I spent £300 building the purr-fect bedroom for my cats – they get Amazon deliveries every week and are Instagram stars in the making
- Hannah Whitmore and Tommy Taylor from Redditch spoil their cats rotten
- Read more: Cat behaviourist reveals what your feline’s go-to spot reveals about them
A cat lover who says her pets are like her children has revealed she spent £300 on curating the purrr-fect bedroom for them and shells out another £100 every month on their care.
Hannah Whitmore, 24, from Redditch in Worcestershire, adopted Simba, 10, and Nimbus, one, when she moved in with her boyfriend Tommy Taylor, 25.
After bringing the felines into their family, Hannah and Tommy now prioritise their pets above themselves and treat them like children, with Tommy calling himself ‘dad’.
The spoilt kitties enjoy their very own bedroom which Hannah and Tommy have kitted out with a double bed, drown cat beds, a scratching post and plenty of toys. They even have their bedsheets changed each week.
Despite spending a fortune on cat treats and toys, Hannah wouldn’t have things any other way and insists the animals ‘should be our priority’.
Hannah Whitmore and Tommy Taylor’s cats Nimbus (left) and Simba (right) are treated like royalty in their household and enjoy their very own bedroom which Hannah, 24, spent £300 upgrading
Hannah said: ‘I would say the cats own us rather than the other way around!
‘They are here for a short time, and they should be our priority. They very much come first in our house, but I think that’s the way it should be.’
She added that, while she buys lots of treats for the cats, Tommy showers them with affection – and often speaks to them before he addresses Hannah when coming home from a long day of work.
Tommy, 25, and Hannah, 24, adopted their first cat Simba in the summer of 2020 when they first moved in together
Simba (left) and Nimbus (right) each have their own crown beds, which are fitting given that they are nicknamed ‘King’ and ‘Prince’ in the house
Hannah admits she has always loved cats and was desperate to have one of her own when she moved in with Tommy
A changed man! Tommy, pictured with Nimbus, was not originally a cat person when he met Hannah, but eventually came around
Nimbus was brought into the family after he was found as a kitten in someone’s back garden and given to Cats Protection
Simba, 10, was the first cat to be adopted by Tommy and Hannah when they approached Cats Protection
Hannah describes her two cats as ‘brothers from another mother’ and says the pair are very close
But the devoted cat father was not always a lover of the creatures and, according to Hannah, ‘hated’ cats originally.
However she added that during the Covid lockdown, she and Tommy had to move in with her grandparents, and he fell in love with their cat, Ginge.
So, when the couple moved into a three-storey townhouse in Redditch on May 23 2020 they didn’t hesitate to adopt Simba just five days later from Cats Protection, Birmingham.
‘We actually adopted Simba on Tommy’s birthday,’ Hannah said. ‘He had an awful skin condition, caused by over-licking.
‘We didn’t meet Simba until the day he moved in because of lockdown, but he was perfect.’
Over a year later in October 2021, eight-week-old British shorthair Nimbus joined the family. He had been handed into Cats Protection after being found in someone’s garden and Hannah, who had always wanted to own the breed, jumped at the chance to adopt him.
Despite polar opposite personalities, the cats are a perfect pair.
‘We think of them like brothers from another mother,’ Hannah said.
‘Simba is a bit of a grumpy old man and Nimbus is nuts. British shorthairs are meant to be very calm, but he is absolutely not!
‘They are inseparable; they sleep together, they wash each other, and they just love each other.’
Settling into family life, the furry duo became Tommy and Hannah’s top priority and the couple started to think of them as their fur babies.
‘They are literally our children,’ said Hannah.
Lifelong cat lover: Hannah revealed she treats her cats like children and puts them first in the household
Hannah says the couple are happy to prioritise their cats over each other in the household and spend lots of money on them
As well as having individual crown cat beds, the felines also enjoy a human double bed in their bedroom which Hannah keeps fresh with new sheets every week
Hannah spends around £100 every month on buying new cat toys for her pets, which come in the form of Amazon parcels
Lucky boys! Hannah has revealed she tops up her weekly shop by about £10 to £15 buying new treats for her cats
Nimbus (pictured) and Simba rarely spend time alone as Hannah ensures her grandparents have a key to the house so they can visit the cats if she and Tommy have to work late
Hannah joked that Tommy often catches up with the cats when he gets home after a long day of work, before he even speaks to her
‘We call them King Simba and Prince Nimbus. They literally have their own Amazon parcels delivered.
‘They get new scratch pads every week and toys every month. I can’t tell you how many toys are in the house.’
‘I make them a cake on their birthdays and they get seasonal gifts, like Christmas stockings and Easter eggs.’
She added she will always buy the cats a treat while doing her weekly shop, whether it takes the form of a cat treat or a new bowl, which tends to bring up her shopping bill by around £10 to £15.
Hannah added: ‘Simba is on a specialist urinary diet so that is costly, and I give Nimbus British shorthair food, so they are fed the best.’
The furry friends quickly took over their own room, forcing the fur mum to switch the guest room into a cat bedroom, complete with crown beds, costing £50 each, an £80 scratching post, treats, toys and even extra bedding for their very own double bed.
‘I change their bedsheets every single week for them,’ she said.
‘They just took it upon themselves to make it their room and then over time I added things to it for them. It’s just ridiculous. They’ve got food bowls and toys in there.’
‘If we move in to a bigger house, like for when we have children, it’s going to have to be double the size for the cat bedroom.’
If Hannah and Tommy ever go on holiday, they ask a family member to catsit rather than leaving Simba and Nimbus in a cattery. The cats aren’t even left alone for an evening, with Hannah’s grandparents popping in to see them if the couple have to work late.
And, of course, they each have a dedicated Instagram page, which may have prepared them for a career in modelling when they were asked to feature in the Cats Protection 2023 calendar.
Hannah says Simba and Nimbus are top priority in their house, and she isn’t alone, as a recent Tesco bank survey found 23% of people say they are more loyal to the relationship they have with their pets, compared to the one they have with their other loved ones.
‘I wouldn’t leave Tommy for the cats or anything like that, but they definitely come first,’ laughed Hannah.
‘I’d always put them first, behind anything. Just like people do with children.
‘During their little lives, we are their lives, we are all they know. So we have to make every day a good day.’
Ever thankful for Cats Protection, Hannah stresses the importance of ‘adopt don’t shop’.
‘There are so many animals that need rehousing,’ she said.
‘Simba and Nimbus are so special to us, they really are like our children.’
Source: Read Full Article