Email from Brooklyn: Is NYC Cat-centric? and other news...

In the kitty. This from Sara, who shows her stripes as a lovely, obsessive cat owner and story teller:

"I was recently in Joyce Cohen's The Hunt section of the NYT, and she talked to me about how her column may be becoming too cat-centric. They always try to get any cat in the pictures. Interestingly enough, in the slide show featured in the article, there are more pictures of my cat then there are of either me or my boyfriend.

As for living with my animal, it is hard to find a place for the litterbox in a loft. There are no walls to hide it behind, and my bathroom is too small for it, nor can I really stand litterboxes in the bathroom. I ended up building a little wooden shed/outhouse over it that hides the box and the smell perfectly.

I shop at NYC Pet on Bedford, in Williamsburg. They have the complete line of Wellness cat food, which is what I feed my cat. I really can't stand any other cat food; they are full of fillers, and I just cringe at the idea of feeding that to an animal I cherish. So, I consider that a rip off, pet stores that stockpile crappy pet food (mostly the chain stores).

I find that pets are a bit like children, you become in sync with them and so it is hard to leave them, it limits your life a bit. However with that little sacrifice comes a lot of joy and an improved quality of life. Sara

Comments (4)

I wanted to drop off the RSS link to that article,

www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/realestate/19hunt.html?
ex=1261112400&en=fd2623661
704349f&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland

Using that long link, you can access the pictures and the slide show permanently.

posted by sara a. on 2005-01-04 13:34:15

Hi Sara -- Hi Sara -- I loved your story in the NYTimes -- especially the audiotrack on the slideshow. Too bad there's no photo of your little feline out-house though. For any entrepreneurial designers out there, I'd bet there is a real market for aesthetically pleasing cat litter box covers. Any visual inspiration you can send will be greatly appreciated. Angela M.

posted by Angela on 2005-01-04 16:55:11

Here's an old apartment therapy listing for a company that produces slightly better looking doghouses and other pet supplies...

www.apartmenttherapy.com/main/archives/000447.html

While we're doing pet month, could you do an article on great places to get a pet and people to avoid? I had a great experience with the BARC in Williamsburg, and a horrible experience with Kitty Kind in Union Square that left me feeling pretty wretched afterwards. [Did you know that I'm an unfit mother and a generally irresponsible person? Neither did I, until I met them...]

posted by mary on 2005-01-04 20:08:25

Angela! I'm glad you got to the Slide Show, that is the best part! The cat box we have is great to start off with, it is the Catty Corner litterbox which is made to fit into corners, which my loft no longer has. It has a lid, but the opening was still facing the majority of our apartment, and the smell was a problem. I'll send you pictures, but all I did was build a 3 sided cover to put over the box measuring 30" long x 20.75" tall x 25" deep. The entrance faces the kitchen trash. It could be more stylish, I should really have finished the wood, but it does just fine.

posted by sara a. on 2005-01-05 13:00:23