DIY Cat Condo

The first DIY project I want to share with you is one of the biggest ones I have undertaken so far.


When I first got Lilly, I bought her a 3 tier cat scratcher from Cheap as Chips. It was tiny compared to her and she never went on it, much to my dismay. So I sold it on to a friend and set about looking for a better one for her. It needed to be bigger to allow her on it without having to worry about it tipping over or being uncomfortable.

I did some internet research; there really is so much to be found. I couldn't find one that suited us or her that I liked and looked viable. So, I decided to design my own. It turned out to be quite easy. I started on graph paper and pencil and tweaked until I came up with a design I was happy with. I then used the 3D shapes in word to make a model.

The Bottom curvy thing is a hammock that she can sleep in and the higher curvy thing is a piece of tubing that I saw in another design that I thought she might like.

Because I had an inordinate amount of free time on my hands I created a scale model of it using cardboard and straws. I made a few modifications- the tube was moved over and another platform was put in below the hole to the top deck to make it easier for Lilly to get up there.

Choosing the measurements of my design turned out to be the hardest part for me. I ended up making a decision based on the measurements available in MDF boards at the local hardware stores. It measured 90X45cm at the base and would stand around 150CM at the top of the top box.

Michael then helped me figure out what materials I needed to make it and how to create a cut sheet. I can't remember the size of the sheet I ended up using, but it was the biggest one available that I could get all my pieces from. The uprights were 2 pieces of 2X4cm pieces nailed together to make a square.

I bought the piece after finalising my cut sheet and took it to Michael's Dad's house to borrow his power saw. I have never used power tools before, and he helped me to first accurately draw out the cut lines, and create guides to cut. I did all of the cuts except 2 that required free hand cutting, which would have been disastrous! I still helped by holding it in place.

My first cut! So very exciting for me! I am very nervous around power tools, especially those that can cut through solid objects like butter. My overactive imagination always substitutes fingers and arms for said objects with obvious and gruesome consequences.

All the cuts complete! I took all the pieces home and considered it a day well spent. The next task was covering the condo. I considered carpeting, as is popular with many cat trees and condos but it turned out to be very expensive and very hard to cover. I Then considered faux fur, which is another popular covering choice. It too was expensive and I had a budget to stick to... Not really, I just didn't want to spend that much money on covering materials.

Then I stumbled on the perfect thing <cue the angelic lights and halleluiah choir>. Polar fleece. Yep. $4.99 a metre, hardy, thick and oh so fluffy! Perfect! I chose red and black materials <my go-to theme>. All the horizontal pieces are black and the verticals red.

Using my trusty staple gun I began the covering! It is quite simple, cut out the material to fit the piece plus and extra inch or so. Pull one side over and generously staple down. pull the opposite side as tight as possible and staple. It would do well to perhaps mention somewhere in here that you must make sure your staples are of the right length so they don't go through the board :/

The material was thin enough that folding the edges like a present wasn't too thick and you could just staple it down. It took about 2.5 hours to cover all of my base pieces.

With specific pieces, make sure you get them the right way before you cover them. the little triangle piece I covered the wrong way and had to pick out all the staples and try again (nearly going the exact same thing again).

Covering the holes was a little trial and error. I didn't take pictures of the black hole, which is the one I did first. Here is how I covered the holes.

 Cover the piece like normal, making sure that the material is taut in all directions. Cut 4 lines through the hole, making sure that you don't get too close to the edge. Trim off the tip. Pull tight and staple.

Do the same for the remaining flaps and voila! If you cut too close to the edge, the board will show through and it will not look as nice. To cover the boxes I screwed them together and covered the whole thing, one side at a time. Michael came in handy as another set of hands to pull and hold while I stapled.

Once everything was covered it was time to start assembly. I mentioned above that power tools are not my forte, this extends to drills as well. Michael, being an electrician, uses drills everyday so I leave any drilling and screwing to him, so that it comes together straight and without a trip to emergency.

I nailed in those little extra pieces of wood to make the bracing for the platforms, not only are they straight and level, they are completely my handiwork <smug grin>

 I ran out of covering material for the top box, and decided to hold off until I was sure Lilly liked her new condo and would use it. above is her first time on it. below is about 2 weeks later when we moved it into the lounge room.

The condo spent a good 6 weeks like that. and Lilly was fine with it. I realised that she doesn't like enclosed spaces and so I modified the design of the top box to leave out the front plate for the scaredy... cat.

One day I had to go past Spotlight and decided to duck in and get the final materials. It took me all of half an hour to assemble and cover the top box.

TADA!

A short break and a few modifications, but it is complete. I left the hammock and tube off because I realised that she just would use them. I used the front plate of the top box for the bottom and store my green bags in there since she won't go near it <lol>. I also left off the top platform because there is no way she would ever go that high and I was worried about possible topples.

 The top box isn't secured down, but it is so solid it isn't going anywhere. I covered the inside of the box with remnants of material to make it pretty. I painte the posts black to tie it all together. Since taking these pictures I have added a toy dangly-thing from the top post and my childhood sheepskin in the top box where she naps. She gets few on the middle platform where any of the dogs we dog sit can't reach.

All in all, this build cost around $70 for the MDF boards, supports, covering material and hardware. Considering that something of this size costs well over $200 online I am very chuffed and happy.

Hope you like it!

Bye for now!

<3