Curtis McIff is retired and likes to spend his free time in his home garage building things. He built himself and his wife some Adirondack chairs, then made mini versions for his cats — and that gave him the best idea.

guy in his workshop holding a cat

Best Friends Animal Society
McIff volunteers at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. As he was building the mini Adirondack chairs for his own cats, he thought back to his times at the shelter and realized that the cats there definitely didn’t have enough cozy places to sit. So, he decided to build them some.

McIff got to work creating the first six chairs. He painted each chair a different bright color, then headed to the shelter to surprise the kitties.

guy with cats on chairs

Best Friends Animal Society
The chairs were placed in different rooms at one of the buildings in Cat World, a section of the sanctuary that houses hundreds of cats. Slowly, different cats came over to investigate, and before long, the chairs became every resident’s favorite lounging spot.

Best Friends Animal Society

The chairs were so popular that orders started coming in from all over Cat World. Everyone working at the shelter wanted as many chairs as possible tucked around their area for the cats to enjoy. One employee even asked McIff if he could branch out and build a cat-sized daybed, and he immediately went home and figured it out.

cat in an Adirondack chair

Best Friends Animal Society
As of now, McIff has built 40 chairs and 10 daybeds for the residents of Cat World. Shelter life can be a little overwhelming sometimes, and McIff hopes that his chairs can provide some comfort and joy to all of the cats while they wait to find their forever homes.

cats in chairs

Best Friends Animal Society
“It does my heart good to see them facing the sun while lying in one of my chairs,” McIff said in a press release.

Volunteers are a big part of what keeps Best Friends Animal Sanctuary running, and McIff is a perfect example of just how invaluable they really are.