Bespoke Finishes

Below are some of the more popular bespoke cat furniture finishes that we've used but because Hicat® products are made-to-order we have the ability to fabricate to any customer specific request so if you have something special in mind then please get in touch

Hicat® AVM Wool

If you are looking for something very special then a wool covered Hicat® is hard to beat & units wrapped in our AVM Wool make-up some of our finest creations to date - this super heavy weight range manufactured exclusively for us & is made from 60% wool, 20% yak hair, 20% PET (recycled plastic) with a synthetic & jute backing, hence the Animal, Vegetable & Mineral initialism.

The carpet is soft to the touch & has a wide rib, which is sized similar to coir boucle but machine woven onto a hard fabric membrane so technically more regular in terms of weave than the coir finish - it's also as easy to climb, doesn't shed fibres & creates a cleaner aesthetic finish when compared to the coir boucle finish.

It has a contrasting Wool rib with Black or Off-White backing that becomes apparent on folds around Access Holes, Recessed Tops & Peep Holes - matching Twist Pile internals to the backing looks best in our opinion noting that BB, Iron, Stone, Bark & Tar have a Black backing & Bone along with Smoke have an Off-White backing.

We have a CHAT Blog page that takes a really close look at these exquisite finishes - our Hicat® AVM Wool was previously known as a Crucial Trading carpet called Tibet Wool, which was discontinued in 2016, hence the the Tibet name appearing in Blog, Gallery & content across our website & social media feeds.

Availability of the different AVM Wool colours is shown on the individual product pages.

Alaska Wool

This Crucial Trading carpet is one of the most luxurious finishes to be used on our units because of the deep pile 100% New Zealand wool - the pile is woven on to a white backing membrane & it makes up similar to our AMV Wool but also has a horizontal weave detail so is technically more difficult to work with but the results are worth it.

We can purchase Alaska Wool from Crucial Trading at retail cost but there are also remnants sometimes available from flooring outlets & buying from these suppliers reduces the cost of the unit significantly.

Rustica Wool

This is the latest bespoke Crucial Trading finish to be used on our units & is similar to the Alaska range but with a slightly narrower weave & shorter pile so not quite as luxurious but still very sumptuous.

Like Alaska Wool, we can purchase Rustica Wool from Crucial Trading at retail cost but there are also remnants sometimes available from flooring outlets & buying from these suppliers reduces the cost of the unit significantly.

Peat & Tatami Coir

We imported these special bespoke colours in 2020 as alternatives to the Bleached & Natural Coir offering - both finishes are batch dyed with Tatami Coir being a single colour weave but Peat Coir has a dark brown warp (the horizontal yarn) contrasted with a black weft to create a two tone colour weave.

The last of this stock was used up in 2022 & we do not have any plans to import more of this finish.

Twist Pile Internals

Our units can be specified in various Twist Pile internals as an option to the standard Black Twist Pile - below are some of the more popular colours that we can currently source.

Concrete Coir

Concrete Coir was our first venture in to importing coir carpet from India in 2010 & although the colour was spot on it wasn’t as planned - the carpet was pigment dyed as opposed to batch dyed so was prone to wear & tear because the natural fibres would show through the pigment dye when the unit was climbed & scratched.

The last of this stock was used up in 2018 & we do not have any plans to import more of this finish.

Slate Coir

In 2018 we imported Slate Coir from India & were aiming for a colour similar to the original grey Concrete Coir that we imported for in 2010 but batch dyed to avoid the issues with wear & tear - the carpet did arrive batch dyed but not to the exact colour match & had a more earthy look to it because of subtle green/blue/brown tones in the yarn but was used extensively across all of our products.

The last of this stock was used up in 2021 & we do not have any plans to import more of this finish.

Coir Samples & One Off Pieces

Over ther years we have experimented with other sample colours including black, primary colours & different hues of green & grey, which have been made up into bespoke items & sold as OOAK pieces.

Although we can still source one-off coir pieces dyed to a Pantone PTX colour the cost of importing is very high compared to remnants & UK supplied coir finishes.

Coloured Twist Pile

Coloured Twist Pile internals were once available as special finish option on our units & we can still source bright carpet to use on the inside of units but not in the same colour range that were previoulsy used is now discontinued.

Herringbone & Basket Weave Coir

Where climbing isn’t a consideration the choice of finishes can be widened to include non-boucle & looped type weaves - Bobcat units have been finished in variety of coir & sisal finishes including a traditional herringbone coir & basket weave sisal.

Customers Own Material

We’ve fabricated our units in various materials provided by customers including un-dyed wool, sisal, seagrass & jute finishes - before we can undertake a COM unit we need to test a small section of the chosen material to make sure that we can bond, seam & finish it in line with our fabrication process but obviously can’t be responsible for any wear & tear or durability issues arising out of the use of the carpet.

Ordering Your Hicat®

Please use the Order Form at the bottom of the product pages to order your Hicat® noting your bespoke finish in the Makers Notes section & we will advise on the cost against the specification as part of the order confirmation.