Room by Room: Kitty Central

Everyone who gets a tour of the house starts at the same place: the front porch, followed by the foyer, which includes a coat closet and a storage room. The storage room, however, is not what it seems, and curiously, no one has ever questioned why it has a large window box. Friends, however, know the true purpose of the storage room: it's Kitty Central.
 

In the initial drafts of the blueprint, this was the "mechanical room" (top right), a space reserved for the heating system, water heater, breaker box and other utilities. However, it subsequently became unnecessary, as I'd planned on using a heat pump system with the internal blower unit located in a small attic-like space over the laundry. I'd also planned on using an on-demand water heater located in the bathroom for instant hot water. And the breaker panel would go in the garage, directly adjacent to the meter outside.

With the mechanical room emptied of mechanicals, it became a storage area for outdoor tools and equipment, such as rakes and shovels, to be accessed via an external door; it would essentially replace a backyard shed. This appears on the final blueprint (center right).

But as I mentally worked through day-to-day life in my future home, it dawned on me that I could benefit from a space set aside just for "kitty maintenance"—a place for their food and water stations, the litter box, and storage for all of their stuff. After relocating the coat closet, I enlarged the storage room (bottom right) to make it big enough that the litter box is well separated from the food and water. I've also installed a dedicated exhaust fan to draw out dust and odor from the litter box, something I'd done in a prior home, and it worked well. As a bonus, this fan provides negative air pressure to draw in fresh air from outside.

 
The basic framing for Kitty Central was completed around the end of April 2016 as one of the first internal spaces to be framed.

Originally I went all out and designed a "kitties-only" screened-in porch to create a place where they could safely enjoy fresh air and sunshine year 'round; I even had a footing installed for a small deck. By May 2016, the area could be seen taking shape (below): the kitty porch roof is an extension of the main roof, with a kitty door just to the left of the human access door.

As framing proceeded, however, the enclosure became increasingly challenging to build. A number of the pressure-treated timbers warped acutely after assembly, and replacing them would have been a great deal of tricky work. Also, I later learned that it would have to adhere to all construction codes, even though the space wouldn't be used by humans, and this would require a needlessly complex design. By November I'd scrapped the whole thing, and built a large window box where the access door used to be. You can see little Bobby checking it out, below.

Although I was a little sad at losing the porch, it's not as if my cats will be short-changed on "kitty-friendly" features. All of the windows are set in walls that measure nearly a foot deep, so they'll have plenty of places to sit and watch wildlife, or sprawl and bake in the sun. There's also 35 feet of floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, not to mention a cubby over the refrigerator, complete with "central heat." Yes, I'm admittedly a crazy cat dude, but they're my children, and I want what's best for their emotional—as much as their physical—health.

The ceiling was sheetrocked on 5 February 2019, and the rest of the space on 17 July.

On 5 September 2019 I built the platforms, catwalks and shelves. Below left is the litter box area, with litter storage beneath; below right is the feeding station, on the floor under which will be the water fountain—they'll be splashing water everywhere, so the floor is the safest place for it (hence the outlet there). The bottom photo is of the food storage shelf, which is located above the feeding station. All of the platforms are removable for cleaning.

On 12 December 2019 the litter box area was finished, complete with a big new litter box (sold as a concrete mixing tub), as well as a "backsplash" to protect the walls.

After four more days of work, Kitty Central was officially done, making it the first totally finished room in the house (assuming one ignores the unfinished window box, which I may never get a chance to finish).

Also See...

The Grand Gallery < Return > Garage and Workshop

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