Kitten gets the royal treatment with a mealtime throne

Pavlova needed a place to sit down. And not just any seat would do for this special kitten.

When he came to Best Friends from a shelter, Pavlova had megaesophagus, a large dilation of the esophagus that makes it difficult for food to pass to the stomach. The condition can cause animals to regurgitate meals, putting them at risk of aspirating and developing pneumonia.

It was possible he could be helped with surgery, but until he was big enough to undergo the procedure, he needed help every time he ate. Fortunately for Pavlova, a handy Best Friends volunteer jumped at the chance to use his woodworking talent to create custom kitten furniture.

Kerk Phillips is a frequent volunteer at the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Salt Lake City. He and his wife, Yeongmi, have fostered more than 37 cats since returning to live in Utah in 2023.

Fostering is just one of many ways Kerk supports the animals. He also regularly gives rides to pets from shelters and Best Friends locations, bringing them to where their chances of adoption are greater.

“Kerk has made Best Friends a part of his life. He’s just a ray of sunshine when he’s here,” says Caitlin Lisle, a Best Friends staff member in Utah.

Best Friends’ goal is for all shelters nationwide to reach no-kill, and people who volunteer their time and talents, either with Best Friends or any animal shelter or rescue organization, play a vital part in reaching that goal.

Kerk recently merged his love for animals with his talent for woodworking by creating handmade pet-centric clocks and shelves in his spare time. When he came into the pet adoption center bearing gifts of his custom creations, the team couldn’t help but gush over his handiwork.

This sparked an idea: A certain kitten could benefit from a custom chair to help him eat. Was Kerk up for the project?

Meanwhile, Pavlova was in a Best Friends foster home. To help his food go down properly, his foster volunteer would hold him upright for 30 minutes after he ate — no easy task when dealing with an energetic kitten who would much rather have been on the move.

To make mealtime easier, Pavlova needed what’s known as a Bailey chair: a highchair for pets with megaesophagus that naturally helps them stay upright without human support.

With Kerk’s exceptional carpentry skills and a few online searches, the plan was soon in motion to make Pavlova his very own mealtime throne.

Best gift ever for an orphaned kitten with megaesophagus

“Using my own cats for measurement, I came up with a fairly simple design,” Kerk says. “I was focused on getting it done quickly, so Pavlova could use it as soon as possible.”

Kerk returned to the pet adoption center with a completed Bailey chair the very next day. The chair was even beautifully painted and height adjustable to help accommodate Pavlova as he grew.

Pavlova’s symptoms improved almost immediately upon using the Bailey chair. He was able to eat more food in one sitting and enjoy it without fear of everything quickly coming back up.

Pavlova has since undergone surgery to fix his esophagus and put his eating troubles behind him. Best of all, the zestful kitten has been adopted into a loving home and is living his best life. Nowadays, he can get right back to his playful business immediately after eating.

And the Bailey chair that changed his life remains on hand at the pet adoption center for the next pet in need of a little help at mealtime.

Faces of No-Kill: Tiny kitten’s journey to health

Kerk is now the unofficial Bailey chair creator for Best Friends in Salt Lake City. He’s already made a second chair since Pavlova’s. This time around, he had a bit more time and decided to refine the design from his prototype. If the need arises for more chairs, he’ll keep improving the design each time. “I learn a bit more with each project,” he says.

As Kerk continues to share his time and talents with the animals, he will always look back fondly on the moment he was trusted to make a very special chair for a very special kitten named Pavlova.

Kerk says, “I'm happy I was able to help him live an easier life.”

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.