Directions to Make a Cat Condo

Cats are climbers, and always need someplace to work over their paws, whether they have claws or not. Cats also like to lounge around in high places. One way that you can ensure your indoor cat gets exercise and has a place to go to get away from things is to build a cat condo. A cat condo is a compartmentalized recreational area for cats that should include the three things they enjoy most: a place to climb, a place to sit and stare and a place to sleep.

  1. Height

    • A cat condo should be no more than four of five feet from the floor. Anything higher than that and your older cats risk hurting themselves when they jump from the top of the condo to the floor. Do not assume your cat will find creative ways to get up into the condo; always supply some way of easily accessing each level. This will not only make it easier for the cat to use the condo, but it can also make it easier for multiple cats to chase each other up and through the condo. The idea of a condo is not to make it a place to challenge the cat, but rather a place where the cat can go to rest and exercise.

    Stop Areas

    • Try to include covered and uncovered areas for the cat to lounge around. Sometimes your cat will feel like sitting in an open bed on the condo, and other times it may prefer the feeling of seclusion that an enclosed, small room will provide. You do not need to make the openings to the enclosed areas very large as cats are able to squeeze through small areas. An opening five to six inches in diameter should be enough to allow almost any size cat easy access.

    Placement

    • Place your cat condo in a place where the cats can feel the sunshine coming through a window, or a place where it can just lean up against a wall. Your cats will more than likely prefer to have the sunshine on them, and in the winter they will enjoy staying warm in the sun while lying in their cat condo bed. On rainy days and at night, your cat may prefer to not look out the window. Make sure the placement of the condo gives your cats options.

    Materials and Process

    • To build an inexpensive but effective cat condo, you can use 1/4-inch plywood for the flat surfaces, two-inch by four-inch boards of varying lengths for the legs and cover the whole thing in high-loop carpeting. Include some carpet padding under the carpet on the sitting areas to help make it more comfortable. Add a little something extra to it by sprinkling catnip into the carpet as well.

      A simple version of a cat condo can be something like a set of steps, with each step being a sitting area. All you would need to do is use the two-inch by four-inch boards as legs on either side of the plywood, and then wrap everything in carpet when you are done.