Viral YouTube video shows a cardboard castle built for a cat

By Deborah Netburn

Sep. 11, 2012

12 AM

&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;All cat videos are really, at their heart, a tribute to how much people love their&amp;amp;nbsp;cats, but few videos illustrate this idea as well as “Rufus Tower” -- a five-minute video uploaded Saturday to &amp;amp;lt;runtime:topic id="ORCRP00000211004"&amp;amp;gt;YouTube&amp;amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;amp;gt; that has already received more than 200,000 views.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;In the beginning of the video, Australian commercial and music video director Billy Browne explains that he and his cat Rufus were just emerging from a rough patch in their relationship.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Rufus had an ear infection that required Browne to put drops in his ears. Rufus hated the drops and had started running away from Browne when he got home from work. In the video Browne confesses that Rufus had been hiding from him for two weeks.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;After the ear-drop nightmare had come to an end, Browne wanted to give the cat something special as a way to make up for the torture he had bestowed upon him. That something was a cardboard tower of a kitty’s dreams.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Browne calls it a tower, but we think it looks more like a castle. It involves several dozen boxes all held together with colorful packing tape. Browne cut openings in the boxes and created tunnels, essentially forming a kitty wonderland.&amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;At the end of the video, you get the feeling that Browne kind of has to teach Rufus how to enjoy his new tower, but that’s part of the sweetness of it all.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;People seriously love their cats.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;strong&amp;amp;gt;ALSO:&amp;amp;lt;/strong&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a class="runtimeTopic” href="https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-youtube-iphone-app-20120911,0,2099479.story"&amp;amp;gt;Google introduces new YouTube app for the iPhone&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-jon-rafman-google-street-view-art-20120907,0,4695291.story"&amp;amp;gt;Wild and crazy moments captured on Google Street View&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-cat-video-festival-20120831,0,2290329.story"&amp;amp;gt;Missed the first cat video festival? No worries, watch at home&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;Follow Deborah Netburn on &amp;amp;lt;a href="https://twitter.com/#!/DeborahNetburn"&amp;amp;gt;Twitter&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; or &amp;amp;lt;a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/109675776633752908527/posts"&amp;amp;gt;Google+&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;

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Deborah Netburn

Deborah Netburn is a features writer at the Los Angeles Times. She joined the paper in 2006 and has covered entertainment, home and garden, national news, technology and most recently, science.