Do-It-Yourself Cat Furniture

It would be way too simple to bang out instructions for making cat furniture and call it a day. That would make for an informational but rather boring article. I’d much rather tell you a story about how my husband created a masterpiece of cat furniture for less than $40.

The story begins with the adoption of O’Malley, the rescue cat. O’Malley was a feral cat that had a lost a fight with a car and ended up with a broken leg. After a 4-month recovery, this fat orange kitty came to us at the end of his convalescence. He had the run of our home and the immediate love a family who desperately needed to fill the void in the life of our one remaining cat.

He quickly adopted my 11-year old as his favorite person and took over her room as his own. After my own frustration at cleaning said child’s room, I went out and bought a loft bed to give her more room (and myself more space to move amidst the junk). It never occurred to me until after the loft installation that O’Malley couldn’t get into the bed. His broken leg was still healing, with downy fur beginning to cover his hind leg.

I began pricing cat trees and boy, was I shocked. The cheapest started at $300 and didn’t go anywhere near the 7 feet required for O’Malley to safely enter and exit the loft. I gently approached my husband about making a cat tree. A nice, safe one that was stable so he wouldn’t fall. I know—cats might be masters at climbing but O’Malley had broken his leg. We didn’t need a repeat of the injury.

I printed out my favorite cat tree choices and strategically placed the pictures on the kitchen table for my husband. I set my heart on building the cat tree over the weekend and come what may, we were doing it! I dragged my husband to the hardware store to purchase brackets, wood screws, sisal rope, and indoor/outdoor carpet (easier to staple). We had plywood and 2×4s that we planned to swipe from my Dad. Hammers, staple gun, hand held saw—check! We were ready to go.

We went over to my parent’s house to grab a 2×4 and my darling husband started digging in his heels. It wasn’t that he was unaware of the urgency or necessity of the cat tree. He just wanted to spend his Saturday watching baseball. I understood. However, I was on a mission to get the cat tree built and in place as fast as possible.

My husband had his beer, hemmed and hawed, and finally succumbed to my prodding to head home and begin construction. Surprisingly, he had a plan worked out during these periods of morose silence. He actually had a vision of the whole cat tree. I was the “able assistant.”

O’Malley’s cat tree was assembled and in place in less than 3 hours. My only stipulation was no more than a two and a half-foot space between the platforms. Our final cat tree was designed so O’Malley could walk right off the top platform right onto the bed.

Supplies you’ll need:

• 3-inch L brackets (4 brackets for each platform)
• ½ inch plywood (base and platforms)
• 2×4s in 3 lengths (posts)
• 2 ½ inch screws (for mounting bracket to 2×4)
• ¼ inch screws (for mounting brackets to plywood)
• Sisal rope (2-3 packs)
• Indoor/outdoor carpet (6×8 foot piece—$20 at Home Depot)
• Hammer
• Staple gun and staples
• Saw
• Measuring tape

Assembly:

Every cat tree is unique, just as every cat is unique. O’Malley’s tree ended up having 4 platforms (including the base) and 3 support posts of varying heights. The posts were placed in a triangular pattern, with lower platforms leaning against taller posts (and secured with brackets).

Cut your base plywood to about 30×30 inches. It should be larger than any higher platform and no platform should hang over the edge of the base for stability reasons. Cut your platforms to an adequate size to hold the cat comfortably. Cover the platforms with carpet. Make sure to hammer all staples in completely.

Cut your 2×4s to varying lengths depending on the required height of the tree. The platforms will rest on the top of the posts. Wrap the posts in sisal or carpet, leaving the ends loose to allow for securing brackets.

Assemble each post and platform with the brackets. You should end up with three individual posts with a platform attached. Carry these assembled posts and your base to where your cat tree will be located. Trust me; don’t assemble the base and longest post in another room. Your walls will suffer during the move!

Set down the base platform and start fitting the “puzzle” together. When you’ve got everything just right, secure the longest post to the base using the brackets then work your way through the remaining posts. Staple the carpet ends and sisal at the post ends.

We anchored O’Malley’s tree to the loft with a bungy cord. I do recommend securing any cat furniture to the wall for added safety. Cats can get rambunctious, especially when they have their very own furniture. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

I figure we can conquer building just about any type of cat furniture. O’Malley’s tree was so easy and so much fun to put together than I’m seriously thinking he needs another cat tree in the living room! Of course, his new tree will have to have cubbies to hide in! But shhh…don’t tell my husband…yet!