These Cats Have a Two-Story Playground—and a New Sibling on the Way - Cat Lady Home Tour

Being a cat lady is just such a fun way to live your life. You get these awesome cats, but then you also just connect with people at parties as soon as you find out they have a cat. Hi, I'm Kate. Welcome to my cat lady home tour. I'm a startup founder, and I live in Cobble Hill with my two cats, Ruby and Peridot. Peridot is seven and a half. She likes sitting in small boxes, laying in sunspots, and knocking small things off of counters. She dislikes loud sounds like vacuums, but she likes pretty much everything else. Ruby is seven and a half. She likes walking on tall spaces like the railings in my apartment, laying next to me when I'm horizontal, and drinking out of the watering can we leave on the counter. She does not like any kind of closed door, and she doesn't really like my husband that much. She just doesn't really care about him. Peridot is a ray of sunshine cat. Everyone loves her. I feel like if someone broke into our house, she would just lay on the floor and not seem threatening at all. She's just so friendly to most people. She constantly just lays on her back and looks friendly, so definitely a very sunshine cat. Ruby is a little more reserved. She loves me. Ruby is obsessed with me. She sleeps with me every single night. I can do a little whistle and she'll come to me at night, but she definitely is kind of a one-person cat, so she likes me the best. If someone comes and watches them or stays in our apartment while we're away, she kind of keeps her distance. Ruby is definitely a sweetheart, definitely a Velcro cat, but mostly for me. She's a mama's girl. Yeah. Did you name them? When they were listed for adoption, they had a totally different name. It was Tigris and Mediva, but I named them Ruby and Peridot. Actually, the name Ruby came to me in a dream a long time ago. I was trying to think of another gemstone name. Peridot is the August birthstone, and so I was like, oh, I'll do Peridot. I like the two gemstone duos. Ruby has a darker coat, which kind of reminds me of a ruby, and Peridot is a lighter coat, and that's the light green stone. My birthstone is the Peridot, so I've always been Leo energy with the cats, and then just fun to have the birthstone. Well, I'm going to act ignorant and ask you how you found these cats. What's the adoption story? I actually followed this account, Girls and Their Cats, and I was like, oh, so cute. Look at all these cats, and then I came across a post you made actually about these two cats. It was like these cutest little pictures of them that said they were still looking for a home. They were probably maybe seven or eight months, and they were going to be available for adoption at the Brooklyn Cat Cafe. I was like, oh my gosh, this feels like fate. I'm looking for a cat. I've always loved calicos. I grew up with a calico. I just love calicos and how they look. They're so pretty, so I went to the Brooklyn Cat Cafe. Peridot was very outgoing. She was playing in the water fountain. Ruby was hiding under a cage at the Brooklyn Cat Cafe, but they were both so cute, and I was like, yes, okay, I'm going to get these cats. That's the story. It's so exciting for me to be able to see these cats again after all this time because, yeah, they were just little kittens when I photographed them. Yeah, they're definitely a lot bigger, especially Peridot. She's a big girl. Do they have any nicknames? Sometimes I call Peridot Peridot, and Ruby, I call her Rubicon, like Rubicon Jeep, Rubix, Rubix Cube, Rubelo. I don't know why I call her Rubelo. It's like an illness, but not that often. I more call her Ruby. Sometimes their combined name is like Ruby Doe, so I'll call her Ruby Doe. I have a little bit more nicknames for Ruby than Peridot, but Peridot, I'm more like Perrito. What is the relationship between the two of them like? I feel like they used to be closer. They used to sleep together a lot. I have pictures of them, and it was so cute. They would just be together all the time, and I feel like they don't like each other as much anymore. I feel like they had some kind of falling out, and they share custody of me. They do both sleep on the bed with me sometimes, but only when I'm by myself. It is a little sad that they aren't as close as they used to be. They're totally fine with each other. They sit in the same room. They just don't cuddle the way they used to. You have a baby due in December. Yes. Have they noticed any changes? Are they acting differently? There was one time, a week ago, Peridot was laying on me, and she put her head directly on my stomach, which is very cute. I was like, is it a coincidence, or is it because of the baby? The one thing that's slightly different is now that I'm sleeping on my side, and I'm moving around more, I feel like Ruby doesn't sleep with me the entire night. I would usually sleep on my back, and she would lay in my arm the entire night, but now I'm flipping side to side, and I have this huge pillow, and I feel like she still sleeps with me, but not as much as she was the whole night. We have a nice, flexible space situation. The room next to me is currently my husband's office, and then above that room, we have a sitting room. It's not really being used to its fullest extent. The cats like to sit in there, but we're going to just move my husband's office to that upstairs room, and the downstairs will be the baby nursery. I think the cats might try to get in there, and I'm sure they'll sit on the stuff, but that's actually healthy for children because it reduces their allergies long-term. I think this is a scientific fact, that kids who are exposed to pets and babies and stuff, they don't have as many allergies. Well, I'm not a scientist, and I agree with you. The cats really like the vertical space, so it's two floors. It's a duplex. The upper floor is more of a loft space, so it's not a proper second floor that has a door. The stairs are a little steep, but the cats really like to go up there, especially when I'm not home. If someone's watching them, they always tell me that when they come in the door, the cats both come from upstairs. They're just coming down the stairs like they live up there. They like sitting on the landing up there and looking down, especially when people are visiting us, so they're just looking from afar. I kind of have a joke with myself that the cats, they're around during the nighttime, but then during the day, they commute to work, and they go upstairs, and that's where they are during the day a lot. Do your cats have any weird habits? I definitely think it's funny that Ruby does like to drink from the watering can. We water the plants with it, so I just always leave it filled, and she likes to drink from it. Peridot, I think it's really funny. Whenever I put a new box down, and even if it's a really small box, she will sit in it instantly. It's funny, Peridot is the only one who really knocks things off of counters. Ruby doesn't really feel that cat urge to knock stuff off counters, but with Peridot, I can't leave stuff on the counter that is clearly movable, because sometimes in the middle of the night, I would hear something crash. Even things that I didn't think she'd be strong enough to push, like we had this glass jar of nuts, like a small jar. She knocked it off the counter, and I heard a shatter in the middle of the night, and I was like, well, that's unfortunate. Let's wake up and clean some glass. What is your favorite thing about cats? Cats are just so cute. I've always loved cats. Literally, as a young child, I loved cats. I had a cat birthday party. My first memory was actually getting a stuffed cat. I had 30 beanie baby cats. I've just always loved cats. I don't know what it is exactly about them. They're just so cute and elegant, and they're also not frantic. They're cuddly, and they're just really cute. They just have very cute features, and I just have always liked their vibes. Yeah, they got good vibes and very cute features. If you were to offer one piece of advice to new cat parents, what would it be? I think if you get a cat as a kitten, it's important to handle them and pet them. Don't disrespect their boundaries or anything, because you don't want to create aggression or fear, but definitely pet them. Be very friendly with them, very open. If you want a kitten, it's not guaranteed they'll be super mushy and friendly, but that, I think, can make your chances a little better. It's also great to adopt older cats. Just make sure you meet them first. I know some people look at a picture on the shelter site, and they're like, oh, that cat's really cute. I'll get that cat, but I think it's really important that you meet them so you're aware of their temperament. Go in with your eyes open and just accept them for who they are. Do you have a controversial cat opinion? I don't know if this is controversial, but I think people are major haters of cats for no good reason. I also get annoyed when people are like, girl cats are aloof and unfriendly. My boy cat is so goofy and sweet. I'm like, why are we gendering the personality of cat? We have sexism now for cats? Yeah, I'm like, first of all, my girl cats are so sweet and cute. I get annoyed when people do this with children, and they're like, oh, your boy is wild. I'm going to run around. Oh, girls are so sweet and demure. I'm like, why are we just putting these expectations? It actually annoys me when people do the Instagram videos of my girl cat is this mean, spicy cat, and my boy cat is this sweet, fluffy, can do no wrong. Also, most cats are neutered or spayed, so they don't even have the cat hormones that would actually influence the personality. Just like babies and humans, they are not tied to exactly what their gender is. Yeah, we don't need misogyny in the cat world. Yeah. Let's leave it. Here in the living room, I found this painting. It was when my husband and I were in Washington, Seattle, and it looks exactly like the cat that even has our white cabinets. It looks more like Peridot. Ruby kind of looks like her. It's a tortoiseshell, so it looks like her. So I just had to buy it because it was so cute. This painting I got from a street fair here in Brooklyn. It's just like a cute bodega cat, which felt very relevant. So yeah, I love that cover. In the bedroom, I actually have this really cool cat quilt that my mom's friend, who's really into quilting, made for me. The underneath side also has cats. You can see, yeah, handmade with lots of love for Christmas 2021. This is just a little cat neon light that I got from a friend. It was during a clothing item swap, so everyone brings stuff they're trying to get rid of, and I just think it's cute to have it here. Yeah, that is cute. The cats really like to sit in here. It's just a very sunny room. This is actually the room that will become the nursery baby room. So right now, it's my husband's office. We had a cat birthday party a couple weeks ago. We had masks for people to paint, and so my husband, this was his mask, and he put a little mustache on it. So I have, like, a cat puzzle. Here's another cat puzzle. We also have, like, some cat board games. Like, well, this is not open, but I have played it somewhere else. Your future child has no choice but to be a cat person. Yeah, if they like dogs, then they're lucky my mom has dogs because they can hang out with grandma's dogs. And this is a cat glass figurine my mom actually just gave me for my birthday. It's a store in Wisconsin where we're from. A couple little cat things down there. My husband was recently in China, and he got me a lot of cat knickknacks. Upstairs, we have a lot of cat stuff. We have a bookshelf that has all of my cat knickknacks from when I was a little kid, so let's take a look. And be careful on these stairs. The cats like them, but they are very steep. I'm, like, climbing. They are definitely a bit of a hazard. This has just a picture of a cat. I bought that at the Claude Monet Museum in France because he was actually really into Japanese prints that, like, really inspired his own art. I don't know how long ago I got this one. This was just from, like, my childhood. This, I got these little cat figurines for my bridesmaids when I got married, so everyone has, like, a little different color cat thing. This wood cat is definitely from when I was a little kid. I just, like, would collect these little cat wood things. This, I don't know when I got this, but it just reminds me of Peridot, so it's funny. This cat thing, I got painted, I think I might have been in San Antonio, Texas when I got it. I just thought it was, like, very cute. My mom got me this little cat figurine. That was, uh, the cat that I had before Ruby and Peridot was the senior cat who was a black cat named Cosmo, so this was, like, a little in memory of Cosmo. So, Chewy sometimes sends people paintings of their cats, and I remember during the pandemic, I was living at home, and they sent me these paintings, and I wrapped them, and I was like, that is so cute! Like, there's literally pictures of the cats. I think I, like, bought their stock because they sent me pictures, which maybe was kind of dumb. Like, their stock definitely didn't stay as hot as it did during the pandemic, but I bought their stock because they sent me a picture, so. These, uh, someone gave me as a birthday or Christmas gift, I can't remember, but just cute little calico figurines. This I got when I was, I think, a pretty young kid. I don't remember. Hand-painted by, maybe it was made in 2000, actually, so that's just, like, I always thought that was so pretty when I was a kid. Um, I still do. Oh, this is one of my childhood beanie babies that I recently brought back from, uh, my mom's house, so. Remember when we thought they'd be worth so much money? Yeah, well, the funny thing is that when I was a little kid, I actually would cut the tags off of every beanie baby cat because I thought it was hurting them, and so I had about 30 beanie baby cats, and, like, none of them had tags on their ears, and my mom, like, she just, she let me do it. They weren't gonna be like, no, keep the tags on so they retain their value, so, like, they just let me, like, enjoy the beanie baby, which I appreciate, so. This is just a cat mug someone gave me. This is, like, a Christmas decoration my mom had, and, like, I was gonna just bring it out at Christmas, but I don't, I never put it away, so it just lives there. This is a new one. Um, my husband brought this back when he visited China because I was like, bring me back cat things, so he just brought me back various cat things. Writers and their cats. I also, actually, I have, um, someone gave me your book for, yeah, someone actually gave me your book, uh, for, like, oh, oh, it was my cousin, so my 26th birthday someone gave this to me, so. That's cute. Oh, that's so cute. Yeah, and this area, I recently, I, I bought this shoe rack for a party because we had a lot of people here, and I needed a place where we would put their shoes, so I bought that. I don't know what to do with it. It was only $20, so I was like, I'll just put it up here for now because Ruby likes to go in there and sleep in it sometimes, so now it's, like, a weird shoe rack cat tree. Um. It's just a cat corner. It's just a cat corner. This was, has always been up here. It's, like, on a stand of stuff I'm storing, but it used to be more next to the couch, but they love these cardboard things. They love the cardboard house scratchers. Funny, because I bought this from Ikea, and it used to be down there, but they never went in it, so I was like, okay, well, I'll move it up here, and I, like, I tried to create, like, a, cut a hole in this to maybe, like, have them want to go in it. Oh, it's, like, a little sardine tent. Yeah, it is, like, a sardine tent, but I was like, maybe they'll want to go in here if I create, like, an experience, but they haven't, they haven't done it yet. But they like to go on top of this, and they do like to scratch. Okay, so where do you keep the litter box? I will show you. It is out here. It's not that discreet, but, I mean, it is on this upper landing, and it's far from my desk, so it's just, like, a, you know, nondescript place to put it. I have this painting that, like, my mom gave me from, like, a street artist here. It's just, like, a cat looking in New York. I had a frame for it, but the frame fell and broke, so then I just hung it without a frame, and I never, like, got a new frame for it, but it's, like, it's for the cat litter box art. I kind of alternate between two foods, like the royal canine and the hill sign side. They, I feel like if they eat the same thing for too long, they get sick of it, so I kind of, like, rotate them. They have also an auto feeder, so they do eat the wet food, but they're not, like, overly food motivated. She looks so, like, large. It's funny because she's, like, I think she's just, like, big boned. Like, I think she's just, like, a bit, I mean, she's maybe a little fat, but, like, but I think she's, like, a big cat, like, larger boned. They think that I'm tricking them into something. Ruby, come back. I'm not trying to do weird stuff. Being a cat lady is just such a fun way to live your life. Like, you get these awesome cats, but then you also just connect with people at parties. As soon as you find out they have a cat, you're bonding over the fact that you both have cats. You're showing each other pictures of cats on your phone, so I think being a cat lady is, like, its own little club. Thanks so much for stopping by. That was my cat lady home tour.