Matt Ball. Built for Cats.
Cabinetry For Cats is a custom cat cabinetry studio founded by Matt Ball 18+ years of architectural joinery design, based in Marshall, Geelong.
Eighteen Years in the Making.
Architectural joinery demands a precise kind of thinking — every piece has to respond to the room around it, sit true within existing sightlines, and hold up to the standards of a completed interior. Matt has spent more than 18 years working inside that discipline, and it's shaped everything about how we approach a brief at Cabinetry For Cats. We don't begin with a product; we begin with a space. That material rigour and spatial instinct don't switch off because the client happens to own a cat.
The shift to cat cabinetry came from a straightforward observation: cat owners who cared deeply about their homes had no credible option. What existed was either mass-market cat furniture built for function without the slightest consideration for the room it would live in, or a general joiner willing to take on the job but without the knowledge to design around how a cat actually uses space. Cabinetry For Cats was the practical answer to that gap — not a passion project, but a design problem that Matt's background had already equipped him to solve.
A Cat's Space Deserves the Same Care as Any Other.
A cat's space is a fixed element in the home, and it should be designed with the same spatial logic, material quality, and proportional discipline as any other piece of joinery. That sounds simple, but it's rarely how cat furniture gets made. A poorly placed cat tree interrupts sightlines, conflicts with the scale of the furniture around it, and signals to every visitor that the cat's needs were an afterthought — bolted on rather than built in. We think that's worth fixing.
Every piece we build starts from the room, not the cat. We look at the existing joinery first: the floor-to-ceiling height, the light sources, the traffic flow, the proportions of the adjacent furniture. Once we understand the spatial context, we layer in the cat's behaviour and needs as a design brief — not a product specification. The result is cabinetry that works for the home and the cat at the same time, without either one making a compromise.
The Credentials Behind Every Piece.
Matt Ball brings more than 18 years of architectural joinery design experience to every Cabinetry For Cats project a background that sets a very different benchmark for how custom work gets done. A significant share of our projects come through interior designers, builders, and architects across Geelong and surrounding regions, because design professionals who work to tight specifications trust that our output will hold up to the same scrutiny. Every material is sourced to architectural joinery standards, not the pet furniture industry's looser expectations. And every project starts with a site visit and a design consultation — we don't offer catalogue selections, because every room is different.
Questions About Matt and Cabinetry For Cats.
What is Matt Ball's background before founding Cabinetry For Cats?
Matt Ball has over 18 years of experience in architectural joinery design — the discipline that governs how built-in furniture integrates structurally and visually with the surrounding architecture of a home. That background shapes every decision at Cabinetry For Cats, from material selection to the spatial logic of each installation.Why did Cabinetry For Cats focus specifically on cat cabinetry?
Because no credible option existed. Cat owners who cared about their interiors had nothing between a cheap flat-pack cat tree and a custom joiner with no interest in designing around a cat's needs. Cabinetry For Cats was built to close that gap — applying proper joinery design to a genuine problem in well-designed homes.Does Cabinetry For Cats work with interior designers and builders, not just individual homeowners?
Yes. A significant part of the studio's work comes through interior designers, builders, and architects who need a specialist to handle the cat cabinetry scope within a broader renovation or new build. Matt's joinery background makes collaboration on technical design briefs straightforward and productive.What makes Cabinetry For Cats different from a general joiner who also builds cat furniture?
Specialisation. Cabinetry For Cats designs exclusively for the intersection of cat welfare and home design — understanding how cats actually move, rest, and use vertical space, and translating that into joinery that belongs in a considered home. A general joiner builds to a cat furniture brief; Cabinetry For Cats writes the brief.Is Cabinetry For Cats based in Geelong?
Yes. The studio is based at 42 Grove Road, Marshall, VIC 3216 — a suburb of Geelong. Matt serves clients across Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, the Surf Coast, Golden Plains Shire, Ballarat, and Werribee, and visits every site in person before beginning any design work.
Start Your Consultation Today.
Every Cabinetry For Cats project starts with a conversation. Book a design consultation with Matt — Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM — and find out what's possible for your home.