Cat Room Makeover with Jackson Galaxy and Kate Benjamin

Cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy and catification expert Kate Benjamin teamed up to give one lucky winner a free cat room makeover using Armarkat furniture. Hundreds of cat lovers sent in videos about their need for cat-friendly spaces. To Jackson and Kate, the clear winner was a cat owner named Anai, who was seeking to move forward after a personal tragedy.

One day when Anai came home they witnessed every cat owner’s worst nightmare. Their cat Luka acted normally at first. “She rubbed against my legs, rubbed against the door,” Anai said. But “then her back legs just like jumped for a second, like seized up, and then she flopped over.” That was the moment four-year-old Luka passed away. No cause was ever discovered for her death.

Anai and their second cat Kibs mourned the loss of Luka together. As months went by, Anai wanted to start the process of adopting a new friend for Kibs. However, Anai’s apartment was small and they remembered that Kibs’ “spicy” personality had caused Kibs to chase around Luka sometimes. Anai did not want to get a new cat until there was proper certification in place to allow each cat their own space while giving them physical and mental enrichment.

Kate created a floor plan of Armarkat furniture she selected to make a “cat superhighway” for multiple cats to get around vertically. The pieces provided many surfaces for climbing, scratching, and sleeping. A pair of Armarkat’s hexagonal cat condos allow for two cats to lounge at once. Jackson described the typical cat reaction that having two cat condos avoids. “When there are two cats in this space, one comes up and says ‘Hold on a second, that’s mine’” if the only condo spot is taken.

Installation is easy for the Wall Series Steps, which come with vertical scratching posts connecting the platforms. That feature takes away the strain of trying to determine the proper height for each step on your own. Conveniently, pieces of the Wall Series Condo, Perch, and Soft Perch can be placed in many different locations, allowing them to fit any size of wall. Connecting the cat superhighway to the floor level, the Premium Pinus Sylvestris Wood Cat Tree provides yet another hang out spot for cats.

A small room has lots of potential. With so many wall pieces, Kate’s design “essentially doubled” the space of the room for cats while leaving plenty of floorspace for people to walk around.

Anai added their own touch by coating the wood surfaces with natural berry stain to give the furniture a cherry wood look. Most of Armarkat’s wall furniture is made with bare wood, so a cat owner can customize the pieces to their heart’s content.

For Anai and Kibs, the catification was a fresh start. As Jackson said, “Good design isn’t about throwing a fresh coat of paint over things you’d like to forget. It’s about creating a space to honor our past, to live fully in the present moment, and to set intentions for the future.”

Products used in the cat room makeover:

Premium Pinus Sylvestris Wood Cat Tree S4203Wall Series Condo, Perch, and Soft PerchWall Series StepsWall Series Scratching PostSet of Two Natural Wood Wall Tree Additions (Hexagon Shape)

Check out the full cat room makeover video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWpRzrDIIMg.