2floors11doors
Bali-inspired, modern organic EM
Paws & Practicality: THREE THINGS Most Pet-Owners Have That We Don't!
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Hello and welcome back to this weekโs post! If youโve been following our renovation journey, youโll know how much thought weโve put into making our new place feel like home. But itโs not just about us, because our home wouldnโt be complete without Bucky, our resident fluffball. โก From his daily antics to his very specific (and occasionally dramatic) preferences, Bucky has definitely influenced how we designed our space. ๐ So this week, weโre sharing how we made our home pet-friendly, without compromising on style or function. Whether you're a fellow cat parent or planning to welcome a furry friend soon, we hope these little tips from our experience can help you create a space that works for both you and your pet! When we adopted Bucky in 2020 (right smack in the middle of Covid), we kind of knew what we were in for. Both of us grew up in households with multiple cats, after all. But nothing quite prepares you for the quirks of one very fluffy, very particular feline, haha! His previous owner had migrated to Australia, and we were lucky enough to welcome this Maine Coon x British Shorthair gentleman into our home. Heโs 9 this year, and definitely a Very Important Family Memberโข! So of course, when planning our new home, we made sure to carve out spaces and include little upgrades that would make life with Bucky easier (for him and for us!). Here are some of the pet-friendly features weโve added to our home, after a few years of learning what works (and what really doesnโt) with our fluffy housemate. ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐โ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ก๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ We knew from the start that Bucky needed his own station. Heโs part of the family, after all. In our previous home, his bowls were awkwardly placed right at the entrance of the kitchen because that was the only spot we could spare. It always felt like a bit of an afterthought (which made sense, since we only adopted him after living there for a few years). We kept tripping over them, and poor Buckyโs mealtimes werenโt exactly in the cosiest setting. So for this home, giving him a dedicated nook was a must-have in our kitchen carpentry! We carved out a neat little corner just for him, and itโs made such a difference. It fits his automatic kibble dispenser and wet food bowl perfectly. And because itโs tucked out of the way, no more accidental kicking of bowls! 
The nook has a hidden power socket in the top shelf to keep his automatic feeder running smoothly. We love this gadget; it has a built-in camera with night vision, and we can even โtalkโ to Bucky through the camera! It also records weekly vlogs of his mealtimes too, which is both hilarious and useful for keeping tabs on his eating habits. And as for his wet food, itโs served in the Oreo Table by Inherent (our favourite pet brand!). It comes with a raised wooden stand, which makes it easier on Buckyโs neck, so he doesn't have to crouch and strain his neck when eating. 
Above his station, we placed a bread box from Amazon that fits the top shelf like a glove. It stores all his canned food and treats. Super convenient and super organised! We even added a customised name plate for Bucky, which we ordered from Etsy! ๐ช๐ฎ๐น๐น-๐ ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ One thing we noticed early on was that Bucky loves a good stretch while sharpening his claws. So we ditched the typical floor-standing scratch posts and installed wall-mounted ones on both Level 1 and Level 2. 
We love these wall-mounted scratch boards because they save precious floor space. No more bulky scratch posts to walk around or trip over, especially in tighter corners, and having them mounted to the wall keeps things neat and out of the way. 
And the best part? Bucky actually uses them! Weโve had our fair share of cat furniture fails, so it feels like a huge win whenever we see him stretching out and going to town on them. 
๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ This might be one of our favourite purchases! We keep his automatic litter box upstairs so itโs away from the main living area so there are no awkward smells when guests come over! It does the dirty work (literally!) for us. No more daily scooping, yay, and Bucky adapted to it like a pro! 
We also added a stairway step in front of it, which doubles up as a litter trapper. It helps catch stray litter from his paws before he walks off, so we donโt end up with little crunchies all over the floor. ๐๐ถ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป Hereโs a tip for new cat parents: cats generally prefer their water to be placed ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ from their food source. Itโs just one of their many quirks, and weโre happy to oblige! Weโve set up one filtered fountain in the living room, and another in our bedroom. 
We chose filtered fountains not just to keep the water fresh, but also because the gentle flow encourages him to drink more, which is super important for cats! ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐-๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ณ๐ฎ We were a little skeptical when we bought a โpet-friendlyโ sofa, but honestly, it has been such a good decision! 
Itโs scratch-resistant, stain-resistant, and very much Bucky-proof! We even did the ultimate test by dropping his wet treats on it (on purpose!), and it wiped off with zero residue or staining. AMAZING! ๐จ๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ (๐ฃ๐ฒ๐-๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ ๐ง๐ผ๐ผ!) Because weโre already in this deep, we went ahead and upholstered our dining chairs in premium pet-friendly velvet. They look luxe but handle Buckyโs fur and claws like champs. Totally worth it! 
These are actually our old dining chairsโwe just gave them a new lease of life with fresh upholstery instead of buying new ones. It felt like the more sustainable (and sentimental) thing to do, and now they fit right in with the rest of the home while still being super practical for pet life. ๐ช๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ We also got Bucky a cat hammock thatโs attached to our living room window, because this guy loves a good view. 
Whether itโs birds flitting by or cars zooming past, he can spend hours just chilling there, totally entertained. Itโs one of his favourite spots in the house, and itโs nice knowing he has his own little front-row seat to the outside world. ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐ฑ๐ฒ (๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ช๐ต๐) All that said, however, not every pet-friendly trend made it into our home! And hereโs why: ๐ท. ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ We love our beautiful new bedroom door too much to cut a hole in it ๐ and there wasnโt a good wall alternative either to create a hidden entrance. So, no cat flap for us. But truthfully, it hasnโt been a problem. Bucky usually snoozes downstairs most nights, and on the rare occasion he wants in, heโll meow at the door and weโll let him in. A little midnight greeting never hurt anyone anyway. Haha! ๐ธ. ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐ We learned this the hard way: Bucky is simply not a fan! He rejected every plush condo, tunnel, and cute little bed we lovingly picked out for him. Every. Single. One. All sold off on Carousell eventually. Weโve come to accept that Bucky doesnโt like things made for catsโhe prefers things made for humans (with good taste, of course). His current favourite sleeping spot? The Catania Tall Sideboard from HipVan. Who needs a fancy cat condo when you can have a designer furniture nap throne? ๐คฃ ๐น. ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ We seriously considered doing up a cat feature wall...you know, those Pinterest-worthy climbing shelves and floating steps that turn your walls into a mini jungle gym and vertical playground for adventurous cats..? Our staircase wall wouldโve been the perfect spot, too! But after some thought (and several years of living with Bucky), we decided against it. Heโs a super chill dude, not much of a climber or jumper, and way more of a floor dweller. Our Instagram stories is always full of him just sprawled on the floor, living his best, most unbothered life like the true king of the house. So we figured all that effort and cost might end up being more for us than for him, and the last thing we wanted was to spend money on something that just ends up collecting dust. 
For us, making a home pet-friendly isnโt about buying every product out there. Itโs about observing your petโs quirks, how they move around the house, and what little tweaks can make daily life smoother for everyone, pet and human alike. Itโs the small, intentional choices that go a long way: like placing their water bowl where they actually want to drink, or finding a scratch board style theyโll actually use (and not just walk past), and in our case, resisting the urge to build a Pinterest-worthy cat feature wall just because it looks cool and makes us feel like we're the awesome-est cat parents, haha! Weโre also always learning! As much as we think weโve figured Bucky out, he still surprises us with new preferences every now and then. Thatโs why weโd love to know what pet-friendly features youโve added to your home. Got any genius finds or clever hacks? Drop us a comment! It would be so awesome to learn from one another since weโre all trying to create homes that work better for the whole family, furkids included. โก See you in the next post!
15 April
