How to Make a Cat Tower

A cat tower can provide hours of rest and play time for your kitties. While there are many manufactured cat towers or “kitty condos” available for hundreds of dollars, you can make a cat tower for much less and in just an afternoon. With your cat tower constructed you can place it anywhere in your home for your cat to enjoy. When placed at a window, you might even find you have trouble getting your cat to leave her tower.

Things You'll Need

  • 4-by-4-inch posts, 30 inches long, 4
  • 1-inch plywood board, 2-by-3 feet
  • Hammer and nails
  • 1-inch plywood boards, 18 inches square, 2
  • Tape measure
  • Pencil
  • 1-inch thick 12-by-18 inches plywood pieces, 2
  • Fleece fabric, 14 inches square
  • Staple gun
  • Carpeting
  • Twine or thick rope
  • Cat toy or ball
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Instructions

    • 1

      Stand each of the 4-by-4-inch posts on end. Set the 2-by-3-foot piece of plywood over the posts and adjust the posts so each one is flush and directly under a corner. Nail two nails through the plywood and into each post.

    • 2

      Hold your two 18-inch square plywood pieces upright vertically running parallel to one another a foot apart. Position your 12-by-18-inch plywood piece horizontally between the 18-inch boards to make the shape of an "H." Nail through the 18-inch boards and into the horizontal board to secure.

    • 3

      Place the H-shaped unit from step two onto your stand from step one. Position the unit along one corner of the stand with a side board running along the 2-foot side of the stand. Nail up through the plywood of the stand and into the legs of the "H" to secure.

    • 4

      Align one end of your fleece against the top edge of one board of the "H" with the rest of the fleece resting on the horizontal portion of the "H". Staple through the fleece and into the plywood along the edge every 2 inches. Position the opposite edge of the fleece against the other upper edge of the "H" and staple it every 2 inches as well to form a hammock.

    • 5

      Apply as much carpet as desired over the surface of the plywood by stapling the carpet to the plywood ever 6 to 8 inches. Wrap twine around any of the posts of the stand to create scratching areas and staple the twine in place.

    • 6

      Attach a 10 inch long piece of twine to a cat toy or jingle ball and staple the twine to the underside of the stand to provide a toy under the main platform.