Innovative Architecture Benefits Cats

One of the most innovative design events, Architects for Animals® “Giving Shelter” exhibit, calls on Los Angeles’ top architects and designers to design, build and donate functional and one-of-a-kind outdoor dwellings for cats. This year’s event was a sell out and included  28 cat food bowls decorated by feline-loving celebrities—including Jay Leno, Charlize Theron, Beau Bridges, Elvira, William Shatner, Clint Eastwood, Tricia Helfer and Morgan Fairchild that were subsequently available for purchase. All proceeds went to benefit LA-based non-profit FixNation, which provides free spay/neuter services for homeless cats (stray, abandoned and feral felines.

“This year’s cat shelters were extraordinarily creative, and the designers put a great deal of time and thought into how cats would actually interact with the shelters,” says FixNation’s Co-Founder and Executive Director Karn Myers. “They are truly works of art with a practical application.”

Los Angeles is home to one of the nation’s largest populations of homeless felines, an estimated one to three million cats. FixNation is a model for successful Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) and humane colony management programs across the country and around the world. Myers and her late husband, Mark Dodge, founded the organization 10 years ago to provide a more effective and compassionate alternative to mass euthanasia.

Participating design firms this year included Abramson Teiger Architects; d3architecture; ES-EN-EM; CallisonRTKL; HKS; HOK; Perkins + Will; Knowhow Shop; Kollin Altomare Architects; RNL now Stantec; Standard Architecture | Design; and a collaborative project from Formation Association, Terremoto Landscape and Arktura.

You can learn more about Fixnation here:

And check out these amazing designs

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DR ROGER MUGFORD SANDY ROBINS GLOBAL PET EXPO
The legendary Dr Roger Mugford with the Halti Optifit

Exercise is healthy. A nice walk before a meal will ensure that afterwards, your dog will relax and snooze. However, on very hot days, limit exercise excursions to either early morning or early evening to avoid the punishing heat of the middle of the day. Be sure to take water with you – even on a short walk. Winter or summer — ALWAYS  tailor your dog’s walks to his age and general mobility. Consider walking inside a pet-friendly indoor mall if the weather is not conducive to outside exercise.