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That padded bed hanging out in the alley 5 feet off the ground was her kind of throne to the world. I also cut in a mail slot right next to her viewing condo, so the mailman could say hi to her everyday.

That little beach shack didn’t have heat or cooling so I also bought her this, and I set it next to my reading place on the couch. She loved this, and you should look into it.

Thermo Kitty Mat: Indoor Heated Cat Mat
http://cozywinters.com/shop/kh-3092.html

When she got old I bought her a love seat and put the end up next to my couch reading spot, put her electric bed on it, and then built steps for her when she seemed to be having some sort of arthritis pain.

She was a very engaging cat, and even when some of us were sitting and talking, she would sit among us as though she was part of the group, what fascinated me when she was a little kitten and I was a hard charging, quick moving male, was how even as tiny she was, she found ways to force me to stop and pay attention to her, it was interesting to watch her ability to communicate and participate, and demand what she required.

She lived on a self feeder of dry food, and a self watering set up, and I only changed her cat litter once a week, so her maintenance was close to zero, and when I traveled it was easy to have someone come to my little beach shack to hang out with her for a couple of hours every day.

Many non-cat people think that they are non-social, but they are very social, it is just mostly unspoken, they need to know they are part of things and they value the relationship, although an outsider may not notice the subtle interactions.
If you watch outdoor cats that know each other, you see that they don’t do much actual contact, but they most definitely say hi to each other and do a version of a nod to each other, it is as though they are a loosely formed cat group, with a wide spacing that to the casual observer might not be noticed, it is more noticeable when they lounge and sleep in proximity to each other.