How to Build a Cat Tree

All in all this cost about $100 but the vast majority of that was for the sisal rope, which is optional. It took much more rope than I thought it would. I think I used about 350 ft of rope or something.

Here is the finished product.

First, wood. I got 2 pieces for platforms that were each 2'x2'. Plywood is ok, but I strongly recommend solid wood if you want it to last. Make sure it is at least 1/2" thick. I wish I'd used solid wood. You can decide what shape you want each platform to be. I wanted mine to fit nicely in a corner and have a stair-step pattern, so the bottom platform I cut out a 1'x1' square. For the second platform, I cut the other piece in half. Then the top part is the 1'x1' square that was cut out of the bottom platform. I seriously considered making the bottom part basically closed in between the bottom legs, with wood blocking most of the sides so they would have a little cave at the bottom. If I ever make another cat tree I'll try it that way.

For the legs, I used 2"x4" boards. Or actually, they might have been wall studs. Make them whatever height you want. For mine, the bottom legs are 1' tall. The long ones are 2' tall, and supporting the top platform are also 1'.

I built it from the bottom up. USE SCREWS to put the legs on. I used nails first. It pulled apart way too easily so I had to pull the nails and redo it with screws. For the tall legs, they were not completely flush against the corner of the bottom and top platforms, they are inward and inch and 1/2 or so. This was because the bottom legs were already nailed in at the corner.

Notice the little wedges in the corners of the tall legs. This is for added support. Your cats will likely be running full speed and jumping onto the cat tree sometimes. Support is important for safety! I simply cut piece diagonally and screwed them in.

Be careful when attaching wedges! This one broke in the corner after I'd already pounded in 2 nails. Doh! It stayed that way, because it was getting wrapped with rope.

Next, rope! Do this BEFORE CARPET so you don't get glue on the carpet. "Sisal" is the kind of rope you find on cat trees, so that's what I got. I used Gorilla Glue because it adheres to wood, and it EXPANDS when it dries- thus expanding deep into the fibers of the rope. WEAR GLOVES!!! I got a pack of latex gloves, so I wouldn't care that they got all gluey.

Ok, so I put a notecard down on the cement under the bottom legs. This was to prevent the cat tree from getting glue to the cement. I would put a fat squiggle of glue around all 4 sides of the leg, then smear it into an even coat using another notecard. This worked great! I would only put glue on about 6" sections at a time so it wouldn't start to dry before I got the rope around it. I found it easiest to start at the BOTTOM of the leg and work my way up. I would put the tail of the rope about 3" up on the leg, vertically, with the rest of the rope dangling below it (so the cut off end is facing upward). I would hold the end there, then start wrapping from the bottom. Basically the end of the rope is tucked up under the wrap. You don't want this:

because then you have a loose end to be pulled. You want that end tucked under the wrap. I hope that makes sense...

Anyway, pull the rope as TIGHT as you can as you go. After going around the leg 3-5 times, I would also push the rope down. This made it very tight and eliminated any gaps. I made the cat tree in the summer of '09 and the rope is still tight as of now, almost 3 years later.

Ok, so you wind your way up to the top of the leg, as tight as you can and pushing it down so it's tight. Now cut the rope. You'll need to sit there, firmly pressing the loose end against the leg until it dries. Or, get a clamp. I chose to sit there and hold it for about 30 mins each time. Ugh. It takes quite a while to completely dry. If you find that an end didn't stick, just re-glue it. The same thing applies if you're partway up a leg and come to the end of the rope, only in this case what you should do is stick the end of the rope up, vertically, and then start the next piece of rope wrapping around it. Hide those loose ends wherever you can! This also means there won't be any gaps between rope sections.

Here is a finished leg

Now, wrapping the taller legs is just the same. Except those pesky wedges! How do you deal with those?? It's no different, except I found it easier to start at the TOP and wrap downward. Remember to push the rope UP to keep it tight.

First try.. lots of uncovered space on that wedge!

This one, much better. Also see how the end of the rope is wrapped around the leg? That's to help me hold it tight while it dries. Once it was dry I cut it. Again notice the improper use of nails (use screws!!) and also note how the leg is not against the edge of the platform, it's in about an inch and 1/2 or so as the nails going into the bottom leg are against the edge.

Wrapping progress

Last step, carpet!! I got FREE carpet. I lived in an apartment complex and the unit below mine was being re-carpeted. I asked if they had any scraps. I got a huge roll. Flip the carpet UPSIDEDOWN. Measure out the area of your platforms using a tape measure. **Give yourself about 2 inches extra on each side!!!** That way you can wrap it around the edges. I used a Sharpie to draw my lines on the back of the carpet. Carpet has this neat little grid on the back, which makes it easy to make straight cuts. I used a basic box cutter to cut it which worked great.

Now how do we fit it around those pesky wedges?

I cut out the the L-shaped piece of carpet for the bottom platform and fit it on the platform. I used a staple gun to tack it in place over the main area, not getting too close to the wedges yet. When stapling, hold the fibers apart if you can to get the staple all the way down. This held it in position so I could do the cutouts for the wedges. Carpet cuts very easily. It wasn't difficult to cut along the wedges and basically trace them out with the box cutter.

On the middle level, there is that leg from the top platform right smack in the middle. How do we get the carpet around that? You could try to poke out a hole but I chose to make a straight cut up the middle of the carpet to the leg. Again I cut the carpet away from the leg so it fit perfectly. I put several staples along the slice to hold it together. You can't see a seam at all.

Wrap the carpet over the edges and staple on the sides or underneath. You will have to cut little pieces out to wrap the carpet over corners.

Tada!! You're done!

Here is the cat tree as of today, March 31st, 2012. You can see a loose end sticking out on one of the tall legs, and the rope is well scratched, but it's held together beautifully. The rope on the top platform is the extra rope. It's not glued on.