How to Build Your Own Cat Furniture

Most cats like the idea of snuggling into their 'favorite' spaces, so every cat owner inadvertently ends up with a cat in his bed, wardrobes and well, just about everywhere. Most of the times, they end up scratching and clawing at the bedposts and carpets, making their owners crib with distress. An excellent idea to address the woes of the pet owners is cat furniture, which not only provides a place for the cats to perch and play, but also saves all your prized possessions from those sharp claw marks!

Although cat furniture seems to be readily available in the market, it is usually highly overpriced. Dishing out $100 for a play area for the cats, may not be feasible for many cat owners. Luckily, cat furniture of an equally good quality can be made at half the price, with the available lumber and a bit of carpet and natural rope. You can build cat trees, scratch posts, scratching ramps and cat gyms, all by yourself.

Building Cat Furniture

Cat Trees
Cat trees are an excellent way of stopping your cats from scratching the furniture. For building a cat tree, connect two pieces of plywood together, by gluing them initially and then putting in some screws. This can form the base of the tree. Then with a saw, cut out the particle boards and the posts, by taking the correct measurements. Once the base is carpeted, lay out the posts evenly on the base, by using heavy duty screws to hold them in place. The particle board now has to be placed at the center with the screws and continue the same for the remaining shelves. Cover each shelf with a carpet and wrap a rope around each post to secure it. Remember to test it under your cat's weight before you give it, its new toy to play.

Scratch Posts
Even though cat scratching may be a tiresome behavior for the owners, scratching is essential for a cat since it helps maintain its nails, stretch its tendons and build its muscles. In the absence of a toy or a scratching post, they usually scratch the furniture and the carpets. Adding scratch posts to your cat's furniture is an excellent way to relieve yourself of the problem. Moreover, it is extremely easy to make, as all you need is wood and a carpet or a sisal rope. Cut out a square base and a post. Attach the carpet to the base and the lower half of the post. Place the post at the center of the base by drilling and screwing the post and the base together. Glue the sisal rope to the top half of the post and secure both ends. You can choose to leave a rope end hanging and attach your cat's favorite toy to it.

There, now you have it! A hassle free furniture which will curb your cat's temptation of clawing your favorite sofa. You can also consider building varying planes for the cat to scratch, since they need to scratch on flat surfaces as well. Just add a particle board covered with a carpet atop your scratch post and there you have a flat surface for your cat to scratch.

Building your own cat furniture can be fun and it provides the cats with a special place of their own to play and prance around. Well, it is all worth the effort when your cat gives it a thumbs up!