Have cat, will not travel

Plan on retiring your battered luggage after this holiday travel season? Etsy seller lovenostaglicwhismy works feline-friendly, upcycled magic with old suitcases.

Mon, Dec 28 2009 at 9:32 AM EST

Parting with well-traveled luggage ain’t easy. Aside from sentimental attachment, there’s the trickiness of giving suitcases and the like a new lease on life … they're big and bulky and once they start falling apart, there’s not much that can be done to salvage 'em.

Some lucky luggage winds up on the secondhand circuit instead of the dump but, naturally, used suitcases with a bit of wear and tear aren’t for everyone. Thank goodness for lovenostalgicwhismy, an Etsy seller who prowls thrift stores for vintage suitcases and upcycles them into something most amusing: cat (and small dog) beds.

Using vintage suitcases as frames, lovenostalgicwhimsy adds legs (salvaged from chairs and coffee tables) and pillows in a variety of patterns to complete her one-of-a-kind retreats for nap-happy kitties. Check out the more of lovenostalgicwhimsy’s amusing critter creations at her Etsy storefront. The beds — again, each one is unique — retail in the range of $55 to $75 ... a bit more spendy than an run-of-the-mill, aesthetically bland foam pet bed but well worth it in my book. I mean, just look at these happy customers...