It’s a well-known fact that the Victorians were fresh air freaks, who constructed their houses from a 40/60 mix of bricks and drafts. My flat occupies the top half of a Victorian house in a street which sits on top of one of London’s tallest hills, and, as you can imagine, it gets bloody chilly round these parts during the winter months.
I wanted to find a raised bed to stick in front of the kitchen radiator, so that the HQ Cats could soak up the heat away from the howling drafts which blow through the kitchen doorway. But I didn’t want a bulky piece of cat furniture which would prevent the radiator’s heat from reaching the rest of the room, as I like to feel warm when I’m in the kitchen too.
With this in mind, I bought a Barkshire Raised Bed from Pet Planet a few weeks ago, and I’m pleased to report that it fits the bill rather nicely. And it’s a bargain at £12.99 – result!
The Barkshire Raised Bed consists of a tough, water-resistant fabric sling, which is stretched over a tubular metal frame – kind of like a camp bed for cats. I like the utilitarian look of this bed, but I would imagine most cats would demand the addition of a cushion or folded blanket before they would deign to sleep on it. Fortunately, one of my existing cat pillows just so happened to be an exact fit, and young Ethel gave the new bed her seal of approval within seconds of me putting it in position.
The only criticism I have of this product is the colour of the fabric used – it’s actually a much darker shade of beige than it appears to be in the photos, and I’m just not a big fan of beige. But that’s just my personal opinion, and it would be fairly easy to cover the sling in a more aesthetically appealing fabric.
The Barkshire Raised bed measures – outer bed: L65cm x W50cm x H30cm inner bed: L56cm x W42cm. The sling is removable and can be washed at 30°.
Here’s Ethel again. (Photo bomb courtesy of Eric!)
