I really think one of the best ideas I ever had was this – and I could have (and should have) built it, but just never did. Someday, someone will – and just remember you heard it here first.

Cats are great except for two problems – hair and poop. Nobody likes the hair that cats shed and nobody likes cleaning the litter box. I can’t do anything about the litter box. There are some self-cleaning boxes that have been invented. But, the box isn’t so offensive if it doesn’t smell.

I envisioned a cat house – let’s say 5’ by 3’ – two foot high. The goal is to get the cat to shed him/herself.

We’ve all seen the brushes they make to remove hair from cats. I never used them with my cats because it was just too much trouble. Maybe some people don’t mind it. If they are going to hold the cat anyway, why not brush it. But, many cats don’t want to be held, they simply want to be petted.

The idea was that the lid would hinge up and you could get inside the cat house at any time. This is also where the cat’s food and water would be. No cat is going to starve or die of thirst. So, once it realizes where the food and water are at, it will go get them.

The key to this is the “doorway”. It would have one of those plastic swing doors so that the smell of the litter box couldn’t get out. In order to get into the rest of the cat house, the cat would have to squeeze through a gauntlet of brushes.

Cats love to rub against things. They love to have a person put their hand on them and then the cat walks through their stationary hand. This is the same principle of the cat doorway. As they walk into and out of the house, their hair is removed by the brushes which would be on the top and both sides.

Naturally, some training would be required, but that’s probably nothing more than adjusting the brushes a little wider and putting the cat in the house and closing the lid. The cat will come out! I doubt it would take long before the process went as smooth as silk.

This is a self-contained cat maintenance facility that keeps smells away and hair reduced to a minimum. It also keeps the dog out of the cat’s food and water.

If you build it, they will come.