Kitty Play Tower Pictures
May. 1st, 2012 05:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
innerslytherinA couple of people expressed interest in seeing the kitty play tower, so here are some pictures. :)
Some details I shall mention beforehand:
- I was building this out of lumber scraps I already had in the garage. Leftovers from other projects, etc. So it's a little irregular in size and material. *G*
- Dimensions are roughly 35" wide by 27" deep by 4' tall, basically because I had an old table-top that could serve as the base and was 35"x27". I had two 2x4s I could use as the corner posts, and they were 8' long, so I cut them in half for a 4' height.
- I had originally planned to use 4x4s for the corners, but 2x4s work fine.
This is how it looked when we thought we were nearly finished with the construction part. I knew I had some things I wanted to add, but it was all stuff I could do inside the house. Of course, when we tried to get the durn thing upstairs, we ended up having to cut off the overhanging part of the top level, but oh well. :P
I did add a piece of thin board with big holes cut out of it. The kitties like to play through and around things, so I used a doorknob drill bit to cut 2" diameter circles out of the piece.
You'll also notice that what I thought was a clever little spot for kitties to peek at the next level...
...was incredibly enticing to Miss Eowyn...
...and turned into a rather nervewracking (for me at least) doorway. I ended up cutting the board back to make that space bigger and easier to fit through. I was having visions of coming upstairs and finding her little back end stuck in the air.
You can see in this picture that I built a ramp. What we discovered right away is that it's WAY too slick, if you're just using a board for a ramp. I'm going to cover it either with rope (like the two scratching posts the kitties love so much) or carpet, just to give them some traction. With their claws, carpet would be fine there.
On the bottom level, I used some scrap burlap we have and attached a double thickness of it around three sides, using a staple gun. That has been a HUGE hit. My kitties both love hiding under the dustruffle of the beds, and Eowyn in particular loves to hide in my closet in the bottom of my dresses and capes.
Behind the holey wall I decided to stick one of their cozy beds that doesn't see much use. I thought maybe it would give them a comfy place to curl up. Mixed results, but I'm leaving it for now.
I'm planning to add some carpeting to the horizontal surfaces. I may also do a bit of padding on the top layer, maybe some padding and fleece on there instead of carpeting. I'm not sure. They both love fleece blankets, but I want to make sure the footing on the top level is steady enough. I also didn't design the top entry hole quite right. I'm going to try adding another 2x4 across the side space, to give them something to balance on. In the meantime I've moved a short table and a storage box next to the tower, to allow them to easily and safely get up and down from the top level.
But all in all, the kitty play tower has turned out to be a pretty decent hit. I find them on it a lot. Eowyn is downright frightening when she lurks in the bottom behind the burlap and lunges out to attack the feather stick. Strider has always enjoyed sitting and looking out the window, and I find him on the top level, looking out into the night a lot.
And sometimes lying on the top as if he's king of the world.
Which, y'know, he is. :)
Some details I shall mention beforehand:
- I was building this out of lumber scraps I already had in the garage. Leftovers from other projects, etc. So it's a little irregular in size and material. *G*
- Dimensions are roughly 35" wide by 27" deep by 4' tall, basically because I had an old table-top that could serve as the base and was 35"x27". I had two 2x4s I could use as the corner posts, and they were 8' long, so I cut them in half for a 4' height.
- I had originally planned to use 4x4s for the corners, but 2x4s work fine.
This is how it looked when we thought we were nearly finished with the construction part. I knew I had some things I wanted to add, but it was all stuff I could do inside the house. Of course, when we tried to get the durn thing upstairs, we ended up having to cut off the overhanging part of the top level, but oh well. :P
I did add a piece of thin board with big holes cut out of it. The kitties like to play through and around things, so I used a doorknob drill bit to cut 2" diameter circles out of the piece.
You'll also notice that what I thought was a clever little spot for kitties to peek at the next level...
...was incredibly enticing to Miss Eowyn...
...and turned into a rather nervewracking (for me at least) doorway. I ended up cutting the board back to make that space bigger and easier to fit through. I was having visions of coming upstairs and finding her little back end stuck in the air.
You can see in this picture that I built a ramp. What we discovered right away is that it's WAY too slick, if you're just using a board for a ramp. I'm going to cover it either with rope (like the two scratching posts the kitties love so much) or carpet, just to give them some traction. With their claws, carpet would be fine there.
On the bottom level, I used some scrap burlap we have and attached a double thickness of it around three sides, using a staple gun. That has been a HUGE hit. My kitties both love hiding under the dustruffle of the beds, and Eowyn in particular loves to hide in my closet in the bottom of my dresses and capes.
Behind the holey wall I decided to stick one of their cozy beds that doesn't see much use. I thought maybe it would give them a comfy place to curl up. Mixed results, but I'm leaving it for now.
I'm planning to add some carpeting to the horizontal surfaces. I may also do a bit of padding on the top layer, maybe some padding and fleece on there instead of carpeting. I'm not sure. They both love fleece blankets, but I want to make sure the footing on the top level is steady enough. I also didn't design the top entry hole quite right. I'm going to try adding another 2x4 across the side space, to give them something to balance on. In the meantime I've moved a short table and a storage box next to the tower, to allow them to easily and safely get up and down from the top level.
But all in all, the kitty play tower has turned out to be a pretty decent hit. I find them on it a lot. Eowyn is downright frightening when she lurks in the bottom behind the burlap and lunges out to attack the feather stick. Strider has always enjoyed sitting and looking out the window, and I find him on the top level, looking out into the night a lot.
And sometimes lying on the top as if he's king of the world.
Which, y'know, he is. :)
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no subject
Date: 2012-05-01 09:59 pm (UTC)Tip on the comfy beds; try putting them up high. I bought a cave-like thing for Zasha when I first got him, and stuck it on the floor under an end-table. Only time it saw any use was when he hid from the vacuum.
Then I had a sewing-course, so my ironing-board came out to stand with a great view out the window, and Zasha was so fond of it I never had the heart to put it away again. One day I got the idea to put the cave-bed on top of the ironing-board. I swear, he spends at least 8 hours in that thing every day. All it took was a little elevation. :-)
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Date: 2012-05-01 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-05-01 11:40 pm (UTC)WOW! This is super great! :D
Blessed fluffins they are, and quite beautiful, too. x)
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Date: 2012-05-02 10:37 pm (UTC)