Cat furniture is a thing. Here's how to turn your home into a kitty playground

Take a look at this laptop desk.

Designed for home workers, it's a lovely piece of craftsmanship, no? Elegantly turned wood, clean lines, modernist curves, a thing of great beauty.

Inspired by a Swiss cheese, perhaps? Actually, it's was devised for something more, er, animate. The clue is in the name. Designed by Hong Kong designer Ruan Hao, the CATable's holes, tunnels and slides have been specially created to entertain needy cats whose diligent owners are too busy analysing spreadsheets or responding to emails to give them the attention they deserve.

But as every cat owner knows, felines have three key behavioural drivers - eating, sleeping and having fun. The CATable takes care of the latter, providing hours of diversion while owner is left in peace, working studiously on his or her laptop. That's how the theory goes anyway.

Peepbo! Any chance you could stop making that tapping noise and look at me in stead of that boring screen? I'm much more interesting...

Forgot to mention cats also like attention seeking, so how much work actually gets done while you two are spending special time together, has yet to be verified.

Hao has already updated the CATable with the CATable 2.0, a series of stackable cubes. You don't have to accessorise these side tables with a cat (though they're not nearly as much fun on their own). And, just like cats, one or two should be more than enough for any household.

'You lookin' at me? Are. You. Looking. At. Me?'

Of course furniture for cats isn't necessarily that new. it's just gone a bit more designer these days. This attractive curvacious cat scatcher from Pet Fusion doubles as a handy footstool for when Pussikins isn't looking. Or prefers to sit on your lap. And wouldn't it coordinate nicely with the rest of the furniture in a modern apartment?

'Who's the king of the castle? Oh, I am...'

On the other hand, the more upmarket feline (Is there any other kind?) deserves something more bespoke, such as this tower, handcrafted from plywood and paw-friendly carpet. Also handy for owners to use as a spillover shelving unit, or somewhere to rest their cup of tea. Provided they ask for permission first...

But the owner who's more cat petter than carpenter (ouch), cab always go off the peg. This scratching tower from LeoPet comes in fetching leopard print and, for owners, doubles as a drying rack on rainy days, provided puss isn't in the mood to play.

And combat cat, when not on manoeuvres in the garden, might take shelter in this cardboard playhouse from Suck UK. Attack!

On the other hand... as many a cat owner will testify, you can take Felix to the
bespoke scratching station, but you cannot make him play (ball). For
the more fussy feline, there are plenty of perching spots around the house that are just as appealing as anything designed with them in mind.

Such as a pouffe. Provides plenty of undercarriage warmth and the added height offers a great vantage point on potential prey or any other threats. And the chunky knit texture is lovely for sharpening those claws on.

'You weren't sitting here, were you?'

A statement chair (designer of course) in a poppy colour works like a picture frame, setting off a pale fur beautifully. Nobody puts Baby in the corner...

'I'm not allowed up here? Really?'

A kitchen worktop, while strictly not furniture and expressly forbidden, is somewhere that never loses its charms as an ideal place to perch. Particularly when visitors come round. We blame the parents.

'Sorry, were you wanting something?'

But nothing in the house, bespoke, designer, bought online or improvised out of an old cardboard box, beats being left alone on a warm bed, whether owners are still in it or not. Purr-fection.

******