Couple made DIY 'cat chute' from their house to a tent

Video Credit: SWNS STUDIO
Published on May 18, 2020 - Duration: 01:09s

Couple made DIY 'cat chute' from their house to a tent

A quarantined couple have made a DIY chute leading from their house to a tent in their front garden - so their cats can play outside.The two kitties, Archie and Toonie, can't get enough of their new outdoor playpen. "I was the mastermind behind the cat tent," said the cats' owner Anabel Maler, 30, of Iowa City. "I came up with the idea but my husband put it all up for me.

I'm more of an idea person.

He's the one who built it. "They absolutely love it," added Anabel, who works as a music theory professor.  "They chase each other in and out of the tent all day and they lie in there sunbathing. "Toonie likes to lie in the tunnel and sunbathe endlessly.

We put a catnip plant in there at one point and they went absolutely wild."We've had it set up for about a month.

We originally had just one tunnel and the tent, then we added another tunnel."As for the construction of the tent, ingenuity trumped technique - the couple opted to use duct tape instead of a more traditional form of carpentry. Despite the unorthodox building materials, the Malers say their DIY cat chute is structurally sound. "The cats put the tunnel to the test and they run vigorously through it.

It seems really well made though and the duct tape held up better than I imagined," said Anabel."I would also like to build a little cat-tio in the back, but this is a rental house, so we're not sure if our landlords will be okay with it.  "By Cat-tio I mean like a rectangular prism with chicken wire and wood attached to the back of the house that they could go in and out through the window.  "Basically it would be an extension of the house into the back yard.

It would also be cool to have a tunnel from the front to the back of the house with either mesh tunnels or chicken wire."The bizarre creation has attracted a lot of attention from the Malers' neighbors, who keep stopping to take photos."This has been happening all the time," said Anabel. "One time a lady even circled the block in her car to show her kids."  "They're cats, so the whole house belongs to them, but they love to be on the grass the most."


Couple made DIY 'cat chute' from their house to a tent

A quarantined couple have made a DIY chute leading from their house to a tent in their front garden - so their cats can play outside.The two kitties, Archie and Toonie, can't get enough of their new outdoor playpen.

"I was the mastermind behind the cat tent," said the cats' owner Anabel Maler, 30, of Iowa City.

"I came up with the idea but my husband put it all up for me.

I'm more of an idea person.

He's the one who built it.

"They absolutely love it," added Anabel, who works as a music theory professor.

"They chase each other in and out of the tent all day and they lie in there sunbathing.

"Toonie likes to lie in the tunnel and sunbathe endlessly.

We put a catnip plant in there at one point and they went absolutely wild."We've had it set up for about a month.

We originally had just one tunnel and the tent, then we added another tunnel."As for the construction of the tent, ingenuity trumped technique - the couple opted to use duct tape instead of a more traditional form of carpentry.

Despite the unorthodox building materials, the Malers say their DIY cat chute is structurally sound.

"The cats put the tunnel to the test and they run vigorously through it.

It seems really well made though and the duct tape held up better than I imagined," said Anabel."I would also like to build a little cat-tio in the back, but this is a rental house, so we're not sure if our landlords will be okay with it.

"By Cat-tio I mean like a rectangular prism with chicken wire and wood attached to the back of the house that they could go in and out through the window.

"Basically it would be an extension of the house into the back yard.

It would also be cool to have a tunnel from the front to the back of the house with either mesh tunnels or chicken wire."The bizarre creation has attracted a lot of attention from the Malers' neighbors, who keep stopping to take photos."This has been happening all the time," said Anabel.

"One time a lady even circled the block in her car to show her kids."  "They're cats, so the whole house belongs to them, but they love to be on the grass the most."

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