Engineering for Cats: How to Build a Cat Cave, Bunk Beds, a Drawbridge, and Other Custom Projects for Your Pet by Mac Delaney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I may never build any of the things in this book, but at least I had fun reading about them.
The writing is very witty, and that is probably the best part of the book. Although my father was a carpenter, and built houses, as well as sets for the movies, he never passed the skill on to me, or bothered to teach me, because a) it was the 1960s, and b) I was a girl.
Still, I can appreciate all the plans in this book. Some are super simple, that even I could probably make them, such as a scratching post, although, those are cheap enough to purchase. The things that facinated me in this book were things such as the exercise wheel, which would be quite expensive if you were to find one for a cat.
The author explains the principle here:
There are at least several differences between hamsters and cats. I’m not claiming to be able to tell them apart every time—the majority of animal DNA is just cut and paste anyway, so that seems unrealistic—but my understanding is that there are some differences.
Fortunately, this project focuses on something that they have in common: the ability to expend energy running on a wheel.
And just in case you want to see what the finished product looks like, here it is:
I would recommend this book to people who have the skills, or want to learn the skills, to build things for their cat(s). Very detailed step by step directions, as well as a list of what tools you will need, plus how long it will take you to build each object.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.