How a Minnesota 'childless cat lady' transformed her home into a feline playground

BUFFALO, MINN. – Childless cat ladies are one of the biggest stars of this election season.

JD Vance — Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate — made headlines recently when a 2021 Fox News interview resurfaced of him bemoaning "childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too."

But local cat enthusiast Mary Tan assured that description is far from accurate: She and her three pets, for example, are very happy, especially considering all the work she put into her home to make it a cat playground.

"Cats are my jam," Tan said. "I'm trying to raise the status of cats. ... I want people to respect cats and know they make wonderful pets."

Not only is that Tan's personal mission, it's also the onus behind Whisker Media, the public relations firm she heads. The former WCCO reporter has cat-ified all aspects of her life, with her house in Buffalo outfitted for her feline friends as well as the kittens she frequently fosters.

"It's designed so when I'm talking to clients, there's kitties up here, the whole thing is made so it is a superhighway that they can climb and run around," Tan said of the elevated catwalks attached to her walls.

A growing trend

Cats are trending with millennials and Gen Zers who find owning them a lot less work than a dog, Tan said. She saw her work representing pet companies as part of Whisker Media explode during the pandemic as demand for pet products, especially cat items, has grown, she said.

In 2019, the American Pet Products Association estimated the nation's total pet industry expenditure was at $97.1 billion. This year, it estimates that number is now closer to $150 billion.

According to a Forbes analysis, households with cats only spend about $653 a year on their animals, that includes food, veterinary care, toys and grooming. Households with only dogs spend more than $900 a year. The report also found Gen Zers are more likely to own a cat than millennials, Gen X, baby boomers and the Silent Generation.

"Cats are more valued in younger generations," Tan said. "Affording a house is really difficult right now for younger folks. Cats are so much easier to take care of, and they don't need nearly the amount of space [compared to a dog]."

Darryl Michaelson of Purrniture Cat Furniture in St. Paul has seen steady demand for cat furniture pieces since he started the business in 1990. By chance, he signed up for a booth at the Minnesota State Fair, and after a few years, he was able to start operating out of a brick-and-mortar location because business was so good.

"I got some kittens in my early 20s, and as I looked at what's available, I realized none of it is well-made and [much] was more expensive than I could justify," he said. "I thought I'd make my own. I'm handy, and my approach was: I was going to drive around and collect wood."

Michaelson, who makes much of the furniture himself, said in addition to making sure his cat trees aren't rickety, he gives them a sleek and modern look with rounded edges that easily complement human furniture.

His best advice to people looking for cat furniture is to look at where the cat likes to be, whether that's up high or hiding in a nook down by the floor. Truly, cats just want to be part of the family.

"For a cat to actually want to use it and be on it, [it] has to be in an area where people are — not in a back bedroom where people aren't there," he said. "A piece of cat furniture doesn't have to be by a window. They're happy where they can watch their family watch TV and eat dinner."

Cat crawls

Franklin, an orange tabby, scurried across Tan's wall, quickly jumping down from a perch, squeezing through a hole in her desk and settling into a cubby on the other side of the room. The cat then bounds to the floor and rolls over, showing his tummy.

This is Tan's home office, complete with a Whisker Media sign hanging above a wall full of hideaways for cats and kittens. Plus, there's a transparent cat bed hanging from a wall where Franklin often curls up.

The custom-made perches Franklin runs across hang on the wall over Tan's computer and desk, giving her cats the ability to run and jump. Underneath that are cat hammocks, perfect hiding places for shy kittens. Behind the room's door is a small cat tree with even more covered spaces.

By all measures, the room is a resounding success.

"The kittens are just crazy," Tan said. "They will climb everything, and everything is a toy. So I put all of my office stuff like pens and papers in [a] bench."

That bench is courtesy of contractor AJ Penkert, who has helped numerous families make pet-friendly adjustments to their homes. He helped Tan — who moved into her home last year knowing she wanted to make it the best place for her cats — put the room together, installing pet-proof flooring that can weather even the biggest cat-tastrophy. It is scratch-proof and makes for easy cleanup without holding any smells, he said.

"I mainly work with dog owners installing dog doors and kennel runs," he said. "This was my first full cat room that I've ever put together."

The rest of Tan's house is a work in progress, she said, though she already has a big cat tree by a window for her cats to look out of, cat art hanging from the walls and cat toys scattered in the living room. In her other office, across from towering bookshelves on the ground floor, she has two small cat trees with beds overlooking the front patio. But all this doesn't mean her living space is a cluttered mess.

"I'm going for a minimalist, modern look, partly to fight the crazy cat lady image," she said. "When people think of women with cats, they think a dirty house. With this design, I wanted to fight that."