Nontoxic Green Materials to Use in Building Cat Trees

Buying a cat tree from a store or online can cost you between $150 and $200, and the materials used to construct the tree may be toxic for your cat. The good new is that you can build a cat tree out of numerous alternative materials that are less expensive and safe for your pet and the environment.

  1. Bamboo

    • Bamboo is a kind of grass that has been used extensively in Asia for thousands of years in a variety of building projects. Today, bamboo is considered a green building material because it regrows quickly after it is cut. Cut lengths of green bamboo from a stand and let them dry, or collect dry pieces that have not splintered. Bundle several pieces of bamboo together to make a support pole for your cat tree.

    Cardboard

    • Collect corrugated cardboard from the stock rooms of department stores or grocery stores. Go to the customer service desk of the store and ask if you may have some cardboard. The store should not charge you for this, although they may suggest you come back on a different day if they have any. Cardboard is used as a major component in green cat furniture because it is inexpensive, nontoxic and an enjoyable material for cats to sharpen their claws on. Bundle pieces of cardboard together to make an ultra-dense wheel of cardboard, or cut disks of the same size and screw a stack of them to a central pole. Recycle your leftover cardboard. Remove any staples or plastic tape you find in the cardboard.

    Logs

    • If you have recently cut back heavy limbs or a tree trunk from your yard, save some of the thicker sections of wood to use in your cat tree. Use short, thick pieces as a base, or longer, medium-sized pieces for support poles between sections of the cat tree. Use an un-split firewood log in the same way. Make sure the wood you are using is free of any insect infestations like fire ants before you being working with it.

    Binding and Adhesives

    • Use nontoxic alternatives to epoxy and other chemical adhesives. Instead of using plastic tape or duct tape, look for tape with a paper backing. Twine and string can be used to bind together sections of your cat tree. You can also wrap a section of the tree with rope or twine, which creates a place where your cats can scratch. Look for ropes, twine or string made from natural fibers such as jute, cotton or hemp. Or use screws or nails to connect sections of your cat tree.