CREATURE FEATURES

Pets can add so much to your life. They get you off the couch, keep that blood pressure down (unless they’re tearing up your favorite shoes) and make you feel loved when they greet you at the door. So what can you do for your pet in return? We have a few ideas.

Feline high-rise

Sean Ward jokes that he spared no expense. His Victorian workman’s cabin has a copper roof, cedar floors and balustrades and porch spindles turned on his lathe. “There were no plans,” he said. “I just looked around the neighborhood.” STORY MARJIE DUCEY PHOTOGRAPHY KAYLA WOLF

Although Ward is a specialty contractor, this masterpiece was designed for a cat. The 36-by-39-inch structure was supposed to be for Ace, who was starting to have accidents in the house.

But when they moved from Little Italy to south of Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, Ace disappeared. Family lore is, he visited the zoo and was eaten.

Buddy, a stray the family adopted, took over the house while Ward worked on the final details. It was a good escape from Ward and wife Callyann Casteel’s three rambunctious sons.

Last year, the house was placed in the middle of a hydrangea bush in the backyard. It has a hinged roof for easy cleaning and Plexiglass windows. A heating pad is available for cold nights. The cat house sits 3 feet off the ground, so when the hydrangea blooms, it looks like landscaping.

Buddy hasn’t totally given up his wandering ways, so the house occasionally is available for second cat Sodie or other strays who happen by. This spring, Ward will add solar lighting and perhaps a staircase.

They hope it’s just the cats that like the new digs.

“We think raccoons are going to get in it,” he says.

One fish, 400 fish

Take care when your child brings home that goldfish won at the school festival.

One of John Baines’ kids did just that almost 40 years ago, and now he has close to 400 fish. STORY MARJIE DUCEY PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS MACHIAN

Watching his 24 species of fish is a lifesaver after long hours of work. “It’s very, very calming,” he says. When Baines moved into his fourth house, he made sure to design a cleaning station in the basement with ready access to water and drains and work surfaces. He’s developed a system in which he can clean all 13 of his tanks in two hours.

He has linoleum flooring in his fish room, where he breeds fish, and laminated wood flooring in the rest of the downstairs.

Baines also needed space to care for his aquarium plants, which the fish love.

“It’s like having a garden,” he says. “You are always working in it.”

Baines says his best advice for raising healthy fish is to treat them like a pet and give them good food, clean water and a healthy home. And be sure to join the Nebraska Aquarium Society. “They are a huge think tank of people who have been in the hobby from two days to 45 years,” he says. “The knowledge in that organization is just huge. I’ve had lots and lots of support being part of that group.”

Express lane

Diane Flynn is definitely an animal lover. She and husband Lance Gunderson have two dogs and two cats.

But they are not fans of kitties in the kitchen where they prepare food.

“When I built this house, I had my cabinet maker and contractor put in a kitty ramp that bypassed the kitchen,” she says. “It takes them right to the basement for their litter box and cat food.” The ramp starts in the back hallway of their 1920s farmhouse in northwest Omaha.

If the couple have guests who are not cat friendly, she simply shoos the felines downstairs and closes the sliding barn door in front of the ramp opening.

“Voila, they are contained,” she says. It also provides a quick escape from Buddy, their biggest dog.

Kelly Gunderson, Lance’s brother, was the contractor on their house renovation, and the three of them brainstormed the ramp design. It’s constructed of 1-by6-inch wood beams with side rails.

Lance said they were worried at first about how the cats would respond.

“We kind of put them right up in the hole,” he says. “They used it perfectly fine, and they have been doing so for five years now.” STORY MARJIE DUCEY PHOTOGRAPHY DIANE FLYNN

Protecting their turf

It was hard to keep grass growing and paws clean with four dogs, so Michael and Jodi Aaronson added artificial turf to two areas of their yard.

Mike and Jackie Roach, founders of Taysia Blue Husky and Malamute Rescue, told them it was the best thing they ever did and now the Aaronsons agree.

“Friends want to come see it and wish they had it,” Jodi says. “It’s made life so much easier.” STORY MARJIE DUCEY PHOTOGRAPHY KAYLA WOLF

The Gretna family of six boards Loki, Fiona, Sadie and Milo at Katie’s Kennel, which also has turf, so it wasn’t a big adjustment for the dogs.

Jodi found a turf product at Costco, and the couple installed 1,800 square feet of it themselves. They had to remove some sod around the house, grade and then add a base layer of limestone. Two sprinkler heads were retained to help wash down the turf and cool it off in the summer. Cleanup is no different than grass.

Now, when it snows or rains there are no worries about letting out their dogs or others they foster. But if trapped inside by the weather, the Aaronsons have lots of doggy brain games. A favorite is a licking mat laced with peanut butter, processed cheese slices or yogurt.

“We use that when we brush the dogs or do nail trimming,” Jodi says. “It keeps them occupied.”

JASPER

Bossy bunny

Suneetha Garige tells friends it’s Zoey’s house − her family just lives there. The bossy bunny will let them know if they are in her spot on the couch.

“She will do the little nudge thing. ‘Back off and get out of my space,’” Garige says. “She will let you know.”

The family of three doesn’t need both living rooms in the tri-level house near 161st Street and Giles Road, so one of them has been taken over by the lionhead bunny. That’s where her playpen sits and her things fill the closet.

When the family is home, Zoey runs free in the house. She can be found under couches and beds and prefers rugs and tile over carpeting.

For her safety, the basement is off limits. That’s where her hay is stored, and an excited Zoey knows that when Garige goes down there, a meal is soon to follow.

Zoey is the family’s third rabbit after the deaths of Daisy STORY MARJIE DUCEY PHOTOGRAPHY SUNEETHA GARIGE

ZOEY

DAISY

and Jasper. Garige wasn’t sure if they were going to keep Zoey but she settled in quickly and happily. “They are part of the family,” she says.

Zoey is feted all day on her August birthday (fresh fruit is a special treat). Planning starts a week ahead of time. Garige also decorates for Zoey’s big day, but that doesn’t last long. The moment it goes up, she takes it down, Garige says. “They love chewing the stuff.”

The royal tweetment

Patience is a must when raising birds. Wood floors don’t hurt, either.

The feathered creatures come with unique personalities, says Michell Hoffman.

“I always tell everybody it’s like a 2-year-old in a cage,” she says. “Some can STORY MARJIE DUCEY PHOTOGRAPHY BRENDAN SULLIVAN

throw temper tantrums, and you have to calm them down. Some are complete clowns.’’

Hoffman has 20 birds in 13 cages – six in both the dining and living rooms and one in the kitchen. She and partner Russ Armstrong also have four children between them who share their large Florence home.

Hoffman says healthy birds aren’t

smelly, but the dander from her favorite cockatoos can be a pain. She replaces her furnace filter often and does lots of sweeping and dusting, which is why she appreciates wood floors.

She spends a few hours a day just giving the birds fresh food and water and talking to each. Thursday is cleaning day, and she’ll need about six hours to wipe down cages and clean bowls. White

Doggy door works like magic

Forget the food, drinks and fellow guests. An automatic doggy door is the hit of every party I throw at the Ducey home. People of all ages love to stand in the kitchen and watch the pet door go up and down. It’s almost like magic.

The door is activated by a small sensor attached to the collars of house dogs Phoebe and Gigi. The activation distance and the door’s opening time can be adjusted as your pet becomes used to the door.

A fenced backyard means no worries about them going in and out on their own.

I used to have neighbor kids let the dogs out when I worked long shifts. But I would often forget to call them until the last minute, and it became a big headache.

After doing some research, I stumbled upon Solo Pet Doors. The biggest seller for me? No opossums or raccoons can slither through the plastic door, which can be locked at night.

Kylie Haffey, whose house is featured in this issue, says she has a love-hate relationship with her automatic door (pictured below). She loves the convenience for her two Samoyeds.

“But they have a tendency to sneak out and bark at squirrels in the yard, so I have to keep an eye on them or make sure it’s shut off if we are going to be gone a long time,” she says.

My dogs caught on quickly to the door mechanics and so have doggy guests. No more worries about potty breaks while I’m at the office. Now, if only I could find one for the chicken coop. STORY MARJIE DUCEY PHOTOGRAPHY JEFFREY BEBEE

vinegar is her secret weapon for eliminating bacteria.

“That’s like their little room,” she says. “You have to kind of want to clean.” You also have to want to play with your birds, says the secretary and adoption coordinator for the Greater Omaha Cage Bird Society. They’re intelligent beings who crave stimulation and affection.

“We sing, we dance, we watch TV and we play all day,” she says. “It’s very exhausting, but when you love it, it’s worth it.”

Screen test

It’s a cat contentment – not containment – door. Jim Cox and Gary George built their version of the popular sliding barn door at the top of their second-floor stairs after conflict erupted when neighborhood cat Xyler came inside to live. Enid and Eustis weren’t thrilled.

“The older cats didn’t understand what playing meant,” Cox says. “They thought they were being terrorized.” The couple, big believers in rescue, did everything they could to acclimate the cats to each other, but nothing worked. So over their usual Sunday morning breakfast at Louie M’s Burger STORY MARJIE DUCEY PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS MACHIAN

Lust they drew up the solution and implemented it that afternoon in their Minne Lusa home.

Using plumbing pipe and eyehooks, they adapted a wooden screen door for installation at the top of the stairs. Casters allow the door to glide open and closed.

The homeowners were content, and so were their cats, hence the name.

“The landing was plenty big enough

for Xyler to lay there,” Cox says. “The other cats could interact through that door without the chasing and any of the anxiety-producing stuff.”

All three cats have since passed on, but the door still comes in handy with the five felines they have now. It works perfectly if they need to keep the cats separate from guests or have to corral one for a visit to the vet.

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