Dezeen Magazine

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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."

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.

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.