We always wanted to have some kind of corner for the cat where she could jump and hide, something aesthetically pleasing, interesting for her and useful for us. As a result, inspired by the projects of other people, I made a play complex for cats with my own hands. I hope you like the climbing frame idea and also get inspired and enjoy the cute cat photos.
Preparing the necessary materials
How to make a house for a cat with your own hands: patterns
To make a cat house you will need the following materials:
- pine or plywood boards;
- steps (30 cm by 120 cm)
- birch plywood 50 cm by 50 cm;
- poplar board 7 mm by 7 cm;
- oak dowel;
- carpet 100 cm;
- upholstery;
- foam;
- screws for connection;
- shelf brackets;
- LED Strip Light;
- wiring.
Construction materials
Construction materials
Most often, leftover building materials are used to build a house. When choosing them, you should pay attention to the absence of a strong odor, in addition to the smell of wood itself. The material should not be electrified; it is better to avoid silk. The following building materials are used: plywood, chipboard sheets, thin boards, rods, newspaper tubes.
The vertical or inclined part can be made from a plastic sewer or paper pipe, a tree trunk, or a wooden beam. The inclined part is also decorated with boards, chipboard or fabric. A hammock is usually constructed from rope and thick fabric. The site is built from wood, chipboard, plywood.
Note! Wood is not sheathed, but plywood and chipboard must be covered with fabric. You can also use a ready-made strong branch and use it to create an unusual house for your pet.
Types of houses for cats
Beginning of work
A DIY climbing frame for cats made from a tree branch will be a wonderful and unusual addition to the interior, the main thing is to find a suitable tree. It needs to be firmly secured where the cat house will be built. The cut branches of the tree will become the places where the shelves will be located.
Important! One of the shelves must be located at the top, as animals love to climb high.
Preparing the necessary materials
Rope bridge
Step-by-step instructions for creating:
- Divide the poplar leaf into 6 parts.
- Coat each piece with varnish or a mixture of tung oil and wax.
- Wait until completely dry.
- Stack all the pieces on top of each other and drill the corresponding holes using a drill.
- To connect, you can use either nuts or wooden beads. Connect the parts and attach to the cat house.
Making a rope bridge
Cutting parts
When making a wooden cat climbing frame with your own hands, you should use a jigsaw to cut all the parts, measure the vertical and inclined “pillars” to the required size, and also saw off the excess. Next you need to prepare the base and side parts.
How to cut parts
Connections
In order for the cat house to be strong, appropriate holes should be made in the beams and bushings should be inserted into the base. In addition, it is better to secure the side parts not with small nails, but with self-tapping screws.
Making connections
Gluing the main structure
After all the parts are prepared and connected to each other, you can begin upholstering and varnishing the house. The corners must be carefully glued so that there are no gaps.
Gluing parts of the structure
The assembled rope bridge must be connected to the main structure. To do this, securely fasten it at the very entrance to the house and on the opposite shelf.
Rope bridge
Making a cat climbing frame
Step-by-step instructions for creating:
- Make a diagram with the dimensions of each part.
- Prepare the necessary building materials.
- Cut each piece to size.
- Connect all the parts together.
- Cover with varnish or decorate with fabric upholstery.
- Add additional entertainment elements: tunnel, rope, bridge, hammock, slide, wheel.
Construction connection
House for a kitten
DIY automatic cat feeder
The best house for a kitten will be one with as much entertainment as possible.
Note! When designing a home for a small kitten, it is important to consider its height so that he can climb into it.
You should not build a house for growth, in this case the animal will be uncomfortable and uncomfortable in it. Therefore, at this age, owners often prefer soft houses made from newspaper tubes or cardboard blanks. For a small pet, a regular cardboard box or a light fabric house will do.
House for a kitten
Drawing up a drawing and cutting out parts with examples
Before building a house, you need to think it through to the smallest detail, and this is where a drawing is needed. You can take a ready-made one or design it yourself. If you have no previous experience in this matter, then it is better to take drawings without complex multi-component structures.
DIY cat scratching post: options at home
When preparing a drawing yourself, you need to pay attention to:
- house dimensions. It should be only slightly larger than the pet;
- The drawing must indicate the dimensions of each part.
Note! An important condition is the size of the living space. If the area of the apartment does not allow for the construction of a large cat dwelling, then a structure equipped with a scratching post, a stand, and a hanging ball will be sufficient.
Drawings of cat houses
After all materials and tools have been prepared, you can begin cutting out parts. It is necessary to strictly follow the instructions for making a home structure.
For a plywood house, you need to cut out a rectangle with dimensions of 55×40 cm and a square of 30×30 cm with a jigsaw. Three shallow holes with d = 3 cm need to be made in the rectangular part, the structure posts will be inserted into them. One similar hole is made in the square. To make the upper part, you will need a piece of wood, from which you need to cut 2 round parts with d=40 cm. A hole with a recess should be made in the center of each.
Homemade cat house
Vertical sticks need to be cut into the required sizes: 85 cm, 120 cm, 120 cm, 173 cm. They will be inserted into the holes. The side parts are also cut out with a jigsaw, and through holes are made.
After all the parts are cut out, you should do the upholstery. To make it soft, the floor of the house is covered first with foam rubber and then with fabric. The walls are also decorated with fabric and foam rubber, everything is attached with a furniture stapler.
To strengthen the structure, it is necessary to prepare a pair of bushings; they are fixed in the center of the bases, and appropriate connectors for entry are made in the beams. This way the structure will be the most stable.
Note! Vertical beams are wrapped with hemp rope. The surface is smeared with glue and the wood wrapping begins.
Peculiarities
The cat house performs several functions:
- shelter - a place where you can hide from the other residents of the house;
- observation point - the pet should be able to view the maximum space around from it;
- a warm, cozy nest where you can sleep or just lie down and pamper yourself;
- play area with scratching post, ribbons, tunnels and other play accessories.
How to design
The preferences of cats and tomcats may differ. For example, cats prefer houses with two entrances. Therefore, many people like pipes or similar structures. At the same time, they don't like a hole that is too big because they need to feel safe. Therefore, the entrance/exit to the house should not be too large so that the pet can easily pass through it, but nothing more. And one more thing: not all cats like houses that stand on the floor - cats live in them with kittens.
For a cat with kittens, a house standing on the floor is suitable
Cats prefer to spend time at heights, watching everything that happens around them. They rarely sit in the house, but they can lie on the playgrounds for hours. If you have a cat, make more platforms, and of a substantial size, so that the animal can lie stretched out to its full height without the risk of falling. If railings are needed, then only for the highest shelves and obviously not along the perimeter, but only from the back and a little from the sides. In general, males feel great in areas without any fences: there are no fences on trees. Railings are needed more for the peace of mind of the owners than for the cats.
The bottom floor is usually ignored
And, by the way, there are cats who love to sit on platforms no less than cats. So they also need viewpoints, just like houses for cats are needed. You never know, maybe he will be in a bad mood and decide to hide from you there. So yes, we haven’t simplified the task of choosing, but that’s exactly how things are - until you try, you won’t understand what your pet needs.
What to add
When owners say “cat house,” they usually mean a whole cat complex, in which, in addition to the house itself, there are areas and a number of additional devices. Usually one or two sites are actively used, and the rest are visited only occasionally. But the fact is that you won’t know in advance what your pet will like.
Helpful additions to a cat's home include scratching posts and climbing frames. Scratching posts are vertical surfaces that are usually wrapped with natural fiber rope. Climbing boards are horizontal and inclined boards along which cats can move from one level to another. Scratching posts, by the way, can also be used as climbing frames—the animals use them to climb to the upper tiers.
Climbing walls and hammocks - cats usually like these
What else could be in a cat's complex? Hammocks. Usually this is a rectangular piece of fabric attached to two crossbars. Another option is also possible - a rigid frame with fabric sewn to it or a piece of fabric suspended at the four corners from the site.
The combination of a hammock and a pipe is one of the “light” options for a cat corner
Some cats also like pipes. They are sewn from fabric; for rigidity, a circle or oval of wire is inserted into both ends. One end is fixed higher, the other is thrown down. The main thing is that there is a clear opening at the end of the tunnel, otherwise you won’t be able to lure the cat any further. It turns out to be a good place for an ambush, where some furry hunters love to spend time.
Brushes are a very convenient thing for scratching and caressing when the owner is not around
There is another feature that cats like, but which not many people know about - clothing brushes nailed to vertical surfaces approximately at the level of your pet's back. The bristles on the brush are artificial, medium hard. Try it, your pet will be happy!
Height selection
In general, the rule is true for cats - the higher, the better. Therefore, the height of the house that you want to make with your own hands can be as high as you are ready to make it - even right up to the ceiling. And no matter how many tiers there are in it, most often the top one will be occupied. And if there are several cats, there will be a “leader” at the top and this particular place will always be contested.
This is a whole cat playground
The minimum height of a cat corner is about a meter. Such low structures are safe even for kittens, however, they grow up quickly and then want to climb higher.
Wall options
Even the smallest house for a cat takes up about a meter of free space on the floor. It is not always possible to allocate such space. For such cases, there are wall-mounted cat corner options. Houses and platforms are attached to the wall in the selected location using any available method. Some places directly - with nails to the wall, somewhere with the help of brackets. Transitions are made between fixed parts. From boards - straight and inclined, rope ladders, rungs are made at a distance of 10-15 cm from each other, steps are made in the form of a ladder... In general, everything is limited only by your imagination.
Wall-mounted “simulators” for cats
Such wall corners for cats are also called cat shelves, since the structure is very reminiscent of traditional bookshelves. By the way, furry ones love them very much and actively move around.
