Greg Krueger, from St. James, Minnesota, has spent over 20 years renovating his home – not for his own comfort, but for that of his cats! He’s converted his home into a giant feline playground, with $10,000 worth of elaborate tunnels, platforms, and overhead catwalks.
“I just love trails and paths, and cats, of course,” said 50-year-old Krueger. “And so I’ve just linked those passions together.” His unique home improvement project began years ago, when he made a place for his four pet cats to sit on top of a China cabinet, because they liked to be high up.
Next, he built a kitty-sized staircase to help them get up to the cabinet. And his cats loved it so much that Krueger just decided to keep going. Soon, he had put up over 100 yards of catwalks and bridges through every room in the house, and set it all up so that his cats never have to touch the floor.
Photo: Greg Krueger
He even made 38 hand-carved cat openings on his walls for the cats to pass from one room to another. One of these openings is shaped like the map of Minnesota, another is a heart, there’s one like Charlie Brown’s head, and one is shaped like a stop sign.
Krueger seems to have thought of everything – he’s lined the catwalks with railings so his cats won’t fall off, and placed little cat beds all over the house for them to snooze in. There are rope lights all over the catwalks and bridges, and the cats can relax in an outdoor kennel if they ever feel like leaving the house.
Photo: video caption
Lots of people love cats, but Krueger’s dedication towards his pets is really quite phenomenal. He never understood his obsession until fall last year, when he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. He now considers his form of autism to be a blessing that gives him great focus.
“Obviously, my house would not be like this if I didn’t have Asperger’s,” he said. “If it takes a long time, I don’t care because if I like what I’m doing, I almost don’t want to finish what I’m doing.”
Photo: video caption
He also believes his condition helps him understand cats better. “It’s been said that all cats have Asperger Syndrome. So I think that might be one reason why I really love cats is that I kind of think that I can understand their personality well.”
“I can tell that they love me,” he added. “I know they love me because I love them too. I don’t feel like I live alone, even though I’m the only person living here. We’re like a family.”
The story of Krueger and his furry pets has been covered extensively on TV and on the radio for several years. On the Animal Planet series Must Love Cats, host John Fulton visited the kitty palace and fell in love with everything he saw there. They even performed a special song called ‘The Fur Kids’ along with Krueger and his cats.
Sources: CBS Minnesota, Catsparella
