Finally finished building the CAT TREE!!!!! (Picture HEAVY)

sophiec

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OK everyone….here it is. I started building this cat tree in September and finished it between Christmas & New Years Eve. I only worked on this on Sundays. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

OK….this is a picture of the cat tree I modeled mine after. Through the Drs Foster & Smith catalog, this tree was $299.



I figured I could make mine for under $100 and was determined to do it. Unfortunately, I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t quite succeed. I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t succeed because I changed my mind about the crows nest on top while I was in the process of making it. My total in the end was $138.76. If I would not have changed my mind about the crows nest, the total would have been $105.47…..still not making it for under $100, but pretty darn close. Hereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a price breakdown of my materials & cost:

- 3/4†plywood – free from construction sites
- posts – free from work & from the core roll of freeze cloth my dad bought from a plant nursery
- carpet remnants - $40
- 3/8†unoiled sisal rope (732â€[emoji]8482[/emoji]) - $32.21
- faux lambs wool - $15.06
- Quikrete Quik-Tube - $10.46
- canvas - $6.20
- staples - $2.96
- glue - $9.62
- 3 cans spray polyurethane - $17.38
- adhesive velcro - $4.78

The differences between my tree and the one from the catalog are this:

- Their base/platforms are 18†square….mine are 22†square
- Their post lengths are 30â€, 18â€, & 11â€â€¦..mine are 36â€, 24â€, & 12â€
- I ended up adding a 3rd post between each level for stability

This is an early picture of the materials all together. Since I changed my mind during the building, not everything is pictured here. Whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s in the picture is:
- carpet remnants
- 3/4†plywood
- Quik-tube
- posts
- 3/8†sisal rope (in box)
- Santos Mahogany (pictured on top of box...this is for the crows nest)
- faux lambs wool (in bag underneath my momâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s cat, Thumper)





Close-up of the 3/4" plywood for the 3 levels. Note the top piece has a little platform on the corner. It was supposed to be for them to get into the crows nest through a small door since I had planned to eliminate the hole in the bottom of the crows nest for access. Well, I changed my mind and put the hole, so I eliminated the little platform on the corner of the board.





These are the posts that will go between levels. There are only 6 pictured here. I ended up adding 3 more so that there would be 3 posts between each level instead of 2….more stability.





Close-up of one end of a post showing the stud bolt (my dad actually came up with that idea and did it for me).





Another close-up of the end of a different post.





Close-up of carpet remnants and box of 3/8†sisal rope.





732 feet of 3/8†unoiled sisal rope.





Top & bottom pieces of 3/4†plywood and just a few pieces of the Santos Mahogany that will make up the crows nest.





The quik-tube and the faux lambs wool for the hanging tunnel. The lambs wool also goes inside the crows nest. My momâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s cat, Thumper refused to get off of if for me to take a picture. I cut the quik-tube into 3 equal sections. Then for 2 of them, I sliced them open. I then pulled one open and slipped in over the one that didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get cut…..and did the same with the 3rd one….reinforcing it and making it 3 thick instead of 1 thick. I stapled the 3 of them together.





This may have been overkill, but Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had such a problem with Ansel (in the background) peeing on things, I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to take any chances. I covered the boards in plastic before I put the carpet on them. Also, notice in the upper right hand corner, there is a t-nut in the wood. This is for the posts to screw into.





Cutting the carpet.



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sophiec

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Here, I was using a small propane torch to “burn†the edges of the carpet to keep it from raveling.





Stapling the carpet to the platforms.





Stapling the carpet to the posts.





This is the top side of one of the platforms completed. You can see where I had already screwed in the 3 posts.





This is the bottom side of the same platform.





2 posts completed and the 3rd almost complete.





The faux lambs wool laid out and the quik-tube for the hanging tunnel.





Stapling the lambs wool to the inside of the hanging tunnel.





Bella, relaxing behind some of the posts as I was working on it.





The finished hanging tunnel.





Outside, wrapping the sisal rope around the posts.





This is a piece of Santos Mahogany. I have some scraps pieces of this wood left over from when my dad & I built my kitchen countertops. Instead of the crows nest being covered in carpet as the picture at the beginning shows, I decided to make mine a little different. I decided to build my own tambour (if you donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know what that is, think roll-top desk) from some of the scrap mahogany. This picture didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t come out very good (lighting)….must have been the fluorescent lights in my dadâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s shop.



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sophiec

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Here I am passing a strip of mahogany over a router bit to get a curved edge on the strips for the tambour. I had to run it twice…once on each edge of the piece.





Here Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m cutting a completed strip off on the table saw to give me one tambour strip. I did as many as I could that night…my dad cut the rest during the week because he needed to use his table saw for something else. We ended up cutting 123 strips….then I had to go through and find all the straight ones. There were 97 straight ones…just enough to use for the crows nest.





Cutting the canvas that the tambour strips will be glued to…and getting a little help from my girl Zan.





Zan decided she wanted to lay on this more than I wanted to finish cutting it.





Since the canvas material was not long enough, I had to stitch 2 pieces together.





Here are all the finished tambour strips…..no stain, just 3 coats of satin polyurethane.





A close-up of one tambour strip.





Here, the canvas is clamped down and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve started gluing the strips down to it.





More strips being glued down.





Once all 97 strips were glued down, I turned it over to press over everything to make sure there was a good bond.





This is the bottom section of the crows nest. There was not supposed to be the 2nd thinner board that you see under the piece of ¾†plywood, but I messed up…..so I had to add that. Here, the 2 are clamped together so that I could cut the hole for the cats to climb up into the crows nest.





Applying a stain to the bottom of the board to try to match the color of the mahogany (which I did not apply a stain to).



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sophiec

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The top & bottom of the crows nest temporarily supported away from each other to test fit the tambour. My momâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s cat, Thumper, felt I put that there for him.





Here it is starting to go together. The three 12†length posts are attached to the platform and the thin round piece that the crows nest will attach to is being screwed down.





Attaching the tambour to the top & bottom piece of the crows nest. Each strip of the tambour has a nail in the top & bottom….so thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s 90 something times two!!





Attaching the three 36†sisal covered posts to the bottom platform.





First section completed. Notice the Amarkat tree in the background in front of the piano and Thumper is on the pillow under the piano stool. My parents are in the middle of remodeling their house…so please excuse all the temporary shelves of stuff piled on them and the boxes. LOL





Attaching the next level on top of the 36†posts. Notice Zan is overseeing my work in the background.





Ansel felt that he needed to inspect it as well.





Note Thumper on pillow below piano stool, Zan on piano, and Ansel on other tree.





Added three 24†carpet covered posts to 2nd level.





Added next platform on top of 24†posts. Note Zan now laying down inside their toy basket on top of piano.





Attached three 12†sisal covered posts to top of platform.





Attached thin board to top of 12†posts.



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sophiec

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View from above.





The finished tree. This picture shows the crows nest attached…as well as the hanging tunnel under the 1st level. I forgot to take pictures of the process of attaching it. My dad bent some steel pieces and made some wood pieces for attaching it. Note, the crows nest is larger than the one in the catalog (1st picture). The catalog one is 20†in diameter and mine is 23†in diameter. Mine is 16†high and I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know how high theirs is…it looks to be about 12†high in the picture.





A close-up of the crows nest.





A close-up of the crows nest door. This is not meant for them to get in and out of the nest with….its more for them to see out and me to see in. They get in through the hole on the bottom of the nest. The floor is covered with the faux lambs wool attached with adhesive backed Velcro to keep it in place when they climb in and out.






Close-up view of the hanging tunnel.





Bella inside the hanging tunnel….I had to put her in it…..but I have since seen her in it on her own…..once.





Bella on the top level, Ansel inside the tunnel, and Zan on the bottom level…..and momâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s cat Thumper on his pillow.





Close-up.





Close-up.





Zan enjoying the bottom level.





Believe it or not, they RARELY go into the crows nest. I found Bella sleeping inside it one night so I snapped this picture.





Zan sleeping on the tree.





The tree gets the most use by my two girls Zan & Bella. I rarely find Ansel on the thing. Once I move into my house, which has 9-1/2â€[emoji]8482[/emoji] ceilings, I will add the post to the top that will go the rest of the way to the ceiling (as seen in the very 1st pic from the catalog). My parentâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s house has 8â€[emoji]8482[/emoji] ceilings and this thing is 4 inches away from the ceiling.

If you've read this far, thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed it!!!
 

proudkittiemom

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I
it its soo great....the kitties look like they are enjoying it
it looks great
im debating whether to buy one or make one...i dont think me or my mom has the patience to make one tho
and the men in this house cant fix anything...the other night my brother broke the shower head so he called my mom and she fixed it then my dad broke it and he called her again to refix it and put another one on
and my computer desk we had the neighbor build
but u did such a great job
and it looks fantastic
 

salemwitchchild

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It looks wonderful. Maybe you should start a cat tree business! Seriously. It looks wonderful and very professional.
 

lokismum

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Wow - that is amazing! You did a great job, and your babies sure seem to love it! You should go into business and sell them. That looks a lot nicer than the one you used as a plan!
 

pushylady

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That is fantastic! You've done an amazing job.

I love mahogany, it turns out so beautiful when lacquered. The crows nest is a really classy touch, hopefully the cts will use it more.

It seems you had quite the crew supervising the construction.
 

snuzy

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Originally Posted by LokisMum

Wow - that is amazing! You did a great job, and your babies sure seem to love it! You should go into business and sell them. That looks a lot nicer than the one you used as a plan!
Totally Awesome!
 

pat locani

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That is fabulous! Once you get moved, you can do additional wings -- catwalks to attached cabanas, ramps to adjoining suites -- the possibilities are endless!
Very very nice. You did a terrific job!
 

kiwideus

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Wow that is a fantastic cat tree. I am going to show my hubby this so that he moves his bum and builds my cats one.

I do have a couple of questions - how many sundays total do you think it took?

How high is it? And do the cats have any problems getting up on it?

I really love your tree! I want it!!
 
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