Interesting observations. The design of cat flaps does seem suboptimal. I had not thought about the shape- it seems a good call that tall and thin would be better - but also the hinge at the top allows the flap to fall on the tail.

There's a book about the sibling construction: the cat ladder. It's called "Arcatecture"[0].

0: https://brigitteschuster.com/swiss-cat-ladders

I've personally found that the most comfortable human spaces incorporate layers of exposure as described in the article.

I also find our cats' preferences to mirror ours (even when we're not around), with the added depth of how they fit into cabinets and other small spaces.

I feel as tho our failure to architect for cats properly is more a symptom of laymen approaching architecture.

Aside: on a much larger scale, I've found commercial construction often sucks at this (except at the high end) while haphazard diy builds often naturally incorporate this.

> If cats are autistic, “what cat window box would Temple Grandin design?”

There's a book called All Cats Are On The Autism Spectrum, and I was reminded of it while reading this post. (I found myself relating to the description of cat psychology.)