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Yoh Komiyama's climbing toy for cats doubles as a minimalist home decoration
Yoh Komiyama set out to create a cat toy befitting of a modernist home when designing this multi-storey climbing toy, which features a cylinder of wooden dowels and a scratching post anchored to a marble base.
The Neko Cat Tree was created by Japanese designer Yoh Komiyama for manufacturer Rinn and is designed to offer a secluded play space for cats, while also acting as a decorative object inside the home.
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The three-tiered structure is surrounded by a slatted enclosure comprising multiple rods of Japanese hardwood sourced from the country's Hida region.
Each of the rods are spaced out and positioned to create a cylindrical form. The gaps between each dowel ensuring light enters the interior space, and allows glimpses in and out of the tree.
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"The spaces in between each cylindrical post provide glimpses, and thus convey the mutual presence, of both cat and human, maintaining a furtive connection between the two for a greater intimacy," said the company.
This structure is supported by a central pillar wrapped in hemp cord, which doubles up as a scratching post for the felines.
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Inside, teardrop-shaped pieces of grey Kvadrat felt partially cover each of the three floors, offering cats a comfortable sleeping surface, while holes cut out of each tier allow them to climb between each level.
One of the sides of the structure can also be opened up like a door, to provide easy access to the interior.
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Komiyama chose to use minimal materials, opting for a warm-coloured wood that and a cool-toned white marble.
According to Rinn, this mixture of marble and natural wood also expresses a "cultural fusion between the wooden materials of the East, and the stone materials of the West."
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The Neko Cat Tree joins the number of products coming onto the market for the discerning pet owner. New brand Dote also recently launched a range of pet accessories made from recycled materials, while Nendo's range of Cubic pet accessories is designed to complement minimal interiors.
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Last year, IKEA revealed its first furniture collection designed specifically for pets, which included a treehouse-like cat hideaway, and a bowl that encourages dogs to eat slowly.
Photography is by Tomooki Kengaku.