the city kitty life...

i never had a cat growing up, so i literally know nothing about being a cat owner. well that's all about to change when the boyfriend moves in with his dog & his cat, graydy. i've been trying to think of ways make my apartment more 'kitty friendly' (which also means i have to say adios to my beloved house plants) so graydy feels welcome. i'm in the process of making a little bed to sit on top of the radiator cover under my large bay window which looks out onto the busy street of commonwealth avenue, graydy will enjoy the people watching from there & it's a nice sunny spot for his afternoon 'cat' naps...

graydy asleep last night on my lap

i'd like to be able to get him a few new items for the apartment so he feels special (it's hard to compete with our 2 dogs). i still need to get used to the idea of having a littler box in the house but i thought if it could look more like a piece of furniture it might be alright. i searched high & low and found one from grandin road i like, but i can't justify spending $129 on a little box, so i've asked one of the carpenters next door to make one from plywood (for about 1/3 of the cost) similar in design to this one that i could paint white and sew a little cushion in fabulous fabric to sit on top...

cat chateau litter pan enclosure from grandin road

next item on the graydy shopping list is a food/water bowl (although i think he'll just drink out of the dog bowl like he does now). i was actually thinking of going to one of those 'paint-your-own-pottery' places in town so that i could customize his bowl. but if i don't do that i think i'd opt for one of these...

fish shaped wood cat feeders from tails by the lake


black & white sloped bowl from melia luxury pet


dapper cat bowl from melia luxury pet

graydy is an indoor cat so the boyfriend doesn't really keep a collar on him. but i'm wondering if we should when he moves to the city in case he gets out? just one more reason to spend a little money, right? i'd have to get him something masculine though, no pink (although is would look great against his gray fur). i absolutely love the idea of this patent leather collar though, how cute is it?...

'faux' patent leather collar from tails by the lake

my biggest fear about having a cat is the scratching. graydy doesn't seem to be that bad of a scratcher from what i have seen at the boyfriends house, but i'm sort of psychotic when it comes to my own furniture. i cannot find a decent looking scratching post for the life of me...maybe this is something i should also make myself??? i'm currently doing a project where we're carpeting and i actually like the carpet type & color, maybe i could use some of the remnant carpeting to make some sort of post. stay tuned...