Pet lovers across the world will be familiar with the problem of their cats and dogs not always getting on.
But one clever animal lover has come up with an ingenious solution to keep his warring pets under control – by installing a cat flap on his home’s second floor.
Marcin Telus, 47, cut a hole in the wall of his property in Edinburgh for the plastic flap and made a cat ladder out of shelves and wooden jumping blocks.
Determined: Simba the cat begins her ascent to the cat flap, as she deftly makes her way up the obstacle course to her home
Simba can use her upstairs cat flap in order to have access to the top floor of the home, while German Shepherd Zara remains downstairs
The innovative creation was made by Marcin Telus, who said the cat and dog ‘tolerate each other but they prefer to stay apart. The cat flap was originally in the front door’
The property in Edinburgh from the street, where the innovative design to allow Simba access to the top floor can be seen clearly
Now, his four-year-old cat Simba has plenty of space across the top floor of the house – while three-year-old German Shepherd dog Zara lives downstairs.
Mr Telus told the Daily Record: ‘They tolerate each other but they prefer to stay apart. The cat flap was originally in the front door.
‘When we changed the door, we would lose the guarantee for the new one if we cut a hole in it.
Marcin Telus, 47, cut a hole in the wall of his property in Edinburgh for the plastic flap, and made a cat ladder out of shelves and wooden jumping blocks
Mr Telus’s four-year-old cat Simba has plenty of space across the top floor of the house – while three-year-old German Shepherd dog Zara (pictured) lives downstairs
Pampered pussycat: Simba now has her own front door, and doesn’t have to share the upstairs of her home in Edinburgh with dog Zara
Simba’s owner Marcin says that the four-year-old is now ‘very independent’ and can go in and out without bothering the dog
‘So the flap had to either go in through a wall or in the glass door at the back of the house. We decided that’s the best option and the cat was to have it upstairs.’
He added that Simba would sometimes walk down the cat flap rather than jump, which is why he put in the stepping blocks for her.
Mr Telus also said that his cat has become ‘very independent’ and can now go in and out without bothering the dog.
But the pets are not living in complete peace, as they do still ‘flick each other with their paws’ when walking through the house.