Homemade Cat Tree

[SquawksNibbles]

My cat, Gemma, is the queen, as you can tell by this picture:

The way she just crosses her legs, it's hilarious! She's probably thinking "Bow before me, Humans!"

Anyways, this little girl loves to get on top of high places, and the bird cage is no exception. While I do my very best to keep her from getting on top of it, as most cat owners know, there is no way to keep her off there all the time. Now, you might be wondering, 'Well, why not just close your bedroom door to keep her out?' Great idea, and I would, but I can't (if you want an explanation as to why, check out this link: Bird Room Setups | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

Anyway, so, here's the deal. My bird cage is set up in between my dresser and my bed. Both my dresser and my bed are about level with the cage (my bed has a long bookshelf thingy attached, making the bed level with the bird cage and giving her easy access to the cage on the right side). So, my cat finds it fun to hop on top of my dresser, walk across the uncomfortable bird cage bars and then just jump down. She hardly ever stays up there, and it's not as if she uses the cage as a bridge or anything. She literally just finds it amusing to walk on the cage and hop down. And, of course, you can imagine what it looks like to the birds, to have a giant predator walk on their home!

She also enjoys just hanging out on my dresser and stalking the birds!

And while I do my best to keep an eye on her, sometimes it's just impossible.


So, I was thinking, 'Hey, you know what would help? If she had an actual cat tree, she might not spend as much time terrorizing my birds!' What do I mean by an ACTUAL cat tree? A cat tree more than 2 feet off the ground (As that's what she has now. Seriously, it's only 2 feet tall, has a kitty hammock, and a scratching post, and that's it) and has plenty of things to get her energy out.

But those big cat trees you see at pet stores are just WAY too expensive! Plus, some of them I know my cat won't even like. Since I know my cat and I can include only the things I know she'll like, and since we can't spend $300 on a cat tree, I was thinking of maybe trying to to build my own! I just have a few questions for those of you (if any) who have built their own kitty tree!

• First, can you show me a picture of your cat tree so I can get design ideas?

• About how much did it cost you to make? How long?

• How difficult?

• Do you think that by building a cat tree, I will solve the problem I have mentioned above?



Anyone with a cat tree (homemade or store-bought), could you post pictures, if possible?

Thanks for reading!

 

[TikiMyn]

Pienterst is your friend! I havr found awesome projects for cat trees there. I have not build Anything as my mother is not really up for having that in her home and they go out in the garden and sometimes the neighborhood, so they can play there as well. I thing I would start with two poles on a wooden base and add platforms, a hammock and huts, and connect the two with ropes, ladders and Maybe a branch. If she likes to play I would incorporate Some replacable toys as well. My cats so like to hide under Blankets and in cardboard houses. They also love the fresh grass, fake grass mats and branches I have for the birds. They are sometimes allowed in my room when the birds are sleeping at night and they play with those things then, but never when they are awake. If you really want to go crazy with your tree you might add a pot to the pole where you can plant grass, cover one platform with fake grass(if she doesn't eat it) and add a holder for fresh branches. And Maybe of your father and the building allow it you could place a screen door as well to keep her out a bit more. This one has a magnetic strip to keep it together:

I don't think it Will be very expensive, get one it two poles of the desired height at a local store, I would think about 5 dollar each? Maybe ten, and then a big plank you can cut in pieces, you can make tents and hammocks yourself out of old clothes. A grass mat you can probably get a few free pieces as sample, my samples are about 20x20 cm. Branches are free and rope you could get at 0,35 cents a meter, at least I know a store here who sells cat rope for that prive Maybe it is very different where you live! You could wrap parts of the pole in rope as well! I think it Will solve part of your problem, if not all. Place an egg carton with a few treats in it there as well and I imagine she Will be quite occupied!
Good luck! We would love to get updated on your progress!

 

[MandaExotics]

If you have an extra bookshelf lying around you could always modify that. Otherwise get some lumber and look up plans on pinterest. Always fun
I have a small tree from Amazon my cat sleeps on top of, a diy would probably be cheaper for something more fun. In the meantime, see if you can think of a barrier to keep the cat from jumping on top of the cage. It doesn't have to be fancy. I don't like my cat going in the bird room all the time nor do I like the door closed all the time so I put a presentation poster in front of the door and it keeps her out when needed. It's cheaper than baby gates and mentally effective in my case. When the birds are out the cat's either closed up in a room or the bird room door is closed.

 

[Porter]

Have you ever thought of a hanging cat perch?
I'd do a do it yourself build so that she has her own 'place' on the wall.