A Tail of Triumph over Feline Hyperesthesia
We set about creating a cat climbing wall to improve the quality of life for our beloved cat, Graycie. She was diagnosed with a rare disorder called Feline Hyperesthesia. After a couple of months of trying different medications, we were concerned that we were going to lose her.
After months of seizures, that manifested in her attacking her tail, her veterinarians teamed up and found a combination of medicines that controlled her symptoms!!
Within days we started seeing results…finally. It was a huge relief, but we were still cautious, not sure if this was a short-term solution.The doctors recommended keeping her busy, so we put her dry food in toys that she would have to play with to get the food out and we spent more time keeping her entertained.
Then, I started doing research online and saw climbing walls for cats. The concept was amazing, but I wanted to find a way to have it fit in with our décor.
So I set about designing something that would fit in our sunporch, give her places to sleep that were up high (which is ideal for feral cats) and she could climb up, go across the whole room and down on the other side. She eventually loved it, and we would find her there every day!!! Neighbors would look for her to see if she was watching them.
But, it did not start out well. She was leery and needed to be coaxed. We took dry food and placed them on each shelf and did that every day until she realized she was safe.
We got indoor/outdoor carpet and used double sided tape to line each of the shelves.
Then put a molding around it to secure it in place and finish off the edges.
And to keep it from looking like a cat climbing wall, we filled in with art. Keep in mind that the cat needs to turn on some of the shelves, so don’t hang anything too close to it.
The placement of pictures worked fairly well. Every once in a while one would be crooked, so you might want to measure your cat to determine the best height.
Shelf number one of her journey.
Graycie napping at the first of 4 sleeping shelves.
Graycie would start her journey on the right-side bench, then walk across the windowsill to her first shelf. Then across the tops of the windows and eventually come down on the other side to lay on my desk.
This view shows 3 of the sleeping shelves.
Then the barrel shelf, which she does not like for some reason (I thought it was awesome).
This was a rare moment as she normally does not pause here.
Graycie hanging out over my desk. Her favorite spot.
This picture gives a better view of the carpeting used. It was very low pile, almost like felt. We just wanted to give her more traction, so she didn’t slip off.
Within weeks, she started getting her strength back as well as her health and confidence. This was a game changer.
About 6 months later we were able to cut back her medications. She will likely be on them for the rest of her life, but she is back to her old self and doing great!
Admittedly, we went a little overboard. Who can blame us? She is worth it, and we love to watch her climbing up and down and napping all day on her perch.
Most of our guests never notice the shelves. If they do, they think they were for artwork. It’s funny, because that is what I thought I would have to do if we went to all this trouble, and she would not climb up.
You could just do a wall around a window with a shelf ¾ of the way up so your cat can nap and keep an eye on the neighbors or the birds. Having a window near a tree would be ideal.
If you have a cat or cats that need more entertainment, and you do not want it to look obvious, I hope that this will give you some inspiration.
