Man discovers cats' unusual new sleeping spot—he has a plan
A man who recently bought a new home is already planning a major renovation project—for his cats.
Chris Thomas, 41, lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is a proud "single dad" to a whopping eight cats: Frances, Snoo, Donda, Epona, Foxy, Oliver, Rogue, and Storm, and three-legged dog, Freya.
Having previously not had a cat, Thomas stepped up when pregnant stray Frances arrived on his property, and now looks after that stray and all seven of her kittens, who are now fully-grown cats.
Many owners will tell you their cat is totally in charge of the house, and having eight means this is even more true—and Thomas is more than happy to accommodate.
In a recent video to his TikTok account, @francesandfam, Thomas showed how his cats had found their favorite spot in their new home: a cupboard, high up in the kitchen, where they were all cuddled together for warmth.
"It started out as a joke, but they have totally taken over those cabinets and I'm not even upset in the least," Thomas told Newsweek. "I love it because Freya, my dog, has the low ground and they have the high ground."
One clip, liked almost 45,000 times, showed Thomas opening the cupboard door to show the cats in a "cuddle" puddle above the refrigerator, as he asked: "Am I crazy or is this a great idea?"
He then explained his cats have "taken over" a specific cupboard, but he was considering knocking the wood between that cupboard and others in the kitchen, to allow them to walk through, spread out and explore, in a domain just for them, moving his cups and plates elsewhere.
"The fridge is great because the top of the fridge is warm. So they're always up there in some kind of cuddle," Thomas told Newsweek. "My goal is to create a pathway along the entire upper walls of the house."
And TikTok users loved the idea, with hundreds commenting on the clip since it was published on January 5.
"You should definitely do that! Also great sense of humor, I loved that," one user wrote, as one called it an "amazing idea" and another urged him to "do it!"
One user laughed: "Why don't you just give them the whole house and you move somewhere else?" And one was concerned the cats might like the cupboard "because it is a small space" and "if you make it larger they won't like it anymore."
Another joked about cats' general attitude to life as they warned: "If you knock the wall down or put any effort in the cats will probably never touch that area again," as another agreed: "The second you put effort into it, they won't like it. They like that spot because they think it annoys you that they are there."
Thomas admitted that when he filmed the video, it started as a "joke," and he thought people would "make fun of me."
"I'll be damned, but like 99 percent of the people were in full support," he said, revealing some viewers have urged him to put a fundraiser together to pay contractors to set up the cat palace, as "I'm not the handiest man ... I just bought this house and I don't want to destroy it!"
His plan for now, he says, is to get a long cord and webcam, to run all the way from the studio to the kitchen, and "set up a 24/7 cam pointing right at that area."
Since becoming a cat dad to eight felines, as well as his pup Freya, Thomas has found a huge community; he hosts a cat product review show on Amazon, and is "in works" to launch a non-profit free mobile vet clinic program.
He reflected on how life has changed since taking in mother stray Frances, when at the time he struggled "horribly" with depression.
"This many cats and a three-legged dog was not sane or realistic in any way," he said. "But such a beautiful community has grown from this, and for the last three years almost, we have been so taken care of.
"All of this because a pregnant stray cat poked her head through a hole in my backyard fence."
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