Design for Living, Feline-Style

09/27/2011

 

 Tracking Kitty-Friendly Furnishing Trends

 

When dedicated cat-parent Kate Benjamin went looking for stylish, modern products for her cats, hoping to enhance their lifestyle while keeping a trendy vibe in her home, she was repeatedly frustrated. "I couldn't find a single on-line resource that brought everything together into one place," she said.  And instead of just finding cat-friendly furnishings, Kate discovered an alternative career. "I decided to create Moderncat.net as a collection of my findings."

She quickly realized many other design-conscious cat owners were seeking the same kinds of things, as they latched onto her blog. "My cats are my children, and I have a background in design, so the two are my passions," Kate said, and she's even added her own Moderncat Studio, where she develops and  concocts hand-crafted, modern cat items of her own design. A portion of the Monderncat Studio sales goes to a different cat-related charity every month, allowing buyers to give their own cats something fun, and help distant kitties in need. Kate said her ultimate goal, throughout all she does, is to "help improve the lives of cats."

And cats have helped Kate too. The success of Moderncat has enabled her to leave her day job and focus on making it the go-to resource it's become since its inception four years ago. If you live with a cat or two, you've probably signed up for Kate's always-fun email alerts, entered her many cool giveaway contests, or even admired some of the international cat furniture that hasn't hit the U.S. (even as our cats wish it would!) just yet.

"I love sharing information about a new product or idea with the readers, and new things are coming out all the time," Kate said, who's always on alert for fun finds.  She ferrets out the newest, cutest, coolest-of-the-cool, and also alerts readers to "copycats" that mimic the originals but are not quite the real deal. Working from her gracious Phoenix home, she's pretty much a one-woman band, handling advertising, helping blog readers track down products, supporting cat welfare and animal rescue, and serving as her own IT-support team. Her nine resident cats, all rescues, "make wonderful product testers and models," she said. "They are my inspiration, and I'm constantly observing their behaviors and needs, looking for products or design ideas to keep them happy and healthy and active. They also have the very important job of holding down the desk while I'm working."

Kate said she designed her home "to accommodate the cats while at the same time keeping it serene and inviting for people. The idea is to show you can live with cats and still maintain your sense of style." Her 1100-sq. foot condo includes a catio, which gives the cats extra space to explore while staying safe, and a breath of fresh air in nice weather. She's also installed climbing shelves and perches that are both decorative and feline-functional. "Lots of scratching surfaces keep their claws off the furniture, and soft, stylish beds give them places to nap. People often remark how calm and comfortable the cats seem, and I think that's because they know it's theirhouse, and I've accomodated them."

Kate's home was recently featured on the magazine program "CBS Sunday Morning," as an example of a cat-friendly abode that's also fashion forward. When the camera crew arrived, trailing cables and equipment, "most of the cats hid for the first part of the day," Kate said. "But once they got used to the commotion, the braver ones came out and showed off quite a bit."

Check out Kate's blog at Moderncat.net, and ask your cat to look over what's new, all guaranteed to add that purrfect touch for your home.

Photos courtesy of Kate Benjamin and Giulio Sciorio

Comments

[Jenny]

Love this feature because I love Kate! She's created a moderncat empire and has helped make the world of cat products, a better looking place!

[tool steel]

So beautiful posts,all I like,hope to be better then,and enjoy yourself,good luck in your life.Thanks for your ideas to something.

[petmeds coupon]

Its hard to get our cats to even pay attention to their cat post! We have to entice them by putting catnip on the post

[ANIMAL lover]

cats are adorable i love cats you should see cats 101!

[Rita De Ferrary]

I just watched an episode of Cats 101 where the topic was purchasing and owning purebred cats called ragamuffins and Toygers. I am truly disappointed with Animal Planet creating programming that encourages people to go out and spend thousands of dollars on purebred cats while millions of cats die every year in shelters and pounds with very little chance of getting homes. Although adoption is woven into some programming, the promotion of breeding animals for profit is not good programming and should be stopped.

[cat furniture]

Amazing blog indeed! I love all my cats they are so adorable I love to cuddle with them. Anyways any links where can I purchase accessories for them

[casinobonuscity]

Hi, It is hard to find knowledgeable people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about.