Woman Creates Entire 'Kitty Condo' Under Stairs To Pamper Rescue Cat
Life in the animal shelter can be hard. Some pets end up long-term residents at no-kill shelters, and it’s a stressful, desolate experience. They are often confined to small kennels, with limited interaction with keepers, and tons of strange sounds and smells. I have a friend who is a “respite foster,” temporarily allowing foster kitties who have not been doing well in shelter life to stay at her place for a while, where it is quiet and hopefully more comfortable. It’s a cruel irony, as sometimes animals develop behaviors when trapped in a shelter that make them less likely to be adopted.
After spending two whole years in a shelter waiting for a forever home, this kitty was finally adopted by a woman who is determined to pamper her and give her the life she deserves, starting with a kitty condo fit for a queen under her stairs.
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In this video, an ambitious cat mom and do-it-yourself carpenter takes on the unused space under her stairs, turning it into a delightfully feminine condo for her rescue tabby cat. She included gorgeous peel-and-stick tiles along the wall and even marble-look floor tiles. She added baseboard and plants to put together a living room and kitchen area as well as the bathroom (i.e. litter box). She decorated with a wall of cute cat portraits and a shelf lined with jars of catnip and a container for her kitty toothbrushes.
Related: Video of Cat Digging in Litter Box with Cone On Is Totally Unexpected
How To Make a Kitty Condo
It’s no secret that cats love hiding in dark places. Mine adore snoozing under various tables and chairs in my home. I’m sure this cat, too, will appreciate a private spot to relax.
And it’s clear that the cat mom in question has put a lot of thought into the area, like bolting the decor to the wall so the cat can’t knock it over. (We all know cats love knocking things over.) However, I question the main principle of the design.
Mainly, that instead of using it as a hangout space for her cat, she’s chosen to place her litter box in the area.
As much as I love this idea, I have a lot of questions about its practicality. Is she seriously going to climb into that crawlspace, past the planned “living room and kitchen area,” every time the litter box needs cleaning? Are all those dark corners a practical place to place an item that may collect filthy bodily fluids? Is she going to put a light in there so the pretty decor can be seen?
Additionally, cats don’t usually like to hang out in the place their litter box is, especially closed spaces like cupboards under the stairs where noxious odors will collect. I fear that putting her litter box in this place will make it less likely that her cat will use any of the other furniture she plans to place inside the condo. It will be a bathroom, only.
And a hard-to-reach one at that.
Where to Place a Cat Litter Box
Though most people want to place cat litter boxes in out-of-the-way places, because no one wants to look at—or smell!—the contents, if the litter box is kept too far away, the cats might choose another place to do their business. One that you don’t want at all. It’s best to find a happy medium for litter box placement —one that is easy to reach and clean (unlike the back corner under the stairs) but is still unobtrusive. Closets, bathroom corners, and even porches might be excellent spots for a cat’s litter box, depending on the layout of your house.
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