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Urban Design Phenomenon: Documenting the Brilliant, Quirky Cat Ladders of Switzerland

Cats are by far the most common household pet in Switzerland, so much so that their presence has given rise to a unique urban design phenomenon: the cat ladder. Devoted owners have built a series of outdoor climbing aids to help their feline friends come and go as they please.

Some are charming in their ad-hoc nature (a slender ladder leaning on a mailbox for support or treads applied to a building’s rain duct) while others are complex zig-zag structures permanently affixed to the side of a building. It’s not all DIY either. Now you can find some more elaborate models—like an ornate wood spiral staircase—for purchase online.

Using the city of Bern as a case study, Brigitte Schuster documented these eclectic cat ladders in a forthcoming photo book, simply titled Swiss Cat Ladders. Combining her photographs with a series of diagrams and essays exploring the structures from a sociological and architectural point of view, Schuster captures the popular trend and raises questions about the human-feline relationship. As she writes in the introduction, these ladders “indicate a willingness to house the cats properly and respect the animals’ needs.”

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These zig-zagged cat ladders have a built-in railing to protect cats from falling.

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Here, the mailboxes are used as a support for the cat ladder.

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The cat climbs from the tree to the cat ladder and from there to the balcony.

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This folding ladder—developed by Maike Franzen—consists of plastic plates with holes cut through and is an example of a temporary ladder that doesn’t have to be permanently installed onto a building.

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This wooden cat ladder grows side-by-side with the vines.

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This ladder reaches up to the third floor and is one of the highest you’ll find in Bern.

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Treads attached to the rain pipe lead to the second floor.

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This picture shows a rare spiral staircase model that can be ordered on the internet. image
https://www.core77.com/posts/88827/Urban-Design-Phenomenon-Documenting-the-Brilliant-Quirky-Cat-Ladders-of-Switzerland