Your Cat Doesn’t Need a Mansion – I Built My Own and Saved a Ton!

Summer means, among other things, baby kittens. Cats go into heat in spring, and have their litters mostly in May and June. I recently found a little kitten to be irresistible and brought her home. A few hundred dollars later, I’ve got an immunized and fixed little kitten with a house full of food and toys.

And one homemade monster in the corner for her to play on.

A large piece of cat furniture, with a few levels and perches, easily costs upwards of $100. I’ve seen particularly elaborate models selling for $300! I found myself standing in the pet store, with my beautiful kitten jumping from one $150 piece of carpeted wood to another, and thinking that some scrap wood and old carpet would be a lot cheaper.

So I headed home to the basement workshop. Mine is nothing special, pretty standard for any home workshop. I used only some scrap wood and old carpet squares I had laying around. The only thing I bought were two 1x1x36 pieces of wood, to help support some areas.

A quick internet search revealed no types of wood that were especially toxic or harmful to cats, and the wood will all be covered with carpet anyway.

The structure is three levels high. The bottom is a solid, heavy board to keep everything stable. The other two levels are supported by a 3 x 3 post. The second level is a piece of plywood, stiffened with two 1×1’s on either side. I cut a round hole in it, which my kitten loves to jump and climb through. On top of the post, I built and attached an enclosed box, about a foot on each side. A hole on the front allows my kitten access, and the inside is lined with lots of old towels to give her a soft bed. The top can be removed fairly easily, so cleaning is simple. I also hung a few toys for her to play with.

I outlined both holes with the bottom of a one gallon paint can. The towels and carpet are all held in place with heavy staples. Everything is held together with nails and a bit of wood glue, except for where the levels attach to the central post. The unit, especially the box on top, is fairly heavy, so I used long heavy wood screws there. Better safe than sorry, I want to make sure that there’s no chance of anything falling down and crushing my poor unsuspecting cat.

Making kitty furniture is not hard at all, and it can save you a ton of money. I made mine in a single day, and I do not consider myself anything close to a craftsman. The only large tool I used was a table saw. I also used a jig saw for the holes and a hand saw for cutting smaller pieces of wood. A hammer and nails, screws and an electric driver, a drill, a few clamps, and a heavy duty stapler completed my woodworking arsenal.

If you do decide to build your own, please keep a few things in mind.

First, make sure you cover all the exposed wood. Sharp corners will make for very rough falls. Plus, if its all covered you don’t have to worry about sanding or staining. Covering it in carpet will also keep your beloved pet away from any wood glue you might have used, or any harmful chemicals in the wood. Also, make sure you use a heavy enough stapler to drive the staples all the way through the carpet and into wood. Anything sticking out provides a potential snag for your cat, or even something she could pull out and choke on.

I will admit, my home built structure is much, much less attractive than the units you can buy in stores. With practice, and with better supplies than what I found in my basement, I feel like I could have done a much better job. However given the price difference, $150 versus $5, I’m happy with the end result.