We know that cats love playing in cardboard boxes, but Frances Ratner of New Zealand took it about ten steps further.
The 26-year-old is smitten with her 6-month-old kitty, who bears the royal title of Prince Peachblossom.
When asked about His Highness’ adoption, Ratner gave us a magical origin story:
There is a mountain near my house with a lake at it’s summit. Once every hundred years, a single lotus flower blooms in this lake. Six months ago I journeyed up the mountain and waited for three days and three nights, until at last, on the third night, the clouds parted and a single beam of moonlight struck the lotus bud. It bloomed, and from within its petals emerged Peach, fully formed and fluffy. I took him home and have raised him as my own ever since.
The crafty cat mom recently moved houses, and with a surplus of cardboard boxes, decided to do something creative for her little sweetheart. The end result? A meticulously constructed cardboard castle.
“At first I was just going to stack up the boxes and cut holes in them for him to play in, but once I got started, my perfectionism took over and I couldn’t stop until I felt I had created a masterpiece worthy of His Majesty,” she told iHeartCats.
She added that she doubled the cardboard on the footbridges to make sure they could support the kitten’s weight. “He only weighs a little less than 2kgs so it wasn’t too hard,” she said.
The palace’s construction took about five and a half hours, “or precisely the length of the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.” Despite those painstaking hours, the little Prince wasn’t too interested at first. Soon, though, he made himself at home in the fortress.
“He initially only played with it for ten minutes, but after I lured him back in with toys and treats he has started to enjoy it more, and I actually caught him napping on the balcony yesterday,” she said.
Ratner, a photographer, explained that being artistic is part of her nature. “I just love making things! I can’t sit and do nothing- I need to always be using my hands and my brain. Often I crochet or embroider or do elaborately iced cupcakes, but on this day, I had boxes, so i worked with them,” she told us.
Aside from enjoying the project, Ratner would do just about anything for her precious Prince Peachblossom. “He’s the light of my life, he brings me so much joy every day, and every moment we spend together makes me a better person,” she said. “I’m honestly convinced that people who don’t love animals don’t have a soul.”
You can follow His Majesty on Instagram @princepeachblossom.
Isn’t this castle stunning? Prince Peachblossom is one lucky kitty, and his mom is a seriously creative cat-lover! How would your cat react to a palace like this?
Thanks to Frances Ratner for letting us share her story and gorgeous pictures!
