Catiotown
Introduction to Catiotown
We got connected with Tammy Thies at The Wildcat Sanctuary in March of 2024 via our dear friend, Dr. Jenny Conrad of The Paw Project. (By the way, be on the lookout for a documentary called American Cats: The Good, The Bad, and The Cuddly, a documentary that follows the often humorous trek of a British woman through the world of cats and American veterinarian practices. Hopefully, it will get good distribution soon!)
Anyway, Tammy was getting set to break ground in June on a new building on The Wildcat Sanctuary campus that they were naming “Catiotown.” The Wildcat Sanctuary is a non-profit organization in Sandstone, MN that is a refuge for mostly big cats that have been abused or discarded. Funded solely by private donations, the sanctuary provides a natural sanctuary to wild cats in need and inspires change to end the wildlife crisis.Â
In addition to wild cats, though, they have also rescued hybrid cats, Bengals and Savannah cats that had been surrendered by their owners who loved their look but discovered that they are more wild than a typical housecat. Pulled from their fates of euthanasia, Tammy and her team had amassed a fairly large group of hybrid cats now needing permanent residence. The cats had been holed up in trailers and an RV while Tammy’s dream for a modern building comprised of ten free-roaming cat roams, each with its own private, exterior catio was about to be realized: Catiotown!
Design and Construction
With the local architecture firm TWP at the helm and a general contractor in place, the Wildcat Sanctuary was poised for success. The building’s floor plan was simple but elegant, two flanking groups of cat-rooms with a central “courtyard” space for staff to interact with the cats and to relax during their busy caretaking days (The Wildcat Sanctuary, by the way, is NOT open to the public.)Â
Tammy and her team had developed very well-considered themes for each of the ten rooms, complete with “mood boards” showing the various items that could/would be purchased by donors, along with specialty items that they longed for.
Square Paws reviewed the concepts and developed a plan and estimate to create cat enrichment pieces and cat trees for seven of the ten rooms, and it fit within the allotted budget. We developed each cat tower to work with the architects’ plans and with Tammy’s vision. As soon as we received approval, we went to work.
Cat Tower Tasks
Each room or “suite” would be identified by its theme, with the following names: The Pawsh Room, The Beach Suite, The City Chic Room, The Purrbie Suite (a Barbie themed-room), The Sky Suite, The Up North Room, The Under-the-sea Suite, The Snow Globe Room, The Jungle Room, and finally The Mellow Meow Room, dedicated to more shy kitties. Of these, Square Paws would help furnish cat trees for: the Pawsh, Beach, City Chic, Purrbie, Up North, Under-the-sea, and the Jungle suites.
Building on our animal shelter experience
Having extensive animal shelter and cat cafe projects under our belt, we knew that our items would serve The Wildcat Sanctuary best if made with strong materials and finished with sustainable finishes that would hold up to rigorous cleansers and detergents. Thus, we opted for solid wood, plywood and PVC, utilizing polyurethane enamel paints for finishes.
The joy is in the details
Once we had the general dimensions and designs pinned down, we got down to business. Our first items would be cat-shelves for the Up North/ Log Cabin Suite and for the Under-the-sea Suite. Our master carpenter, Benedito Faria, is a true sculptor when it comes to carving wood. He uses every tool at his disposal, from a circular saw to a small rotary tool. And he had at it with the Up North Room, carving two prized-catch fish for the fronts of the cat-shelves that would be mounted aver a faux fireplace in the space.
Contrastingly, we used 21st Century tech with our CNC machine to carve four sea turtles that would serve as the face of the shelves in the Under-the-sea Room.  While the construction of the turtles may not have been artsy, our paint work was!  Have a look at the video below to see our process on both room items:
Each room item we made brought us great joy, as do all the things we make! We give careful consideration to how the cats will interact with each cat-feature. We think of how the staff will clean, how they will outfit it with various blankets and cat-beds. We think of how it relates to the other items in the room, whether fixed or movable. We contemplate how the colors will work with the other finishes. And, as much as we want the cats to be content, we want our clients to be just as happy.
Something borrowed, something pink
We upcycled a cat tower from the now-closed Cat Cafe South Beach: a lifeguard stand in red, white and blue for the Beach Suite. And we borrowed a page from the book of items we made for the Cattyshack Cafe in Fort Myers, FL: palm trees with green PVC palm fronds, one made slightly differently for the Jungle Suite. In addition, Tammy and her staff loved a geometric bookshelf/cat tree that resembled a real tree but in a very posh style. We were happy to draw inspiration from the original but fashioned it to our design style and to fit the context of the “Pawsh” Suite.
But perhaps my favorite item was the Barbie-esque Dream House for the Purrbie Suite. It was not only great fun to build an actual doll house for cats, but to research the various renditions of Barbie’s Malibu Dream House as well as to look at the great set design work that you can see in the 2023 Greta Gerwig film. Take a look below at what went it our custom-build!
Overall, we were very pleased with the end results of our labor. More than this, we were overjoyed that Tammy and her staff were pleased with how it all turned out! Their architect and contractors did an amazing job to build a state-of-the-art facility that is very thoughtful to the needs of housing Bengal and Savannah cats, and we were happy to have a supporting role in the outfitting of the rooms. The Wildcat Sanctuary did a fabulous job of adorning the rooms with the right touch of elements to make them endearing for cats and humans!
To get another perspective of the project from Tammy Thies, click here.
And please subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more videos of our work at Catiotown!
Lastly, we welcome your comments, so type away below!!!
4 thoughts on “Catiotown at The Wildcat Sanctuary”
What beautiful creations! The sea turtles are so lifelike and the barbie house is stunning! Amazing job!
Thank you, Angeli!!!
When the News is focused on all the chaos and fear in the world it is reassuring to see good creative people working together to bring joy and comfort to those who need help. To SquarePaws and those who created and run Wild Cat Sanctuary I thank you for your important work and being the example of how important it is to BE the change you want in the world. Blessings to you all.
Couldn’t agree more, Michele! XO