wall antler bowl, a half-height natural scratching post mounted on a floor cavity, wall hanging bridges and ceiling hanging bridges. All together it makes a huge cat playground with a very attractive effect. Not only do the two cats love it, no, all of our guests were and are enthusiastic about it too. My vision: But it wasn't just the cats who were enthusiastic, I had also found my passion. I began researching and developing in 2006, always looking for the perfect symbiosis of timeless elegance, real naturalness and that touch of something special. My vision became reality. Many cat lovers have contacted me since then, plans have been developed and implemented. I now also receive inquiries from other countries, but one thing is always the same: the wonderful work for people who only want the best for their little, wonderful darling.
