Kit Davey, Interior Designer
18 Years in business - Over 2,600 homes transformed!
Tips From Kit - May 2003
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Decorating For Your Furry Home Companion
By Kit Davey
If you're the caretaker of a feline companion, you probably have some odd habits. Perhaps you use baby talk when addressing your cat, or try to make it watch cat food commercials with you. I was so bonkers over my cat (may she rest in peace---she recently used up her ninth life) that I integrated "kitty style" into my decor.
Since you're already part way loopy as a cat owner, you might as well go completely overboard, and blend kitty-decor into the overall design plan of your home.
Start with Kitty Kitchen Decor
Fortunately, most cats are polite eaters and don't slop their food onto the floor. If your cat is messy, or if you'd like to make eating a more festive experience, put a place mat under your cat's bowls.
When you buy your next set of place mats, pick up an extra one for the cat in your life. Or, use an old scrap of fabric and make one yourself. If you're good with a needle and thread you can embroider something clever like "Have a Mice Meal" on it. Or, have your kids make a custom placemat out of an 18" by 12" piece of construction paper. Glue on photos, type from magazines, drawings or cartoons and have it laminated.
If you spoil your cat even a little, you probably feed your cat special treats. Try storing your kitty-nibbles in a kitty-adorned canister from Lilian Vernon's cat-a-log (LilianVernon.com or 1800-545-5426). They also carry a complete dishware ensemble, with matching canisters, all covered with (you guessed it) cats. If you'd like to carry the feline theme out into your garden visit Petsmart.com. They carry wall thermometers, garden stakes, doormats, windsocks and flowerpots all adorned with pussycats.
Create A Meow Museum or Kitty Shrine
Why not devote the front of your refrigerator to the glorification of the cat? If you haven't already, display your cat-related cartoons, photos and cat magnet collection. Or, set up a shelf in your family room for all your meow memorabilia. Here you could assemble charmingly framed pet photos, porcelain figurines and kitty toys.
How about a pet paw print for your "shrine"? Capture your kitty's paw print in clay. Make homemade clay by combining a one pound box of baking soda, one cup of cornstarch and 1 and 1/2 cups water in a large pan. Cook and stir the mixture over low heat until it thickens and begins to form into a ball. Place on a smooth, surface dusted with cornstarch and let cool. Press your pet's paw into the clay to make an impression. You might want to scratch in his/her nickname or add a hole at the top so you can hang it.
Bake on a cookie sheet at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit in the oven for an hour or so. Paint with acrylic paints.
Protecting Your Furniture
Having a cat means living with fur and shredded furniture. "Petsmart" catalog (1-800-272-0234, or Petsmart.com) carries several products to deal with feline fluff after it's already on your furniture or carpet, for example:
A "Pet Hair Pick up" roller
The "Evercare Pet Hair Remover Sponge", or
A "Pet Hair Grabber".
Cats never seem to sleep in the beds you buy for them but rather prefer to snooze on your most expensive furnishings. If your cat sleeps on the furniture, protect it with a kitty- or paw print-festooned blanket from one of the catalogs mentioned above. Petsmart can embroider your kitty's name on a special blankie. Or scrounge through your closets for an old sheet, a Mexican rug, a quilt or other square of fabric to drape over your davenport.
Protect your furniture from scratching by covering the area your cat is attracted to with aluminum foil (I know, I know, "How decorative!"). Or, provide alternative scratching stations, also offered in the catalogs mentioned above.
A Private Powder Room
Where do you put the litter box? The easiest remedy is to hide it in a seldom-used area in your home:
Under the utility room sink (add kitty-sized curtains for fun)
In the guest room closet
Remove the door in a base cabinet in a work/utility room.
(C) Kit Davey 2003
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