Has anyone made a DIY cat tree?

I'm thinking of building one. My awesome brother got me one of those fancy "cat cottages" when I got my kitten, but it's 6 feet high and has a pretty big footprint -- big enough that it's not practical in my apartment, so unfortunately we have to return it.

Instead, I'm thinking of building a tree/perch that will give my cat a nice view of the outside. One option, which I'm leaning toward, is building it around a small tree like this:


What I really like about it is it's legitimately decorative, not a big, ugly-looking monstrosity in the middle of the living room or bedroom, and it seems like it would actually be more appealing to cats.

My questions are: Has anyone here actually done a project like this? If so, what did you use for the carpet texture, what kind of wood did you use, and did you add padding? I'm also wondering if there is any reason NOT to use a fake tree -- seems to me that the cats would try eating the leaves if it were real, but I may be wrong on that. As far as the photo above, it doesn't look like those perches are particularly load-bearing, and I'd want to build one that can accommodate my kitten when he grows into an adult cat.

We are planning on building one this weekend. Good luck.

We have very small house and my husband doesn't want anything too ugly. Everything we like is way too expensive.

Thanks. I did some reading up on other DYI cat tree projects, and it seems like the basic materials should be very easy to get, very cheap, from home depot: A couple pieces of scrap wood for the structure and perches, a couple pieces of scrap carpet to pad the perches. I'm gonna have to look at trees in person, but it looks like I can pick up a nice tree for $30-$40.

Good luck with yours!

Yeah, supplies should be pretty cheap. We actually have a lot of salvage stuff we might use, at least some plywood. Some pet stores sell carpet scraps cheap. I know Menards does, but I don't think they have those in your neck of the woods.

Good luck, share pics.

The husband and daughter started without me, as I had a tech conference to attend today. I tried to sneak into the garage to see it. All I know is it has some pretty serious framing materials and beadboard( I am guessing to hide the litter box).



They are trying to decide where to add the perch.

We set out to make a small cat tree... but ended up with a floor-to-ceiling loft-like structure in our basement family room that we've never used as a family room. The room has beams along the ceiling so it was easy to attach the loft to the ceiling.

The cats love the loft: my husband built it out of leftover wood and other stuff we didn't know what else to do with, including the fabric part of an old cat perch. (It's now more like a hammock.) I think what the cats like best is that the support pieces/legs are wrapped in sisal tope so they can climb, scratch, stretch, and chase each other. I can't say enough how much the cats love that! The sisal is what got us started, after we saw a story and photos on the Hauspanther site.

As far as the OP's questions: I think you can use just about any kind of wood for a cat tree and I would definitely recommend involving some sort of carpet and/or padding so the cat can be comfortable napping. (We built a smaller cat perch for our previous cat and used rug-like bathmats that worked very well. The cat liked the texture.) Based on how much our cats like to chew on foliage, I would definitely agree about not using real plants. No matter what, I recommend wrapping something -- a branch or beam, maybe -- in sisal because it's a great outlet for scratching.

Here's Ireland in the perch/hammock, where she spends many of her afternoons.

This is what we ended up with...

She can move freely between the lower perches. She just discovered the top one, but hasn't attempted it yet.

The only think we had to buy was the rope. The rest of it was scrap from our renovations.

Plan said:

What I really like about it is it's legitimately decorative, not a big, ugly-looking monstrosity in the middle of the living room or bedroom, and it seems like it would actually be more appealing to cats.

My questions are: Has anyone here actually done a project like this? If so, what did you use for the carpet texture, what kind of wood did you use, and did you add padding? I'm also wondering if there is any reason NOT to use a fake tree -- seems to me that the cats would try eating the leaves if it were real, but I may be wrong on that. As far as the photo above, it doesn't look like those perches are particularly load-bearing, and I'd want to build one that can accommodate my kitten when he grows into an adult cat.

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I absolutely love this! Great find!

Datagrrl said:

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• datagrrl
• May 18, 2014

She can move freely between the lower perches. She just discovered the top one, but hasn't attempted it yet.

The only think we had to buy was the rope. The rest of it was scrap from our renovations.

Click to expand...

That's fantastic! Definitely some great inspiration, thanks Datagrrl.

@LisaHE- That's a handsome cat!

Plan said:

 
That's fantastic! Definitely some great inspiration, thanks Datagrrl.

@LisaHE- That's a handsome cat!

Click to expand...

Thank you, Plan! I think Ireland was trying to look philosophical. She really loves that spot -- she particularly enjoys high places. I hope you'll post photos of your kitten in/on whatever you end up building.

Datagrrl, your kitty must love that sisal-covered board! That's a great idea. Don't be too surprised if it the rope starts to sag a little after the cat has clawed at it a lot: the rope on the posts on our loft started to droop a bit but a few long cable staples (like these, I think) took care of that problem nicely.

Yeah, He stapled it but only on the back. Kind of thinking we will. Have to glue or do something with the front.

Try this: http://petdiys.com/pvc-basket-cat-tree/. I've seen similar ones sell for over $200. I think this one costs about $60 to make. Then there is the multi-level shelf type trees.Using the Ikea floor to ceiling pole and platform holders, one sheet of MDF should cover all the stairs and platforms you want and any spare carpet from a retailer or indoor outdoor carpet which is dirt cheap for the mats would be fine. Also, a Walmart welcome rug or throw rug at Sears ($10) would work. Plan on making one myself soon, along with 2 boxes and shelves on the sides which would lead to the top of a mini-hutch on my dresser. I am going to cover the the top of the hutch with leftover carpet and make them a nice ledge to look out the master bedroom window. Spoiled little brats that they are!

My cats have managed to cut many of those ropes in their cat tree posts, but it really seem not to bother them.

I have put some 2 by 4's near ceiling, suspended them from ceiling and those act as pathways from near ceiling closet to their cat tree. Also there is hammock and sleeping platform near ceiling which they like when I heat fireplace as it gets quite warm up there.

Perhaps such ceiling kitty highway is not for all, but if it is possible to build such, cats certainly will love it.

I have plans to extend those pathways so that they will have access to other room via hole near ceiling and using bookshelf as a ladder they should be able to have completely new route to run around.

Plan, that is a great at tree!  Well done!

In the original pic, the base is a 'house.'  In my experience, cats prefer to be UP, so a house at the bottom would seldom get used.  Making that the spot for the litter box was a great modification!

We made a simple cat perch about 14 years ago, for the front living room window.  The cats have always enjoyed it.  It is definitely showing its age at this point.  I will see if I can share a pic of it once I return home after the holidays.  My RB Chestnut loved to be there  , upside down in the sun.  He'd sort of roll over towards the window.  My Post Carrier commented, "you know, you often have an X rated window display!" 

One comment I have on the one you made -- and I share this because it is still something you can do if you want.  My cats tend to sleep on the upper rests and in their sleep, as they move about, they . . . fall off.  In my early cat ownership days, I often had to run to catch a falling cat!  I missed catching Mr. Amber Cat once and the poor boy landed on his head.  He was dazed for a bit, then seemed ok.. That was when I decided to always have sides on the rest perches   I make a point of always having 'sides' on any upper perches.  You can cover the sides with carpet as well.