While June is still with us, we're trying to figure out if there's a good, inspiring contest to be had within the theme of Pet Month in July. As always, contests are our mechanism for prodding people to submit their good ideas and show off their domestic achievements so that others will be similarly inspired.
Right now we're thinking of asking people to submit their favorite Pet Design in two divisions: DIY and Professional. For example, if you've created the perfect birdcage that's DIY and if you've found the sexiest dogbed, that's professional. But we're open to your comments on the matter.
What would you like to see people contribute?
A) Lots of pictures of cute pets. I'll sacrifice another vase of flowers to get my boys' cute devil faces going.
B)Discussion on how to make the home pet safe and pet friendly.
The best topic ever!I would like to see: anectodes on pets and apartment living.
pics of pets and their proud "parents"
stylish pet furniture
tips on pet odor and small spaces!
need to go on?
If you do this type of contest, it should be a requirement that a pic includes the animal using said pet design. Maybe it's just my animal, but
no matter what is purchased or designed, my pet always chooses a favorite chair, a pillow or a cardboard box over any pet-specific piece of furniture, toy or contraption.
Another idea Remember Dixie from Smallest Coolest and her birds her pets were integral to her space and they seemed to be an extension of her style. And her design, most importantly, complemented the needs of her pets. What about a contest, How well does your pet go with your design? Maybe the contest is based more on the ability for someone to describe and sell how the pet is an extension of their personal design as a whole. This also makes it more of a photo and essay contest about design and pets instead of a contraption-design contest. It might also appeal more to people who dont have pets.
And to kick it off, I think a design appraisal of that Meow Mix house is required.
More DIY items and tips on things like where to hide the cat box and how to deal with pet hair.
I like that idea about how your pet goes with your overall design scheme. Also, innovative ways to hide the litter box (cats) / pet food bowls, water fountains (good for feng shui?), etc.
I say anything showing innovative and aesthetically pleasing ways to incorporate pets into our lives - to make the life of the pet (as well as ours) more simple/practical but still fitting in the decor of the apartment. I prefer the DIY aspect myself, makes it more interesting. Any one can buy one of those cool cat cardboard pod scrathcher things seen right here on AT a while back if they have $300 to spend - it just doesn't seem right to enter a contest with something like that.
Suggestions on DIY projects for the summer (year-round) sheddings of a 114 lb. German Shepherd would probably be of great interest to...me.
The DIY pet design sounds like a great idea.
And I need the tips of what to do about cat hair!
Anything that deals with pets and allergies would be great!
Also, cleaning products that are safe for pets (including really, really quite vacuums!)
I'd like to see more of the DIY and affordable options. I love the "professional" stuff on the market - the Corbusier beds, the Bowhouses and expensive cardboard cat pods - but I don't have the hundreds of dollars for fabulous furniture that, at least in our house, will be destroyed within months, no matter what the manufacturer says. Also, most of the dog stuff out there focusses on small dogs. What about cool stuff for larger dogs? Or dividing the categories into cat, small dog and big (over 60 pounds) dog?
I only have one basic request. All photos MUST show a pet photo as well. Afterall, I want to see who is benefiting from the great design and we can all use some cute pet shots for a little cheer factor.
I'm pet-free (allergies), but I loveeee animals, so I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!
Holly
My vote would be for an overall DIY pet contest. Not that the pet had to do it themsleves, but something like the cat jet. Brilliant.
It might be nice to also have an index of cool pet products to purchase, both practical and design wise.
Personally, I'd love to see how others deal with a litter box in a small area, and how pets are an extension of style, but not in a little dog under the arm kind of way.
Things like how to work equipment/litterboxes/cages into the decor would be cool. Any cage pet needs a place to live right in the livingroom, so lets see it and its placement in the room. And tiny bathrooms need litter boxes. (or perhaps I am projecting my own issue, heh)
A nod to *big* dogs would be great as well.
LOVE the pet idea.
A couple of tricks from a cat owner:
If you HATE changing the litter box, one solution is to go to the local 99c store and stock up on those aluminum baking pans (in my neighborhood, they're 3 for a dollar. Then you can just pitch the whole pan and start over with fresh litter. Much less icky.
Also, for the soul who asked about creative uses for pet fur. This is kinda weird, but if you're a crafty type and have a lot of fur, you can actually make felt from it. It's possible to dye and the felting process cleans it. I've never done it (my cat doesn't shed enough and boyfriends threatens me every time I start collecting fur from his little fluffy friends). Then you make little bags or coin purses or whatnot.
I realize cat boxes are gross and I'm sure my cat's poo ends up in a landfill somewhere, but I wouldn't want to contribute an additional 52 aluminum pans a year to it.
There should also be a category for people who use pets as furniture. Like the kitten pillow. Or the puppy pile area rug.
i second that pb, scanlynn i hope you recycle. it's different for cats and dogs. my dog sleeps on the sofa next to me or on the bed. cats have scratching posts, multi tier houses and platforms, litter trays, etc. dogs get a bed bowls and lots of toys and for medium and small dogs use most of the furniture in our homes. so let's see dog friendly furniture, and rooms decorated to accomidate our pets. get your lint rollers and cameras ready.
I don't know how I could contribute, but with one long-haired cat who thinks she is a person, I have to deal with her in ways that are odd: She drinks her water out of a cobalt-blue lowball people-glass, only on an end table near where *mommy* sleeps, so I have to put my water glass on the second shelf underneath the top of the end table. She refuses every other type of vessel. She uses her paw to drink (which is funny itself), after crawling up the bed and jumping to the table, so I'll have to photo that. We also make her her own "Herb garden" where she can eat fresh cat grass near her regular dry food dish. It looks kinda cool on the kitchen floor. If not, she ends up in our all our other herbs we keep on the kitchen windowsills. She ate all my new sprouting cilantro the other day. *BAD KITTY!* Well, at least she had good breath.
As far as cat trees, we have one of the best made ones - it's so strong I can sit on it and do sometimes... that so far sits in the dining room where she can watch everyone eating dinner, and also watch the birds. It's not anything special in green, except it's made with embedded cat nip and has a lifetime guarantee. It is not my favorite thing to have in a dining room, but hey - we have a cat. You tell me where to put a cat tree and make it look ok? Thus the contest.
The litter box wouldn't fit in our bathroom if we tried! the footprint in there is 3 by 4 and little box is 2 by 2! Ours fits and hides perfectly behind a hallway door near the tiny bathroom, so that hallway sorta becomes the entrance to all bathrooms. It's hot pink so she struts her fierce feminity in that case - not hidden, just out of site for all guests until they leave the restroom. Again, that's a cool feature of our apt. that it fits and is out of the way in a functional space.
Otherwise, the fur issue involves alot of sweeping and swiffering every week. I wish there was something cooler to say about indoor cats! I hope someone has something I can take away from this other than disposal pans and knitted fur purses. YECHT! Can someone give me an ingenius way to brush your cat's teeth? I can't get her to let me do it for the life of me...
Also, I like the idea of the little "grass" doggy boxes on coasters - you can put them on your balcony and the little city dog as a soft green space to poop upstairs that is easy to clean and rolls out of the way for parties. That's probably a good one to feature here. All you have to do is water and put down grass seeds every once in a while.
Why is July pet month again? Shouldn't it be BBQ party on balconies month? Better yet, porch decor and layout for eating breakfast, lunch or having dinner parties? Maybe, how to make your window AC not look so hideous and fit with your curtains better? I'm trying to figure out what I should do with window treatments and ACs right now...
For people with wood or tile floors and pet hair issues, my saving grace has been a swiffer vaccum.
It has a vaccum up front that picks up the stuff the cloth can't (like litter) and the cloth attaches behind the vaccum to grab dirt and pet hair.
It's very compact, very lite, quieter then my blow dryer and only $28.00
Are they going to make this an East Coast/West Coast thang like the greenest thumb or all inclusive like the smallest, coolest apt.?
Bring it on! I am dying for ideas on low, attractive vessels for storing dog toys and ways to integrate dog crate.
I'd love to see more info on the simple/practical/cheap options for the pets--it's tough to spend the bucks on some piece of pet furniture your dog may...eat. or puke all over. (he's certainly done it to the furniture for humans.)
also, tips on "odor," and "accidents" are always useful, and always necessary.
for the kitchen site--maybe some recipes for those of us who do cook for our animals? [by the way, CLM: if kitty enjoys it, you could try feeding some raw bones, like maybe a chicken wing or neck, to clean her teeth.]
and I promise I will supply very cute pictures of my puppers, if necessary.
I would like to see how people have incorporated ideas for pet furniture into their home in creative ways. Something like you see on "Barkitchture" or on the show where they feature houses with pets on the Fine Living Network, one person used some clever shelving to make a space for cats to climb up but it didn't look like cheesy cat furniture. i.e. pieces that fit into the home for pets but don't look like they're for the pets. Do other people do this kind of thing? If so I would love to see some ideas. The site www.thecatshouse.com/ inspired me to make some cool climbing pieces for a loft space that I used to live in, but now that I am in a regular boring condo it is hard to come up with clever ideas that are great for the pets but don't look like cheap pet furniture or climbing posts. If I had the $$ I would buy a great acrylic cat bed or a KittyPod, but how does one get the same look on a budget?
CLM: NOOOOOOOOO! No bones! I know they eat little animals in the wild, but I also know how chicken bones can rip up dogs' insides...please check with a vet first...
LJ - I think CLM has a cat, not a dog. Chicken bones should be okay.
That's what I thought, although my post wasn't clear. I'm trying to picture my cat taking on a chicken. Then again, my cat takes on (and terrifies) the afore-mentioned 114 lb. German Shepherd, so...the bone thing just scares me, I guess. Haven't unpacked from the move yet, but found a liquor store and unearthed a wine glass...please forgive the panic...
I would like to see stylish ways to integrate pet accoutrements into your decor as well. I am getting a Great Dane in a few weeks, and wondering what the heck do I do with the super size crate that he will require. ??
Love it. Wolsey, my Cairn, and Olive, my feral cat, are already bustling around to get their entries ready!
Au
great idea! i think there are a lot of terrific ideas above... i think that if we focus on creative ways to incorporate our pets into our lives we would get a variety of different responses. i am already getting my gertrude ready for her portrait on her pug window seat! yes, it has steps leading up to it. yes it has down pillows. yes i made it myself. yes she runs my life...!
I love this contest idea! My dog has four dog beds, each coordinated to the different part of the apartment where it is placed.
Oh, and re: the bones--chicken wing bones are very soft when they're raw--you can squish them between your fingers. As long as they're fresh, they're safe for your pet. They're only dangerous if cooked. NEVER give a dog or cat a cooked bone--they can splinter and cause internal damage.
dorio--
the huge (and hideous) dog crate issue stymied us, too. We have not solved the problem, only succumbed and bought a big ugly blue PetMate crate, which sits like some sort of veterinary school behemoth in the living room.
all the options I've seen for "disguising" or decorating the crate involve lots of horrible, homemade chintz fabric covers--so then the crate looks like a a giant laura ashley cube. blech. I don't know how to get around the fact that the crate is so...big.
If perhaps we had a huge apartment and could just push the crate into an unused corner or room, this would not be a problem. Or if we had a little dog, this might not be such a big deal, because his crate would be little too. But our living room is 11X7, and it has to accomodate us, our furniture, and the 70 lb pitbull and his stuff. I'd love to see some innovation, here, for the big dog owners!
and yes, CLM, LJ, ..., Pearl's Mom is correct--and I should have specified more clearly. apologies. RAW chix bones = flexible, digestible, good for teeth cleaning. Cooked chix bones = bad bad splinter-y bad.
We have two cats, one of which sheds like crazy all the time. We had a swiffer just for keeping the floors clean, but now that we bought the Miele Sirius (pretty much the cheapest one they make) we haven't touched the swiffer. The Sirius sucks up cat car from grooved 50 year old linoleum like there is no tomorrow and does just as well on the wood floors.
regards,
trillium
Hats off to people who crate-train big dogs. My Akita (80 lbs.) just has his blankie and an unlidded toy box. I don't know where we'd put a crate. Fortunately we don't need one in his case.
I vote for competition around incorporating pet paraphenalia -- crates, toy storage, food storage, litter boxes --into your home in a way that allows your home to remain looking like your home, vs a pad for your pets (mine are nice enough to allow me to live there too).
Exactly JenDC!
Josie, we have no choice but to crate-train I think, since we are getting a puppy.
kwj - I'm going to do a search for PetMate Crates. At least is comes in a color!
include pics!!
how to hide the darn litter boxes would be great.
cat beds aren't really a want for me as my cat will sleep on weird things like books & my ironing board.
Please, please, please, someone come up with a catproof sofa and upholstery - covering the sofa in wood or plastic or steel does not count!!!
PLEASE!!!!!
Thank you. :D
MeMeMeME - have you ever heard of soft claws? They are little rubber caps that fit over your cat's claws. You can get them on line.
My boyfriend is in the process of toilet training his cat, at my urging (he was lax about cleaning it and i was tired of smelling it), when I saw the citikitty system at citikitty.com
At $29 it's almost 3/4 off the price of its predecessor, The Catseat, and it totally works. Bye bye litter box, once and for all.
Marianne - Does he just flush the toilet every day when he gets home? I assume the toilet seat has to be up all the time.
Any mishaps?
my solution for crate training, and having an ugly crate in the house is not to use a crate. i used a folding pen to confine my puppy while i was paper training him and then housebreaking him. he did very well and the pen was folded and put away when he was supervised. well adjusted dogs have been raised in loving homes for decades without crates. p.s. we did go to puppy training classes and it was worth it.
OH! If AT is doing pet month in July, I'll be dropping by. I don't know if I'll have any solutions to contribute, but I sure hope someone else will. I have two cats, and my god do they track litter. Also, I can't believe no one has built a better litterbox for under $200. I'm talking about something that functions like a good litter box, but looks like it belongs in West Elm or DWR.
The Kattbank is awesome, but it's well over a thousand dollars!
http://www.kattbank.com/
Good news for those who are concerned about used cat litter and how to dispose of it in an environmentally safe way....I recently switched my cat to Yesterday's News litter, which is made of recycled newspaper pellets. Not only does it track less than conventional litter, but it is environmentally correct. I just scoop and flush the solids, and the litter appears darker when wet, so you can scoop up those areas and flush, too. It breaks up completely in the toilet and flushes as easily as toilet paper. I don't put a lot of litter in the litter box at one time, as it is easier to scoop small areas and replenish as needed. Once per week I empty the box completely and wash it and put in the next round of litter. It also has had a health benefit for my cat, as she is elderly (18 yrs. old) and prone to constipation. The clay litter is dusty (though they claim it isn't on the label) and gets ingested when the cat washes herself, causing dry stools and constipation. Since switching to the Yesterday's News, Mooseltoes has had no constipation problems at all. She's a happier kitty and I'm happier with less tracking and easy disposal.