Have any of you made your own cat tree?

Question

I mean those wooden cat-gyms I see in stores that are for your cat to climb on. Most are so expensive. I have some wood and carpet remnants. I want to make one of my own to save money.

If you have made your own, how did you do it? How hard is it to do?

Answer 1

It is pretty easy to make one of your own. The main thing you need to be concerned about is making sure that it is secure and will not fall over on your cat. We have had many clients bring in their cats with broken bones, internal injuries, and worse because their cat tree fell on top of their pet. It needs to be much heavier at the base than at the top. Or figure out a way to secure it to the wall or ceiling.

Answer 2

My husband and I made one for our cats about 4 years ago, no they are not hard to do at all, we made a three story tower in a day, it took us about 5 hours for finish it. I got the samples on eBay, i typed in cat tower samples and this guy popped up with tower models, I payed .99 cents and all it is he sends you an e-mail with the directions of the model you want. You could probably find something for free on the net if you just type cat tower models or something like that, I am going to see if I still have that e-mail it has been a while, If I do I'll post it here. We must have spent about 80 bucks but that was because we didn't have precut pieces of wood so we had to buy the saw and everything, we spent s few more dollars buying the tools but the tower itself didn't cost over 40 bucks, I think you should do it, it is a lot of fun. We do not have it anymore because we didn't measure the weight of one of our cats and he is so heavy that the top part came apart, it was in the shape of a U kind of and 4 screws were not strong enough to keep it up, next time we make another one we will just make the plain steps! Good luck!

Answer 3

Depending on how elaborate you want, it is the best way to go. I have build a few and it is very easy, tho' you need a saw, hammer, 3" nails and staple gun. If you make a tree that is the easiest. Get a 4 x 4, cut it the length you wish it to stand, cut the notches where you want the platforms to sit, (make sure you make room for the carpeting) then put the carpet on the peices of wood with the staple gun. You can run nails into the platforms after the carpet is on. Adhere the tree to the wall with brackets. Really easy. You can also hang some rope from the bottom platform for the cats to play with. Hope that helps.

Answer 4

My husband has built about a dozen of them. All very different. Some he has used 5 gallon buckets (cleaned very well), carpet glued with multi purpose flooring adhesive inside and out. Then screwed to smooth barked tree limbs (cats just love the real wood) or to other buckets or carpet covered 4 X 4's. He uses an electric stapler to attach the carpet to the wood. He makes platforms and hidey holes. And always rubs some catnip all over the carpet to attract the kitties.

It is not hard, just challenging to design. The important part is to make sure your base is stable so that it does not tip over when kitty is at the top.

Have fun!

Answer 5

I kind of did that. I took a TV entertainment system unit and cut it down a little, then nailed some carpet scraps on the horizontal surfaces. There was a little section with a door, and I cut a hole in the side so they have a little hidey-hole with a blanket inside, that I can access through the door in case I need to get someone out of it.

I have seen where some carpet places throw away really strong cardboard tubes, like 1/2 inch thick... maybe you could get some of those, and wrap either carpet or sisal rope (rough and twiney) around it, and connect a platform to the top. There's lots of things you could do. Kitty doesn't care what the finished product LOOKS like, either, just so it feels soft, and he can scratch it.

Answer 6

I made one for my wifes cats out of a 50 gallon fibre drum (cardboard drum). I cut holes in the drum on three levels, screwed wood blocks above each opening, cut out plywood circles to fit inside the drum with inner circles so they could climb up through. used some carpet padding and remnats to cover it all up using staples. Take about 5 hours to make, but was worth it. The exact same one at Petsmart was going for $350 and I spent about $50 on mine. Her cats love it and were crazy with it when they were kittens. They have calmed down since then and just lay on it. Glad I didn't spend the big bucks on such a short term toy.

Answer 7

The price's for the Cat's Gyms are expensive, but I found one for $30 at Walmart about a year ago. But I think that it is cool if you want to make your own!

Answer 8

My grandfather made a scratching post for my cat. It wasn't too terribly difficult. My grandfather spent a few hours on it and was finished.

We had some wood, carpet, and some sisal rope.

I listed a few websites. I hope that it helps.

Answer 9

I have no clue what you are talking about. but, I know that if I wanted one for my 2 cats then I would just spend some money and go buy one. personally, I don't have time to build one and wouldn't know where to start.