How to Build Cat Furniture for Free

So, your kitty wants a nice new condo and exercise tree but won't go out and get a job to buy one? Well, there are ways to get everything you need completely free. If you are willing to do a little searching on the internet, in your attic and around your neighborhood you can find all the common items needed to construct the kind of expensive cat furniture you see in pet stores.

Things You'll Need

  • Downloadable cat furniture plans
  • Scrap plywood or particle board
  • Pallet wood
  • Cardboard tubes
  • Scrap carpeting
  • Hemp or jute rope
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Instructions

  1. Locate Plans and Materials

    • 1

      Search the internet using the phrase "free cat furniture plans" in quotation marks and several viewable or downloadable cat furniture designs will be at your fingertips (such as the plans from ToolCrib.com). Most will require some combination of flat particle board or plywood, cardboard tubes, plank wood, and carpeting, but all can be located for free.

    • 2

      Visit a carpet store. Ask if they have any scrap carpet pieces, cardboard carpeting tubes or out of production carpet samples. After large carpeting jobs, there are generally sizable pieces left over that will otherwise be thrown out. They will also have large tubes and a few defunct carpet samples you can normally have just for asking.

    • 3

      Visit construction sites and ask if they have any scrap plywood or particle board. Most of the pieces you will need for a cat condo will be smaller than 2 feet across, sizes construction crews normally see as scrap. They may also have scrap 1 X 1 or 2 X 4 pieces some plans may call for.

    • 4

      Visit large department, hardware and grocery stores and ask the manager if they have wooden pallets you might have. Most of the time pallets are made with oak and this is a great way to get quality wood that would otherwise be left to rot.

    • 5

      Call your friends and neighbors and tell them about your project. Chances are they will have tools and scraps you can use or borrow. It is also your best chance of finding free rope for scratching posts. Think about people who are active crafters and gardeners--they often have both tools and excess materials.