
Swiss Cat Ladders - howard941
https://mymodernmet.com/brigitte-schuster-cat-ladders/
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eof
We made a ladder (completely uninspired by this which pops up occasionally).

This was after moving the cat to an upstairs apt, which had always been an
outdoor cat in Vermont.

Took him like two months to figure it out, even after terrifying and pissing
him off by stranding him in the middle of it.

He was a thankful and happy cat when he finally realized his freedom.

Ours was uglier than all of the shown above (a spiral staircase around a pvc
pipe), but it was a fun project and very rewarding.

~~~
DFHippie
Maybe it's also a Vermont thing. I built a cat ladder for some Vermont cats to
get up into my daughter's loft bed. The remaining cat disdains the ladder and
just scales the bed.

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cjslep
American living in Switzerland: Can confirm there's a cat ladder from the
ground up to a balcony down the street.

I find the country also really values animal welfare as a whole.

~~~
briandear
If they valued animal welfare, they wouldn’t allow cats outdoors. They are
menace to local wildlife and biodiversity.

[https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-
birds/](https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/)

~~~
frickinLasers
Why is this downvoted? There's plenty of evidence.

"We estimate that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and
6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually."

"may exceed all other sources of anthropogenic mortality of US birds and
mammals"

[https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380](https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380)

~~~
reaperducer
The birds thing I understand. But mammals? It's mostly vermin like mice and
rats. It's not like Fluffy McButtwiggles is taking down a hippopotamus.

~~~
fian
There are many small marsupials (mammals) in Australia that are predated on by
feral and domestic cats.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_in_Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_in_Australia)

We have a cat that was rescued from a neglectful neighbour. We were shocked
one night when it turned up at our back door with a live pet rabbit is had
nabbed from a house a few doors away. Thankfully the cat mostly has since
caught non-native mice and grasshoppers since (that we are aware of).

The best conservation efforts at restoring native animal populations in
Australia have been achieved through cat and fox proof fencing followed by
trapping, baiting and shooting programs:

[https://www.australianwildlife.org/sanctuaries/mt-
gibson/](https://www.australianwildlife.org/sanctuaries/mt-gibson/)

~~~
reaperducer
_We were shocked one night when it turned up at our back door with a live pet
rabbit is had nabbed from a house a few doors away._

Interesting. I once had a golden retriever bring us a baby rabbit from the
woods. But he brought it to us in a nurturing way, as if to being it to us for
help, not for dinner.

Just another way dogs and cats are different, I guess.

~~~
BrandonMarc
My sister's pet rabbit was killed by a neighbor's Dalmatian. I figure every
dog is different.

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microtherion
It's a combination of (a) Switzerland having a high proportion of renters, and
apartments being much more common than town houses or detached housing (b)
Outdoor cats still being the norm in Switzerland.

~~~
clairity
i really like the corkscrew stairs! we (in california) have many outdoor cats
too. disneyland has a hidden phalanx of them for mousing purposes... oh, the
irony!

however i keep mine strictly indoors for peace of mind. to satiate that desire
to climb and to combat ennui, i built simple cat shelves/stairs onto the wall
of my spartment using hand-sawn boards and metal brackets screwed into the
studs. there are 2 paths up and down and around the corner that gives them a
way to relieve the zoomies when they strike. my older cat uses them to sun
near the window, while the kitten both runs and sleeps on them (and other
untold mischief).

~~~
Theodores
> i keep mine strictly indoors for peace of mind

In the Rest of the World you do have some cats kept indoors the whole time but
it is not the normal thing to do. Only in America are they de-clawed, kept
inside an apartment for their whole life and not given special 'cat' rights to
do things like climbing really 'dangerous' cat ladders.

Cats very much have their own patch to patrol. Their home is there for them
come feeding time. Despite being portrayed as antisocial they do interact with
other cats in occupying this larger territory.

In a society where people let their cats patrol their territory it seems cruel
keeping them indoors. In a street with lots of cats you would let yours out
too. But if all the cats are locked away and not able to roam then you would
lock your cat away too.

Interesting how Switzerland also has much more cat friendly traffic than what
you get in America. Maybe this is why America has become this place where
people lock up cats and daren't let them roam freely.

~~~
clairity
most people understand declawing is cruel and don't do it. and as i've
witnessed far too often in my own neighborhood, feral cats often live short
lives and suffer tragic deaths.

unless you have supportive research in human-feline relations, cat population
epidemiology and comparative global _felis catus_ sociology buttressing those
anti-american presumptions, my cats will continue enjoying their happy indoor
lives.

~~~
thunderrabbit
For me, the "logic" goes like this: my cat wants to go outside, so I let him
outside. (He was neutered, so not going to make any more cats.)

He's an adult (cat) and can make his own decisions.

I won't let my (small) fear of his death imeped his (great) desire to go
outside.

Update: he lived a long-for-a-cat happy life and passed peacefully several
years ago.

~~~
clairity
it's nice to hear that your cat had a good life.

however your experience doesn't generalize, particularly your assessment of
the risks and benefits.

i watched a neighbor's cat get hit by a car and then die in my hands. the
mortality rate for cats in my neighborhood is probably north of 20% per year
(huge). it would be irresponsible to expose my cats to such risk when they're
quite content already. mortality would have to be less than 1% (small) for me
to reconsider.

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sys_64738
My cat climbs vertical ladders and has clawed its way vertically up a bed
propped against the wall. They are unbelievable climbers.

It's just they can't get down sometimes!

~~~
gumby
> It's just they can't get down sometimes!

You never find little piles of feline bones at the base of a tree. I doubt
cats ever climb beyond where they can get down on their own.

~~~
thunderrabbit
This is what my dad explained to me and is further the reason he never helped
me down from trees. I'm super thankful for this; I love climbing trees. (And
have never seen cat bones in them)

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beenBoutIT
The ladders also provide an easy entrance into the house for everything from
rats to raccoons, especially while the cats are sleeping.

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somada141
Huh I lived in Switzerland for 5 years and honestly I never noticed them!
Maybe they weren't as common in central Zurich where I was. That's what
happens when you look at your phone when walking, you miss all the cat-
ladders!

