DE8705393U1 - Animal furniture, especially cat tower - Google Patents

Description

Description

Kit for creating an animal furniture piece

The invention relates to a kit for producing an animal furniture Vickes, in particular a cat tower with several floors and entrance and exit openings in the outer walls of the tower and possibly in the shelves of the individual floors.

Cat houses or so-called cat trees have been around for many years and are set up in the home to give house cats a place where they can keep themselves busy without any taboos, i.e. where they can climb, scratch and sleep. They usually consist of one or more climbing trunks wrapped in sisal (approx. 10 cm in diameter), as well as attached resting areas and possibly small caves that give the trunk a hold or are attached to or on the trunk at a certain height. The resting areas are usually covered with a plush cover, as are the caves, which also have a plush cover on the outside walls in addition to the resting areas. It is also already known to stack several caves on top of each other to form a cylindrical column, with or without the aid of a climbing trunk or post. The covering of the enclosure is usually carpet, but not natural fiber carpet. The well-known cat houses and cat towers are usually in various shades of brown. There are also cat houses that consist of a plastic cave that can be used as a cat toilet. Cat house toilets are also known in colors, e.g. pink. It is also already known to produce cat houses or cat trees in a modular system, but these are limited to climbing, scratching and sleeping elements. Furthermore, special transport and sleeping baskets or caves are known, which in turn represent a special element that cannot be integrated. Separately set up cat grass bowls are also known. Reference: GM 78 27 253

GM79 01 226

GM77 37 091

One disadvantage of existing products is that they only satisfy some of the cat's needs, namely climbing, scratching and sleeping. Commercially available cat houses for collecting cat excrement are also only functionally usable. Commercially available cat grass for sowing in a flower pot or bowl is also to be seen as a separate part of the most necessary utensils for keeping cats. If these are not placed at a sufficient distance from other houseplants, there is a risk that the

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Cats nibble on plants that are dangerous or "poisonous" to them. These things take up a lot of space that could otherwise be used to decorate the living space. It is also obvious that cat paraphernalia can be found in many places in the home, making the living space more and more like an oversized cat kennel. This unnecessary waste of space needs to be eliminated. In addition, cat caves are usually covered on the outside with plush fur or carpet, which does not meet the needs of a cat , as these types of coverings do not provide sufficient support for the cat when climbing, and in the long term do not offer sufficient resistance to the cat's claws , especially at the seams, so that these parts soon become unsightly and require new covering. Furthermore, the lying areas of cat caves can only be cleaned under difficult conditions, as they are fixed and can only be reached by hand through the entrance openings, which also prevents the view of the part to be cleaned. In addition, the natural-colored cat houses and cat trees for climbing, scratching and sleeping are not attractive enough for the color-seeing cat's eye, so that it also happens that cats do not use these devices that were specially purchased for them. Likewise, the well-known cat houses and cat trees do not offer cats enough opportunities to use their play skills in a species-appropriate manner, which include fishing with their paws, lying in wait for mice in front of a hole and exploring the hollow spaces behind small holes or openings that they cannot get through as a whole, which arouses great curiosity in them, making the device attractive in their eyes in the long term. The cat houses and cat trees made in a modular system are also limited to the climbing, scratching and sleeping needs of cats.

The invention is based on the object of eliminating the above-mentioned disadvantages in a kit of the type mentioned at the beginning and of creating a cat tower which meets all the needs of a house cat as well as the cleaning, maintenance and usage needs of the cat owner and which can at the same time be incorporated into the design of the apartment as an attractive piece of furniture in a space-saving manner without giving the impression that the human being only lives in it as a secondary matter.

This goal is achieved in that the kit consists of shelves and/or side walls that can be detachably connected to one another. Preferred embodiments are characterized in claims 2 to 10.

The subject matter of the invention is shown in exemplary embodiments in the drawings. They show:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective, schematic representation of a kit according to the invention,

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Fig. 2 : a canopy according to the invention with a removable cover and extendable lying surfaces, which have an overhang and no play openings,

Fig. 3 is a schematic representation, also in perspective, of a construction kit according to the invention, consisting of individual, different types of kit elements which are plugged together.

* The kit consists of a casing 1, which is preferably made of wood or chipboard.

plate and preferably covered with a hard-wearing rough material, such as

for example sisal or coconut carpet, is covered or glued. With a preferably rectangular floor plan, a wall 6 of the casing 1 is set back slightly. All carpet edges of the casing 1 are preferably glued or edged with wood or another material. In the casing 1 there are two or more shelves to separate individual caves, which are preferably made of wood or chipboard and covered with a preferably colored textile material. The shelves 2 can be pulled out, preferably on triangular strips, and either end flush with the casing 1 or they have a projection on the wall 6 set back in the casing 1. The casing 1 preferably has round and/or square entry openings 3 and smaller round and/or square play openings 4. The shelves 2 are either closed or also have access openings 5 and/or smaller play openings 4, which are also round and/or square. Furthermore, in the lowest cave there is a cat litter tray drawer 8, which is preferably made of wood or chipboard or plastic and is lined on the inside with polystyrene or another plastic to make it waterproof. This drawer 8 can be pulled out of the cave using a handle, in which two guide rails are attached. Preferably there is only one access opening leading into the litter tray. A preferably removable plant box 9 is attached to the upper peripheral edge 7 of the uppermost cave, which is preferably made of wood or chipboard or plastic and is lined on the inside with polystyrene or another plastic to make it waterproof. This plant box 9 is suspended using a block guide. In addition, if the cat tower is not built compactly, it can be assembled from individual cave elements 10, which can be built in different designs in terms of the entry, passage and play openings, the shelves and usability, in any vertical and horizontal configuration, preferably using a plug-in system. Special cave elements are, for example, the toilet cave 11, the transport cave 12, the surrounding edge 7 for the plant box and the plant box 9. The embodiments shown and described are only an example of how the invention can be implemented.

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A cover according to the invention, for the manufacture of an animal furniture item, in particular a cat tower, enables all the utensils required for keeping cats, such as a cat litter box, a flower box with greenery, equipment for climbing, scratching, playing, jumping, sleeping and, if necessary, a transport den, to be stored in a space-saving and manageable manner in one place, which can also be incorporated into the living room as a decorative piece of furniture. Because one wall of the cover is set back a little, two cut edges are created on the carpet in the vertical, so that two corners of the cat tower according to the invention are seamlessly spanned and the other two corners form negative corners due to the offset. Since cats love corners. If cats choose a corner that is suitable for sharpening their claws, but the negative corners make scratching directly on the corner impossible, the two corners of the cat tower according to the invention that are seamlessly covered with a hard-wearing, rough natural fiber carpet are preferred. Due to the choice of material and the type of covering, these corners cannot be torn open or become unsightly in the long term, which is to be regarded as particularly advantageous. The pull-out shelves make it much easier for the cat owner to clean cat hair etc. from the lying areas. The color choice of the textile material for the covering of the lying areas - red is particularly noteworthy as it is the favorite color of cats - also appeals to the color-seeing eye of the cat and makes the cat house an attractive place for them where they feel comfortable. In order to keep the cat tower interesting in the long term, it offers not only climbing, scratching and sleeping opportunities, but also a variety of options for using their play skills in a species-appropriate way. There are various places where you can enter the caves, and if necessary, there are also ways to climb through the inside of the cat tower and there are many ways to look through or fish, both in the casing and in the shelf of the cat house. Small openings through which the cat cannot see the room behind it arouse a natural curiosity in it, which leads to intensive preoccupation with these cavities, thus fulfilling another part of the purpose of a cat tower according to the invention. The removable plant box allows the plants, when they have been nibbled, to be temporarily placed in a place that is inaccessible to the cat for the purpose of resting. For species-appropriate house cat keeping in an apartment, the cat owner does not need any additional space-consuming utensils, which is a great advantage. The feeding area was deliberately not included, since cats are usually fed at certain times anyway and therefore do not need constant, unhindered access to their food. All materials used are cat-friendly and are used for their intended purpose. Every detail contributes to the intended use and is not chosen arbitrarily. The modularity of a cat house according to the invention offers the advantage of being able to design and equip it individually and to expand it as required. This means that the relatively high purchase costs of a complete cat house can be

tower can be alleviated because the cat house can now be built and expanded depending on the financial situation until a cat tower according to the invention is created that meets all the needs of a house cat.

Claims (8)

Expectations * A pet furniture unit, in particular a cat tower, with several cave levels (10) and inlet and outlet openings (5.) in the outer walls (&Oacgr; of the tower and optionally in the shelf (2) of the individual caves, characterized in that the shelves (2) are detachably inserted into the side windows (1). 2. Animal furniture according to claim 1, characterized in that the shelves (2) are at least ±n partial areas larger than the base area of the animal furniture. 3. Animal furniture according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in addition to access openings (5) for the animal using the basket, further openings of smaller diameter (4) are provided in the individual shelves (2) and/or side walls (1). 4. Animal furniture according to one of the preceding claims ₅ , characterized in that at least one of the shelves (2) is designed as an animal toilet (8). 5. Animal furniture item according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a plant box (9) is preferably attached, preferably detachably, to the outside of a side wall (1) of the animal furniture item. 6. Animal furniture, in particular according to claim 5 or one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least partial areas are provided with a covering suitable for cats, e.g. natural fiber carpet. 7. Animal bite according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that that the individual cavities (10) are detachably connected to one another, e.g. by means of a plug-in system. 8. Animal furniture, in particular according to claim 7 or one of the preceding claims, characterized, that at least one of the caves (10) serves as a transport container (12) is formed. 9· Animal furniture according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a side wall (6) is set back on the preferably square base area. 10· Animal furniture according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the top shelf is laterally limited by a surrounding ring (7).