DIY Cat Furniture

Cat Furniture

I have mentioned in my Cat Grass article under Health & Behavior, that if you have inside cats you’ll need to make sure they are happy and healthy by providing those things that are outside by bringing it’s equivalent inside.

In the cat world there are Tree Dwellers and there are Ground Dwellers.

Tree Dwellers

For your Tree Dwellers, it’s important to have something they can climb up where they feel safe and can get a ‘birds eye’ view so to speak, of their environment.

Zoey in her tree gazing out the window.


Ground Dwellers

For the Ground Dwellers, they need something to crawl into and peek out from or curl up in to feel safe and nap.

Freya in her tent ball and basket.

DIY – Cat furniture on the cheap

Cat trees and wall units are getting more and more affordable and there are plenty of tubes, tents, cat beds and houses for the floor lovers.  However, it’s best to get an idea of what kind of configuration or style your cats prefer before you invest.

So, being the practical and thrifty person that I am, I make these on the cheap first to see what works and what doesn’t.

You can make your own cat tree on the cheap by duct taping large cardboard boxes together and cutting holes for easy access.  Just put some of those cheap cinderblock type stepping stones in the bottom box to keep it steady, then cover the stones with a blanket or towel. If you go high, duct tape in some wooden supports to keep it from wobbling and anchor it to a wall.

We did one configuration in cardboard that went from our living room up to the loft railings above (anchored to the wall of course). We learned our lesson on that one, the cats we had at that time were ground dwellers and were terrified of climbing that high. We were really glad we hadn’t invested in cat trees for that crew!

The same cardboard boxes can be used for the floor dwellers, you can experiment with different sizes, windows, entry and exits, etc. Check out ‘veggiedayz’ on Instagram, she creates some adorable floor houses out of cardboard to display her foster kittens for adoption.

Tip – Cats like both an entry and exit point, especially if you live in a multi-cat household – they like a bolt hole.

If you’re not horrified at how the cardboard clashes with your décor, you can do different configurations on and off throughout the year, just to keep things interesting for your cats. They love something new, especially if it comes in cardboard – Chewy boxes are a fave at our house!

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