Any hints, suggestions, personal experiences from other cat-loving
Orchidians who have had studio cats? Is this just a really bad
idea?
Hello Susannah,
I do my work in an apartment studio and share it with two young cats
(1 yr +). My work arrangement is somewhat unusual to begin with
because of the small space I have available but I have managed to set
things up so that I can do my work and co-habitate successfully with
our cats. In fact my studio has become their place of choice, no
doubt because I’m always in it and it’s got loads of light and
windows.
In practice what I’ve done is build a wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling
shelving unit that stores all of my tools, chemicals, etc. It’s
literally a workshop on a wall. My “bench”, simply a long, narrow
table, sits directly in front of the shelves so that it is easy to
sit at the table and reach stuff on the shelves.
The trick for me has been to set things up so that dangerous or
troublesome stuff like my soldering and pickling gear is easy to
“lock” away. To do this I’ve enclosed the central portion of the
shelving unit in tough mosquito netting --front, sides, top, etc–
with the netting on the front being easy to roll up out of the way so
I can access the tools. When I’m done for the day or take a break I
roll down the netting, secure it on simple hooks and everything is
safe again. It takes about 30 seconds to “open” or “close” the shop, a
minute or so more if I have to put a few things away like firebricks,
pickle pot, etc.
Bottled chemicals go in a snap-top rolling bin that tucks into one of
the bottom shelves. Small fiddly things like my current projects and
the wire I use --cat magnets all-- get stashed in fishing tackle boxes
within easy reach. The section of the table that has all my everyday
tools --dividers, scribes, etc-- is covered underneath with heavy
canvas so that pointy things won’t hurt curious faces. My sweeps
“drawer” slides away under the tabletop. Any shelves that have things
that could potentially tumble off have little security ropes on
hooks. All metals, rods, wood, etc are in a bin and tied to a wall.
I think you get the idea. I know it sounds like a lot of work and
frankly it was more effort than I expected to get things set up but
in the end it is a cat-safe place when it’s shut down and the
inconvenience to me is minimal. When I’m open for business I do have
to keep an eye out but they’ve pretty much learned that when I’m busy
it’s not a good time to visit. Having comfy chairs nearby for them to
sit and watch, either me or the birds outside, has helped enormously.
The odd time when I’m up to something really tricky, and therefor of
immediate interest to all felines, I simply escort my audience out
into the hall and close the door for a while.
I’m sure that there are those who think that this whole cat-in-shop
business is ill-advised but for me it was a simple choice: I don’t
have a choice. It’s a small apartment, I’m in here 10 or more hours a
day and neither I nor the cats can bear to be closed up in rooms for
that long every day. I needed to find a way to make it work and I
have.
I hope some of this is useful to you. Please don’t hesitate to write
if I can be of any assistance. If you’d like to see pictures just let
me know and I’ll throw a few up on the web. I know I always find that
pictures bring clarity to a jumble of words.
Cheers,
Trevor F.