Pet’s Place: Furry Friends Make a Michigan Home Picture-Perfect
Katie and Frankie play and nap in every room while their owners study at the University of Michigan
Brenna Malmberg
December 4, 2017
Photos from Lawren Gamble
Pets at a Glance
Pets: Katie and Frankie, a British shorthair Munchkin and a standard long-haired Munchkin
Ages: Both 1
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Owners: Lawren Gamble and Lindy Jensen, both doctoral candidates in aerospace engineering and molecular and integrative physiology at the University of Michigan
Stepladder: Bekväm, Ikea
Pets at a Glance
Pets: Katie and Frankie, a British shorthair Munchkin and a standard long-haired Munchkin
Ages: Both 1
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Owners: Lawren Gamble and Lindy Jensen, both doctoral candidates in aerospace engineering and molecular and integrative physiology at the University of Michigan
Stepladder: Bekväm, Ikea
Meet Katie. He’s a young, easily excitable cat that zips around the living room and up and down the stairs after his feather toys or light reflections on the wall. “Katie is goofy,” owner Lawren Gamble says.
Gamble and Lindy Jensen named their cats after houses they lived in while attending Smith College. Gamble lived in Kate Morris house, named for the first student to get her Ph.D. at the school. “But you may have noticed that Katie is actually a male cat,” Gamble says. “He was so small that they misgendered him as a kitten. We renamed him to Kaden, but kept the nickname Katie.”
Nightstand: Lote, Ikea
Gamble and Lindy Jensen named their cats after houses they lived in while attending Smith College. Gamble lived in Kate Morris house, named for the first student to get her Ph.D. at the school. “But you may have noticed that Katie is actually a male cat,” Gamble says. “He was so small that they misgendered him as a kitten. We renamed him to Kaden, but kept the nickname Katie.”
Nightstand: Lote, Ikea
Meet Frankie. He’s named after the house Jensen lived in: Franklin King (who was a groundskeeper at Smith College for 50 years). He’s the more sophisticated, proper cat, Gamble says. While Katie bounds around the house, “Franklin just watches him and seems to shake his head in disapproval.”
He’s keen on nabbing a few nibbles of food from Gamble and Jensen during breakfast. He often sits on a dining room chair, looking up at them with hungry eyes.
Bowtie: Trax Ties
He’s keen on nabbing a few nibbles of food from Gamble and Jensen during breakfast. He often sits on a dining room chair, looking up at them with hungry eyes.
Bowtie: Trax Ties
Space for the cats. Every room in the single-family home has a spot for cats, whether it’s a cat bed or a couch or stool near a window.
Couch: Three Chairs Co.
Couch: Three Chairs Co.
Favorite activities. When they aren’t napping, the cats enjoy chasing after Nerf darts. “We’ll shoot them across the living room and they’ll chase right after them and bat them around on the floor for hours,” Gamble says.
Study buddies. As graduate students, Gamble and Jensen have flexible work hours. Lab experiments keep them out of the house, but they can run simulations, write and review literature from home. “On these days, Katie will try relentlessly to sit on our laps,” Gamble says.
Living with plants. “The cats have a mixed relationship with our plants,” Gamble says. Frankie used to dig in the potted succulents, which are now kept in apothecary jars.
The majesty palm, which is a midsize plant, has worked well for them. Katie tries to nibble at the fronds only occasionally. Frankie couldn’t care less about it, Gamble says. To prevent Katie from attacking the palm, they moved it to a hard-to-reach spot and now provide him with easily accessed cat grass.
10 Pet-Safe Houseplants
Plant: Ikea
The majesty palm, which is a midsize plant, has worked well for them. Katie tries to nibble at the fronds only occasionally. Frankie couldn’t care less about it, Gamble says. To prevent Katie from attacking the palm, they moved it to a hard-to-reach spot and now provide him with easily accessed cat grass.
10 Pet-Safe Houseplants
Plant: Ikea
Litter box. “It was important for us to both provide them with a quiet and isolated litter space and to move the litter box out of our living areas,” Gamble says.
They decided to convert the landing to the basement into a litter box room, complete with a door and shelves for supplies.
Bowtie: Trax Ties; couch: Friheten, Ikea
They decided to convert the landing to the basement into a litter box room, complete with a door and shelves for supplies.
Bowtie: Trax Ties; couch: Friheten, Ikea
Picture-perfect. Cat photos can be tricky, Gamble says, because you typically have to take them inside. That’s why her No. 1 tip is to “find the light,” such as a large window or glass door.
Gamble also uses treats and snacks, such as catnip bubbles, to keep the cats’ attention.
Gamble also uses treats and snacks, such as catnip bubbles, to keep the cats’ attention.
“Cats have a mind of their own, so having treats helps them stick around a little bit longer, and also helps to get their attention toward the camera,” Gamble says.
Periwinkle floral collar: Danes and Divas
Periwinkle floral collar: Danes and Divas
Dressed to impress. Katie and Frankie wear bowties and other accessories only under direct supervision, and never for more than five to 10 minutes at a time.
Bowtie: Trax Ties
Bowtie: Trax Ties
“Lastly, it is important to gauge their comfort level” during the photography session, Gamble says. “Ultimately the cats decide when we start and when we stop photographing.”
Bowtie: Neemiebows
Bowtie: Neemiebows
Home, sweet home. “We really couldn’t imagine a home without them,” Gamble says. “They provide so much love and character.”
Bedding: Garnet Hill
More
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Bedding: Garnet Hill
More
Pet Owner Creates a Climbing Space for 2 Cats
Read more stories about pets at home
Find cat supplies
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Leo surveys his realm. Here's looking at you, kid.
I cannot enjoy breed cats when there are thousands, hundreds of thousands, really, killed in shelters and worse, in the US every day, month and year. It's not the breed cats fault. It is as usual the fault of humans. Rescue cats, socialized feral cats and kittens, foundlings are just as good, just like you and I are.