If you are a pet owner, then you must be constantly buying stuff for your cat or dog online or at the store. And then you might be aware how expensive pet related things are. Knowing this, we will gladly spend most of our money to make our furry friends happy and comfortable. And while there is nothing wrong with that, you can’t just use all your money on your pets.
Cats are excellent climbers, give them any high surface impossible to reach and they will try to get there. They also love to scratch and use your sofas and couches for this purpose. To prevent your furniture from damaging, you can buy cat trees, cat houses or condos from the market or online, but they are highly costly.
Now you can make scratching posts or a cat tree for your cat easily at home and with half the price you will find it on the shop or online. You think it is hard? No way! Just a little determination and a few tools, you are good to go, and your cat has an amazing cat tree on its way.
How to make a cat tree
- Buy the tools required
Most of these things are already available in your home, but if not, these few things are essential to kickstart this DIY adventure; an electric drill, screws, hammer and nails, a handsaw, a wood stapler, a powerful adhesive and the material you are going to be using to cover the scratching post or cat tree.
- The first thing you need to do is figure out the space that you have for your cat tree, design your tree according to the space you have and the skill that you have. Keep it simple on your first try.
- Use strong wood for your cat tree, such as plywood. Then by using a handsaw, cut the wood for making a strong and sturdy base. Make sure you stick together 2 pieces of wood so it can handle the weight of cats jumping and climbing on it. Next, cut the stem and branches of your tree. The size depends on how high you want the cat tree to be.
- Cover the base with a carpet or any fabric you want there, this will further add support to the stem and branches. Now add in the stem and branches by using an electric drill to make holes at the places where you want to place them.
- Cover the plywood with a fabric that cats like to scratch, such as rope, leather or any rough fabric. This will encourage your cats to use the cat tree.
- Now use horizontal wood planks and place them in between the taller branches so they act as perches or levels that your cat can jump over or climb to.
You can add many different things here; such as some people add catnip toys, or some even use real leaves or plants to give it a jungle feel. You can decorate it with anything that your cat likes.
How to make a cat condo
Your cat deserves everything so why not her very own condo. If you try to buy one online, it will cost you a lot. But you can make one yourself by the stuff you already have at home or can buy cheaply at the store.
- Buy the tools required
Basically, all that you need is mentioned above, the only other thing that you require are wooden boxes or cardboard boxes, rope, cushions and a hot glue gun.
- The first thing you need to do is measure the space that you have available for your cat condo. Depending on the place, buy as bigger a box as you can. Buy wooden boxes of different sizes so you can play around with the design.
- now with the help of an electric handsaw, cut out holes of varying sizes on all sides of the wooden box, except the base. So, your cat can move through the. Repeat this step for each box size.
- Paint each box a different color or anything that you have in mind, you can also make patterns on it. Go wild on this part.
- After this, place the boxes on top of each other and secure them either with a strong wood adhesive or screws.
- Now add cushions inside the boxes or it can act as a sleeping place for your cat. You can also hang strings or catnip stuffed toys, so it is also a scratching post for your cat.
How to make a scratching post
- One of the simplest and easiest things to make yourself is a cat scratching post. All you need is some wood for base and a single support, some rope or carpet, and a drill and screws.
- First you need to make a sturdy base as you did for the cat tree. This base should be of two pieces of plywood stick together on top of each other. Cover the base with carpet.
- Next you need to drill in the support in the middle of the base and also cover it with carpet. Or you can just wrap it with rope, whatever your cat likes best.
Conclusion
Why waste all your money on buying things for your cat which you can easily make at home, and at half the price! No, we are not kidding. Half of the tools required to complete this project are already available at your home. The only things you need to buy is wood and rope and from that you can make your cat a luxurious cat tree or cat condo. Just a little hard work will go a long way and save a lot of money too.