On a Monday afternoon, Wally and Woody stalked via towering pines atop catwalks within the yard of their South Hill home, often glancing down at company from their lofty treehouse perch.
The feline siblings, simply over a yr old, are having the time of their lives catting round in a personalized patio (catio) and treehouse, whereas senior cats Gracie and Teddy, 10, want to benefit from the area at evening.
Thanks to the considerate planning of their house owners, these cats have the purrfect mixture of secure access to the outside, plus the creature comforts of indoor residing.
Six years in the past, Cathy Cole and Kadie Nichols constructed their home with cats in thoughts. When they retired from their careers as skilled musicians, they determined to maneuver to Spokane from Redmond, Washington.
“Kadie played for the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, and I freelanced at Seattle theaters and taught,” Cole mentioned.
The trombonists selected to retire in Spokane, as a result of Cole’s sister lives right here.
“I also knew it would be hard to say no to students if we stayed in Redmond,” she mentioned.
Though their 4 cats have free rein of the home, there’s no telltale litter field odor. That’s as a result of the cats have their very own non-public restroom.
A cat door with wooden trim that matches the remainder of the home results in a storeroom. Inside, one other cat door results in a small enclosed area within the storage which holds their litter bins.
“Kadie built the cupboard,” Cole mentioned.
She additionally put in a lightweight and a rest room fan within the cats’ powder room. But the true depth of her handiwork is displayed within the elaborate tree home, topped with a cat weathervane.
In the main bedroom, a cat door results in a spacious catio that includes numerous perches for the cats to scale. From there, a 22-foot suspension bridge enclosed with hen wire and constructed by Nichols results in a treehouse worthy of the Swiss Family Robinson.
“Kadie wanted a treehouse, but I didn’t want posts in the grass,” Cole defined. “So, she built the suspension bridge from the catio and connected to the treehouse she built in a little grove of pines.”
A trombone affixed to at least one part pays homage to Cole’s and Nichols’ former careers.
Woody, a ginger cat, nimbly leaped from a perch within the catio and sauntered throughout the bridge to a treehouse perch.
“He’s really outdoorsy,” Cole mentioned.
His brother, Wally, rapidly adopted, pausing on the bridge to get pleasure from a solar puddle.
Nichols mentioned the treehouse began with only one room.
“Then I added a catwalk. Then I added a second room,” she mentioned. “Then COVID happened, and I added a third room and another catwalk.”
The complete construction is totally enclosed to maintain the cats secure from prowling coyotes and different risks.
“We’ve had coyotes run across our yard,” Nichols mentioned.
Many of the supplies have been gleaned with permission from space building websites. Last yr, she added a loft to the spacious treehouse. When requested if the construction was full, she smiled.
“When I can’t sleep at night, I think about how to expand.”
While the catio and treehouse are enclosed, the cats additionally wish to discover the remainder of the third-acre lot. It’s fully fenced, however they aren’t allowed to roam unsupervised. The cats won’t scale the fence, however different critters might.
Wally’s and Woody’s love of exploration resulted in some yard enhancements. Much of the lot was stuffed with rocks and undergrowth, making cat-retrieval operations troublesome.
Using the plentiful rocks available, they constructed bark-lined pathways lit by photo voltaic lights, as a result of as everybody is aware of, no cat ever comes when it’s known as.
“They get a little independence, yet they’re still safe,” Cole mentioned of their feline-friendly yard.
Nichols agreed.
“The best part is they get to be cats and run around and chase each other.”
Contact Cindy Hval at [email protected]
