We finally did it! We installed a few shelves where the kitties can look over us like the aristoCATS that they are. This isn’t the elaborate system we would’ve liked, but it only took a couple of hours to do, so it is something that takes no thought and just about anyone with a drill and level can handle.

You’ve seen those whole-room cat jungles with stairs and all? Well, my husband comes from a family who believes that life is nothing without a struggle (Yes, Irish) and this apparently applies to cats as well. He installed the shelves in the hallway right near the ceiling without steps to get to it, so they have to work for it if they want to perch up there. I wasn’t around for the installation. I would’ve made it lower, especially since we’ll need to clean it every now and then.

The cats must “enter the system” through the human stairs. There’s a shelf on the outside, which they quite like. From there, they can either jump across to that larger shelf or walk along the thin shelving on the wall (See it about the door?). Either way, the sprinkler system is in the way, but they can also jump from there.

Ideal? No. Temporary? Knowing us, it’s probably going to be a few years until we do it the way we (I) want….with multiple steps and shelves going around the entire room. I would’ve liked to have used reclaimed materials, but the great thing about Ikea is that no thought or extra work needs to go into it. We didn’t have to paint or seal any wood. Nor did we have to think about brackets. Bada bing bada boom, it was done.