Shelves
A shelf wall in a rented flat, and how I will leave it
This week I put up the last of the shelves, and Tove was on the top one before I had put the drill away. Natt took until the evening, and then she sat on the middle shelf with her back to the room, as if she had always lived there. I rent this flat, so most of this letter is about how I did it and how I will undo it.
I started on paper. I measured the wall, drew eight shelves in a staircase and marked the studs with a stud finder, because a shelf that holds a cat has to be fixed into something solid. I asked my landlord before I bought a single bracket. She said yes to small holes, filled neatly, and I promised to fill them when I leave. A yes in writing is worth more than a good plan.
The cats taught me a rule I had not expected: each wants a way up and a way down that does not pass the other. So the staircase climbs the left side of the wall, and they come down by the sofa arm. Two cats in one flat need two routes, a few places to be alone and a few to be together.
If you are planning shelves of your own, go slowly. Put one up, wait a week and watch what they do with it before you add the next. Next time I will write about puzzle feeders, which I am asked about more than anything else.
