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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.”

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

This picture shows a rare spiral staircase model that can be ordered on the internet.

https://www.core77.com/posts/88827/Urban-Design-Phenomenon-Documenting-the-Brilliant-Quirky-Cat-Ladders-of-Switzerland