Making a New Cat Room

[kittymom4]

My great husband has finally agreed to finish our garage!!! It's going to mostly be a cat room. I say mostly because the washer / dryer and chest freezer have to stay out there. We are as of yet undecided about putting a shed in the back yard for storage of such things as the mower and lawn stuff.

That being said - at least half of the garage will be kitty space! It's a 12ft ceiling and has a loft style shelf at about 8ft high that's about 4ft deep. That will be kitty paradise! I've ALMOST got him talked into putting in a new window up there but I don't know.

We have a long way to go on the remodel as we have old drywall to take down, ceiling as well then new insulation and all new drywall to put in. Carpet to lay - the works!

But I'm looking for ideas from kitty lovers for the kitty area. What to have in there? Have you made things yourself and where did you get plans? I want cat steps up to the loft shelf. A big sisal rope pole to climb, and shelves on the wall that are levels for climbing and sitting - some straight and some tubes.

Share your kitty rooms if you have them - I'd love to see!

 

[sillyjilly]

That sounds really cool. I can't wait to hear some of the killer ideas others will have. And don't forget before and after pics too!

 

[ducman69]

Ooh, that sounds like fun! In addition to what was mentioned, I saw someone put up a kitty hammock up high in a corner before. Looked simple enough, just three hooks one in the corner, and one on each side of the walls w/ fabric cut to shape and they had cat shelves leading up to it.

I think the cats will love it as long as they have a place to romp, roost, and climb no matter what.

Have you considered doing a consistent theme? I'm a gaming nerd, so I'd probably get a Super Mario Bros wallpaper for the walls, and then try and theme the shelves and furniture to look like those green teleport tubes and brick blocks and what not, heh. Another neat one perhaps would be an Egyptian theme since they were huge cat lovers or perhaps African Safari, you know whatever.

Edit: Example of themed furniture: http://media.techeblog.com/images/su...sfurniture.jpg

And in the game you'd climb green beanstalks into the fluffy cloud levels that you could walk on, so the beanstalks could be just a climbing beam w/ green carpet: http://media.techeblog.com/images/supermarioroom.jpg

 

[carolpetunia]

These shelves at Ikea have been calling to me for years, but I haven't been able to invest in them yet. When you build your "Kitty Heaven," these could be installed at a 45-degree angle to make a perfect kitty "Stairway To Heaven!" :-)

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20105628

 

[kittymom4]

The hammock is a great idea! I think that would be fabulous to put up in that loft space!!!! I'll have to figure that out somehow. I didn't just want to throw a bunch of beds up there you know? I wanted some special stuff. Trouble is there will have to be one for each corner or something just as 'cool' the babies fight over EVERYTHING!!!

My main concern is all coverings being removable and washable! I'm going to try to build or make as much as I can to keep the cost down. I'll buy a cat tree but the wall shelves we can make.

 

[ducman69]

For the shelves, if left bare they tend to be cool to the touch and slippery, so the cheapest, easily cleaned, and yet good traction covering I've found is plain old kitchen adhesive backed cork cabinet liner.

It has a grid on the back already so its easy to cut too, and you just apply one side to the next slowly to avoid bubbles. Easy to simply wipe off (or can use a vacuum w/ brush attachment), always remains room temperature as cork is a good insulator, and if need be they can sink their claws into the cork and get a good grip if slipping or jumping off a shelf.

 

[Winchester]

What a fantastic idea! I'd love to see pictures when you've finished!

 

[kittymom4]

Originally Posted by Ducman69

For the shelves, if left bare they tend to be cool to the touch and slippery, so the cheapest, easily cleaned, and yet good traction covering I've found is plain old kitchen adhesive backed cork cabinet liner.

It has a grid on the back already so its easy to cut too, and you just apply one side to the next slowly to avoid bubbles. Easy to simply wipe off (or can use a vacuum w/ brush attachment), always remains room temperature as cork is a good insulator, and if need be they can sink their claws into the cork and get a good grip if slipping or jumping off a shelf.

That's good! I'll have to look for that. I was also thinking for the stairs / shelf tops I could get some of those square carpet tiles that you glue down. Ultimately three of my cats will have claws but one does not. I know I know.... TRUST ME no one feels worse about it that me that one of my cats was declawed. But it was before I knew any better. I was a typical cat owner several years ago and I believed you got a cat and then you got them declawed. SHAME!! In any case - Now I have to be considerate of her lack of climbing skill. She's not a big climber anyway really - she doesn't like high places and is very shy she feels more secure on the floor. So some of the "attractions" will be ground level for her

 

[cat condos]

That's a really good idea. I wish you the best of luck. Please post pictures of the room when your done!

 

[ducman69]

Declawed cats should be able to climb up and down steep grades fine, they just can't pull themselves up by their front claws alone to do a vertical or inverted climb. Certain kitties just aren't great climbers, claw or no claw, especially my buddies "big boned" kitties, heh. But I bet if you make it sturdy enough w/o too big of jumps or drops it might be more enticing.

For carpet btw, I was told its best to go w/ cut pile rather than loop, since they can either unravel the loop or snag a claw.

Can't wait to see pics.

 

[kittymom4]

"big boned" Yeah that's Grace - too funny. That's why she's not so ...agile. I laugh all the time that she was doomed the day we named her Grace.