Catman's Journey

January, 1986: Three years had passed after receiving a marketing and management degree, and after a handful of unremarkable and unsatisfying career starts, Tommy Westerhold needed to find a new direction. After all, he was just months away from marrying his long time best friend, and was anxious to start out their married life together with a stable work situation. All he kept thinking was, "Working for (& with) other people is killing me. And I think I just might punch out my next sadistic boss!"

At the time, they lived together, along with their first 2 cats, Dusty & Robbie, in a house at the edge of an apartment complex. With tenants moving in and out all of the time, it seemed that another stray cat showed up in the yard about once a month.

Soon, they were caring for as many as 11 cats, both inside & outside of the house. Tommy even made a cat house hanging off of a garage window, which would at least let some of the cats get out of the weather to get some peaceful sleep, (sometimes after evicting a raccoon or a possum).

That same year, Tommy made his first piece of cat furniture, and after it seemed like his many cats were enjoying it, he soon sold his first batch to a local pet store.

The Story of
Feline Design
Cat Furniture

At the time of this writing, on the verge of 2013, Tommy's been pounding out his designs for almost 27 years. Cat owners from all over the country, and even as far away as Singapore, rely on Feline Design as the top shelf of cat furniture lines. And repeat customers have returned year after year, trading in their well worn scratching post for a fresh one. Or maybe even taking the plunge into some more complex Feline Design model.

Originating in a tiny workshop a little west of Philadelphia, Feline Design Cat Furniture is all American made, and the vast bulk of these products never leave Tommy's hands until they are safely on the store shelves. There isn't and won't be any offshore production, and there will never be a need for a human resources department.

Along with his wife, Lorraine, and 2 trusty cats, Jasper & Gateway, who take a swipe at testing the newest designs, Tommy lives & plies his trade at his workshop deep in the woods. He's often working into the wee hours listening to late night jazz and completing a collection for one of his handful of locally-owned pet supply stores. And it's often in the midnight hour when he's in one of his manic, inspired moods when many of the designs you see here are conjured up and brought to life.

Using genuine Brazilian sisal rope, only the highest quality hand-picked carpet available, and with only the most heavy-duty component parts, Tommy is proud that he's a totally "hands-on" boss. And prouder yet that he can't really get fired (except maybe by Lorraine). After all, the company would disappear, now, wouldn't it?

Tommy is happy to be offering his designs here at your favorite independent pet supply store. He's sure your own critters will be even happier to see what you've picked up here. And he's sure of one other thing: that they'll appreciate it enough for you to come back for more.