Every box that comes into the house requires cat examination, exploration, and determination of suitability for cat habitation.

Over time, the piles of boxes gets out of hand. I bang around in my smallish apartment trying to negotiate between the physical presence of the boxes and the emotional attachment of the boys to “their” boxes. They notice, believe it, when I try to slip one or two out in the trash!

This morning, I felt Dougy and Andy weren’t putting much into their play with the “feather on a pole” toy. I remembered there were peacock feathers in the cleaning closet behind the boxes piled between the kitchen and dining areas…. The boys hadn’t played with peacock feathers for months. Moving the piled boxes out of way, I retrieved one peacock feather from the closet.

Now I remember why I rarely bring out the peacock feathers! This one got one play session.

Sitting on a dining room chair, I played “peacock feather” with the boys. Dougy isn’t fussy how I present a toy: He’s always up! Andy, however, is fussy about how his toys are presented. His style is “dig the mouse out of the wall”. He likes to catch his prey by touch rather than sight.

“I need to find a way to increase Andy’s play time. Dougy gets the fun, Andy gets to watch him have fun,” I thought.

Staring at the pile of boxes, I remembered seeing a new roll of duct tape in the tool drawer a few days ago. “I’m going to make something out of the pile of boxes so people coming here think it’s a pile with purpose, not just poor housekeeping!” (Of course, even modified it is, erm, an eyesore…!)

Andy and Dougy’s new, improved box pile,

Not only is the pile taped together, there are openings that allow an adventuresome kitty to go in one box and come out another! The construction wasn’t finished before Andy and Dougy started to check out the changes, popping inside for a sniff and look around. The “new” cathouse is a hit!

Catch as catch can: It’s fuzzy focus because Andy and Dougy give you one chance for a shot before they start hiding from the flash. Too bad! This would have been a good one otherwise!

See what I mean? Hiding his sweet little face now that he knows the flash is out!

Just heard a crash and a startled “meow”. It came from the north bathroom. When I took a quick look, Dougy and Andy both had a suspicious look about them, but I didn’t see what went boom! I better do that now.