A Switzerland-based graphic designer and writer by the name of Brigitte Schuster has gone ahead and chronicled the unique trend of outdoor cat ladders in her forthcoming book entitles Swiss Cat Ladders.
Based on examples in the city called Bern, Switzerland, Schuster focuses on how humans facilitate the comings and goings of their furry friends through a wide variety of exterior climbing structures affixed to residential buildings. These range from a sleek helix-type structure that’s available ready-made all the way to more homegrown configurations which enlist tree stumps and mailboxes, the presented cat ladders actually allow these innately independent animals to come and go as they please. Some ladders give total and complete freedom to cats who just so happen to reside on the upper stories of multi-family buildings, whereas others appear to be a bit more suited for indulging their cats’ desires to climb.
This brand new photo-forward book, which is available in English and German, also does include some diagrams and explorations of the broader cultural meaning of the ladders. Swiss Cat Ladders is expected to go to print in September of 2019.
