Stolmen Cat Feeding Station / Cat Tree

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IKEA Stolmen Feline Feeding Station

This may not be particularly original, nor even that much of a hack.  But we are still proud of our Cat Feeding Station.  We’ve always had multiple cats and dogs.  Cat dishes were spread around the kitchen, and the dogs had to be shooed away to allow the cats to eat.  That didn’t work so well for the older and pickier kitty who preferred to dine now and then.  So we consolidated our space and went vertical with Stolmen shelving and poles.

This saved time and space and reduced conflict between kitties.  The dogs couldn’t get to the cat food, and the slower kitties could take their time to dine at leisure.  It was great when all 4 cats were on the shelf at the same time.

Over time, the surface of the Stolmen shelves started to bubble up due to repeated cleaning and occasional water spillage.  So I covered them with adhesive shelf paper (Contact Paper) for a new look and preservation of the underlying structure.  We’ve had these for several years, and they moved easily to our new house this year.

We added the stool when the 16-year-old kitty had problems jumping even to the bottom shelf.  Caution:  this worked for our German Shepherd and Golden Retriever, but our newest addition, a cat-sized terrier mix, carefully observed the cats and learned to leap from shelf to shelf for high-protein goodies when we aren’t looking!  She only gets to mid-level, though.

The Crew on their IKEA Feeding Station
Four kitties happy on a Stolmen Feeding Station