PostPoints Pets Tip of the Week

I do think of my own cat Gus as a modern cat, even though he is 16 years old.

I've long searched for a great scratching post that is both tasteful and functional and appealing to this particular finicky tabby. So I finally have a great blog to share with those of you who also like your feline products with a bit of style. It's www.moderncat.net.

You will find well-designed products here, such as the corrugated cardboard Scratch Towers they recently posted. These are freestanding vertical scratchers no cat can walk by without giving them a little claw action. They are so good looking, you can keep them next to the Eames chair in the living room, not banished to the basement.

Creator Kate Benjamin, who works in consumer product development and is a long-time cat lover, specializes in discovering products for cats without lace or faux fur, such as a streamlined giant egg bed or natural sisal rope mouse. There are decorative items such as mid-century modern cat silhouettes. And there is a DIY section with many cool ideas from various sources for litter box holders, cat shelves and cardboard play houses. How about remaking an Ikea doll bed into a cat bed?

--Jura Koncius, Local Living