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Designer “Catifies” a Human Home into a Playful Haven for Seven Felines

By Sara Barnes on June 28, 2016

For three months during the spring of 2014, Rebecca Mountain of Mountain Pet Products undertook a big “catification” project for her friends Eliza and Tiffany. The couple had just bought their first home and was also combining their two households—including seven felines and three dogs. With that many animals, Mountain knew that having a “cat only” space was going to be an important part of their new home.

“The house was beautiful, not only on its own, but the potential for catification was amazing,” Mountain wrote on her website. Its architecture included vaulted ceilings and an open concept, which gave her plenty of working vertical space. All of her designs stretched along the first floor entry, living room, and dining room.

Here's how the house looked pre-catification:

After Mountain made all sorts of cat-friendly additions:

The overall catification revolved around the idea of a “kitty superhighway” that would allow the cats to travel from one end of the house to the other—all without setting foot on the floor. To do this, Mountain designed multiple access points for the felines, giving them the freedom to enter or exit the highway without ever feeling stuck or cornered.

Mountain installed a variety of perches and catwalks throughout the house, taking advantage of features like exposed beams. One long seat prominently sits in front of a wide, South-facing window, which lets the cats enjoy the sun and stalk local wildlife. Other additions are a custom six-foot cat tree (complete with a kitty hammock) and a special wall that looks like it has leaves growing from it. These playful spaces afford the felines multiple areas to survey their kingdom (the house) while being able to access the staircase and landing.

The catification was a long process, but one well-worth its time. “Most of what was installed was custom which added a lot of time,” Mountain explains, “but in the end I was extremely happy with the result as were Eliza, Tiffany and the cats.”