Letter 64 - A Tale of Two Kitties

It’s a well known fact. If you share the stage with a dog or a baby, you’re going to be upstaged. Every time.

But why don’t they include a cat in that observation? Because cats can’t be counted on to share the stage. A baby is stuck - it’s not particularly mobile. And a dog? Well, they stay where they’re told (at least with a little training).

But a cat? A director’s nightmare. Tell a cat what to do? Not likely. There’s only one boss in the room when a cat’s involved.

Why am I reflecting upon cats this fine spring day? Because after a lifetime of dog ownership, we were seduced by the dark side. My son visited with his gorgeous Golden Siberian in tow and after being immersed in his overpowering cattitude field we found it impossible to resist. We needed our own.

I mean, who would want to sleep peacefully when they could be awakened by a face being shoved against yours in the early AM because … hungry! Who wouldn’t want a cat leaping onto, well, anything at all, really. Until they make 15 foot ceilings as standard there’s nowhere a determined cat can’t reach with a single bound.

We’ve already mastered using poop bags during Buzz walkies. What better than to up the game to litter box cleaning on a daily basis?

An important consideration to cat ownership, though, is that my son AND my brother are allergic to cats. And yet - my son OWNS a cat. How can this be, you wonder. In fact, I can hear you now:

“How can your son own a cat when he’s allergic to them?!” you demand.

“Glad you asked,” I reply.

It can happen because, as I’ve since found out though tons of Googlization, most cat allergies are triggered by a particular protein: Fel d1. It’s found primarily in the cat’s saliva and, as we all know, cats groom themselves continuously by mean of licking themselves, just the way we all did back in college. This clearly spreads the Fel d1 alllll over the cat’s flexible little body. And as the cat sheds dander and fur, so too does it shed Fel d1.

The key, then, is to find a cat that has low natural levels of Fel d1. If you could manage this, then you’d have a not-so full of allergy cat.

Enter the Siberian breed. This particular breed, originally from Russian forests, can (and that “can” is important) have very low levels of Fel d1. Notably lower than the average kitty cat.

A mommy and daddy Siberian, both with low Fel d1, stand a pretty good chance of having kittens that are low as well. Of course, genetics being weird, they might have ones that aren’t low at all. It’s all a bit of a crap shoot but the odds are tilted in favor of “low allergens” with this breed. So much so that they’re commonly known as being hypoallergenic.

Now if you want to be SURE you’re getting a low allergen kitten, then you can buy from a breeder who tests their kittens. This kind of testing was pretty much pioneered by Tom Lundberg, of Lundberg Siberians . The only catch is that this allergen assurance comes with a price tag - up to more than double the cost of an untested kitten. You can check out his website for more information if you’re interested. Be sure and click on the kittens tab to see the little cuties.

The approach my wife and I are taking is to (A) get a Siberian from an excellent breeder, (B) make sure the breeder is close enough so we can visit and bond with the kiddie widdies frequently during the 12 weeks they spend with their mother learning how to be a well adjusted cat and (C) go to a breeder who has a proven track record of breeding low Fel d1 cats to try and maximize low allergens and who also provides lots of young kitten socialization. That’d be New Hampshire Siberians.

It’s conceivable that when you visit the breeder they’ll have kittens available on the spot. But more likely the demand is way higher than supply and you’ll have to plonk yourself onto a waiting list. That’s what we did last November. The list was long enough and the number of litters expected small enough that we were looking at a late winter/early spring of 2025 before we’d be getting our furballs.

There’s two approaches to upcoming kitten arrival (and most other things). The first is to just go with the flow, get them and figure out how to best acquaint them with life at the new home in a “well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there” kind of way. OR I could visualize what cat heaven would look like and ensure they get plopped right into that from the start. Can you guess which approach I chose?

That’s right! Bring heaven on Earth into being way before needed, that’s the ticket.

Of course, seeing as we had a year to wait, I COULD have put off getting ready for a few relaxing months. But that’s not smart, is it? Who knows what might happen, eh? So, to work!

What is it that helps kittens adjust to a new home? Why, a small home base within that home, that’s what. A space that they can feel comfortable in before gradually being exposed to the hills and valleys of the upstairs, downstairs and all stairs in between.

So let’s see. A place for both kittens to run and play and keep each other occupied when the  humans aren’t up to the task. What could I use …?

Ah ha! A focal point of my studio is this … well, I don’t know what to call it. Bay windowish thing, even though it’s rectangular? Any of you know? Anyway, it’s got a nice seat and cubbies on both sides and projects outward from the more rectangular walls of the studio proper. And look! Two big windows overlooking my backyard. Kitty TV! They can watch their big boy cousins, the bobcats. And they can have near endless minutes of excitement watching me mow all the grass!

Would it be possible to somehow enclose that space? Could that work …? If so, I’d have an indoor catio (short for cat patio and found exclusively (until now) outdoors).

The opening, she is measured. The cubbies as well. Sketches pile up. Ideas are considered, rejected, modified. Each night I awaken around 2:00 and immediately start thinking about doors, panels, methods of joinery. It’s gotta be strong enough to contain kitty attack from the inside and outside. It’s gotta be free of injury inducing bits and bobs. What size mesh for the screens? How thick a steel? How to attach it? What’s the framing so that it’s both light and strong? How to hold it all together?

After a sufficiency of this nighttime pondering, I began to think I had a solution. A key aspect to my design was that whatever I put up had to allow quick disassembly and equally quick reassembly. Fully enclosed to fully open in a minute or less. Otherwise it’d be too much of a pain when I wanted to clean or repair or rearrange or whatever. And full access to everything in the space was a requirement.

And once this magic wall/door outside surface was crafted, what about the inside? Surely I’d want an inclined ramp and perhaps a horizontal one to let kitties explore, right? Of course I would. And carpets for comfort were a must. How about a floor padded with an exercise mat with a carpet on top of that? Ooooo, that sounds comfy.

The project was also a GREAT excuse to pump up my workshop. A nice new portable table saw perhaps? And a pocket screw jig! Clamps? A new work table? Toys for (old) boys!

And here’s a picture of the finished product:

Oh, all right, if you insist. Here’s a a video of the whole thing in action:

Think when we finally get around to actually putting kittens in it they’ll give it two paws up? I sure hope so.

And now it’s time for something completely different. Well, maybe not completely. Logo design. It has some similarities to my catio design in that it’s meant to serve a purpose and its shapes and colors and fonts have to work together effectively to achieve it.

There exist a wide range of design types. There’s the simple shape that through repetition gains a meaning somewhat organically. The Nike logo is an example of that:

It started life as just a shape that I believe I recall hearing garnered the designer fifteen bucks. Yet now just a quick glance tells you what you’re looking at a Nike product with all the pre-programmed feelings that engenders.

Another example is something that ties directly to your product in a very unsubtle way. For example - the logo of Benjamin Franklin plumbing:

Do I love it? I do not. But it’s hard to avoid knowing what the company does after seeing it.

My third example appeared to me as I was waiting at ye olde red light and noticed a contracting company’s truck pull alongside with what immediately grabbed my attention as an intriguing logo.

Here it is:

As I perused the entirety of it, I began to see a multitude of elements and, glancing further at the truck, I saw my supposition supported. It seemed that the simple logo encompassed four separate elements, which corresponded to the four services that Heritage supplies, namely plumbing, heating, cooling and electric.

Electric, with a stylized zappy lightning bolt:

Plumbing, with a cute drop of water:

Cooling, via a stylized snowflake:

and lastly heating, with good old Mr. Sun:

Pretty good! I’d definitely say that Heritage got its money’s worth from their designer, wouldn’t you? Short and sweet, and interesting design in and of itself and lots of actual meaning baked into it.

Now at this point, having seen some construction design and some print media design we COULD just segue into Nickyitis but … there’s more to our first story. Recall where I mentioned that I’d completed my indoor catio WAY in advance of planned kitten acquisition. At least ten months in advance. But … fate decided to step in. We were pencilled in for the third or perhaps fourth litter but when the couple in front of us for litter number two were offered two kittens … they refused! They had their hearts set on a particular color and these guys didn’t have it. (They wanted a Neva, if you’re interested, a light gray with dark accents and blue eyes). Another person ahead of us on the list absolutely wanted the color one of these kittens had BUT they had THEIR hearts set on a different sex. And so, the query appeared in my phone - were we potentially interested in adopting two kittens and taking them home in late June rather than March 2025?

Ha ha! Not procrastinating on the catio seems to have paid dividends! We zipped on over, handled the young three week old siblings who had only opened their eyes the previous week and said … YES!

And here are our soon to be new additions to the family. Sophie, our bold adventurer, who at 5 weeks has already started climbing up on anything she can reach. The other, less adventurous siblings, watch and learn:

And here’s her loving brother Aubrey.:

You know what? How about a video as well? Always good to ramp up the cuteness to 11. Here’s Aubrey being a fierce tiger with me and at the bottom a relative who was born with some developmental issues. He’s 12 weeks old and yet notably smaller than Aubrey at 5:

Are they already bringing me psychic kitty luck? Apparently so. Just this week I got a call from the director of a museum in Geneva (that’s the Switzerland one, not the South Dakota one) who wanted to know publication information for a cartoon of mine that he’s including in an exhibit this summer titled “Laughter of the gods”. The cat connection? See for yourself!:

And now - some Nicky.

Nickyitis

As always, I eternally appreciate it when you spread the word: