DIY cardboard box house for a cat

Types of cat houses

Here is a gallery of ideas from home craftsmen:

You can explore the range of cat houses on the market and choose the best design for your pet.

Most often, cat owners choose the following models:

• Various beds. Suitable for calm animals that spend most of their time observing.
• Booth house. Suitable for pets who like to spend time in solitude. It's easy to make from a cardboard box.
• Hammock bed. Can be located in any free place - under a chair, stairs, etc.
• Game complexes. Suitable for families with two or more cats. They may consist of several houses, passages, scratching posts and hammocks. Their parameters and content depend on the desires and capabilities of the owner.

Bed made from an old sweater

If you have an old knitted or knitted sweater or jacket lying around that you haven’t worn for a long time, you can adapt it for cat housing. Additionally, it is worth preparing the filler, threads, needles, pillow, pins and scissors.

The process of creating a home is as follows:

1. You should start with the neck: it needs to be sewn. Then we sew a transverse line between the sleeves.
2. The back and sides are filled with polyester.
3. We sew the cuffs.
4. We place a pillow inside.
5. Sew up the bottom hole and attach the sleeves to the base with pins.
6. Sew and remove the pins.

The product is ready! You can decorate it according to your own taste.

We create a house for a cat. What do you need to know?

Dimensions. Cardboard houses must correspond to the parameters of the animals. For a pet with average parameters, a cubic design will be suitable, the width of which will be about 40 centimeters. A hole 15–20 centimeters wide is sufficient for entry. If the entrance is very wide, the animal will feel unprotected. The basic rule is that the pet must fit freely in the house, lying on its side.

Important! Siamese and Bengal cats love to sit on their hind legs. It is better for them to make a cardboard house with their own hands in the form of a wigwam. Its height should be at least 60 - 70 centimeters.

Benefits of a self-made cardboard house:

• Saving money.
• A self-created product will be in harmony with the interior of the room.
• An additional reason to please your pet.
• Minimum investment of time and effort.
• There is no need to throw away empty boxes.

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Wood

Building a wooden cat house with your own hands requires skills in working with wood and other tools. It can be used at home or installed outdoors like regular dog houses. Of course, this needs to be done only in the warm season.

Plywood house

First, you should design the entire structure and make blanks from boards, having previously sanded them.

Some craftsmen make similar houses using wooden slats, which allows them to create quite interesting and somewhat complicated structures. So, you can find an outdoor house for a cat with a staircase, a veranda, a carved roof and other attributes resembling an old Russian hut.

Street house BoxDogRu

The inside of the house is covered with a water-repellent material, and then the outside is treated with a composition that is protective against rot and mold. Here you can treat the entire house with drying oil, varnish, or simply paint it, creating an unsurpassed design.

After all the chemical solutions have evaporated, you can put a pillow on the cat and invite him to a housewarming party.

Wooden cat house

Materials and tools for creating a cardboard house:

• Cardboard box. This could be packaging from household appliances, a box, etc.
• Soft and dense upholstery material. Carpet is best.
• Water-repellent interior lining.
• Wide tape.
• Glue without foreign odors.
• Stationery knife, pencil, ruler.

Owners don’t always understand how to make a house for a cat out of a box. There are no big difficulties in this. It is necessary to select materials and strictly follow the instructions.

scratching post

A scratching post is an important and necessary attribute; it should be used from the first days of a pet’s appearance in the house.

It will keep furniture and walls intact. By sharpening its claws, the pet thereby processes them and keeps them in full combat readiness.

Cat scratching posts

REFERENCE. Claw point is also associated with play and stress relief through physical activity.

And in this video you can see one of the ways to make a scratching post for a cat with your own hands.

We create a house for the cat ourselves. Step-by-step instruction

Option No 1

• We cut a hole of the required size in one of the walls of the cardboard box. This will be the entrance to the house. You should not make a very large hole, otherwise the cat will feel uncomfortable being inside.
• We fix the folding sides of the box with tape.
• We cut out parts from waterproofing material to finish each wall of the box. Glue it.
• We cut out an additional waterproofing piece for the bottom. The house must be reliably insulated from below.
• We cover the outside of the cardboard house for cats with carpet. You can use thick fabric, wallpaper, fur. But practice shows that cats get used to a carpet house faster. In addition, the animal can sharpen its claws on the carpet and be discouraged from furniture.
• Leave the house for several days until the glue is completely dry and aired.
• We cover the inside of the structure with a blanket or place a small pillow.

Option No 2

• We cut out padding from padding polyester to the bottom according to the dimensions.
• We cover the bottom with synthetic padding. Can be replaced with foam rubber.
• On the side of the cardboard box we cut out a round or oval entrance in accordance with the cat’s parameters.
• On the other side we cut out a small hole in the form of a window. We cover it with an insect net (if the house will be used outside). A window is necessary to ensure air circulation in the house.
• We close the foldable flaps of the cardboard box and attach them with tape.
• We decorate the top of the house with thick fabric or wallpaper.

Option No 3

Suitable for Siamese and Bengal cats.

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• We cut out rectangles from a cardboard box measuring 50 x 40 centimeters. For Siamese and Bengal cats, cut out pieces measuring 50 x 60 cm. A total of three rectangles are needed. This will be the base and two side parts.
• We cover the rectangles inside and outside with upholstery fabric.
• We connect the two parts to each other at an angle of 60 degrees. We attach the third part to them. We fasten the entire structure with PVA glue. We get a house in the form of a triangular prism.
• We cover the bottom of the house with padding polyester or other soft bedding.
• We install the house near the radiator to make the cat warm and cozy.

Another variation:

Option No. 4

House made of cardboard rings.

We cut out rings from cardboard with a gradual decrease in diameter, as shown in the photo. Then we glue them together. It turns out to be a creative house - a cocoon. Judging by the video, the cat likes it)

What does it take to make a house for a cat out of a box?

Before setting up a place for the cat to play and relax, study the pet’s character and habits. Some people like to climb higher, so they have beds built on high pipes. Others huddle in secluded corners of the room, so enclosed resting areas are suitable for them. Some people like to walk outside, so they build a winter house for a cat out of a box with their own hands.

A sociable cat is provided with a bed or a house with many windows. Tikhon will be equipped with a closed rest area with a narrow entrance. When building a cat house, the dimensions of the pet are taken into account. Large breeds require more space, so the dimensions are 120x60x180 cm. For medium-sized cats, the width of the house is 50 cm, the height is 30-50 cm, and the entrance hole is 20 cm.

To arrange the house you will need the following materials:

• corrugated cardboard box of suitable size;
• fabric or carpet, old clothes (T-shirts, sweaters) for upholstery and decoration;
• pipe and rope for arranging a scratching post;
• glue, tape for fixing;
• scissors, tape measure, stationery knife.

Attention!
When choosing an adhesive, you should choose a safe option. Experts recommend using environmentally friendly and animal-friendly PVA glue. Pets love to cuddle with woolen things, so it is recommended to make a bed for the house from old sweaters.

Features of house decor

We decorate self-made homes for pets like this:

• We cover it with fabric, which we select in accordance with the overall style of the interior.
• Cover with white paper. Then we decorate it to our liking.
• We wallpaper it to match the walls of the apartment.
• We decorate the house with soft toys in the form of mice, birds, other animals and insects.

You can install a scratching post next to the house so that your pet can sharpen its claws. This way you will protect your furniture from damage.

Labyrinths for purring

Advertising tells us that cats are great adventurers. However, many owners already know about this, because their pet is in constant search of new discoveries, loves various puzzles and simply cannot sit in one place for a long time. What kind and how to make a house for a cat out of a box in this case? According to experts and experienced breeders, the best option is a labyrinth. It is made from several boxes and looks similar to the design shown in the photo above. Did you like this idea? Then read the instructions for implementation and start creating:

1. The first step is to prepare the boxes. Quantity, shape and size in this case do not matter. However, keep in mind that you need to assemble them, like Lego, into a single structure, so be guided by your abilities. At the same time, it is not necessary to choose boxes in which the pet can fit entirely. You can add several small boxes, put a ball in them and make small holes for the paws, then you will get an original homemade toy.
2. At the next stage, you need to assemble your idea and mark the entry/exit holes with a pencil. They can go through 2 boxes or just one - whichever you prefer.
3. Now all that remains is to cut out the intended holes and glue the structure.

Precautionary measures:

• It is prohibited to use a stapler as a fixing material. Cats sometimes chew cardboard. A pet may accidentally swallow a stapler or injure its mucous membrane.
• Do not use adhesives with a strong odor. PVA glue is optimal. It does not emit strong odors and dries quickly.
• It is forbidden to use boxes found on the street. Stray cats and dogs could live in them. There is no guarantee that they were healthy.
• Tight boxes should not be used. The cat will want to stay awake in a place where it is uncomfortable.
• It is forbidden to hang a cardboard cat house. The product may fall and the animal may be injured.

A self-built cardboard house for a cat will save money on the family budget and the nerves of the owners. After all, a pet will not look for a place to lie in the wrong place.

Decoration

You can involve children in the decorating process - then the house will sparkle with especially bright colors.
In order for a cat’s home to be pleasing to the eye, it needs to be decorated. Wallpaper or bright stickers are suitable for this. They can be used to cover the outside of a building. An interesting idea is to upholster the boxes with fabric. It can be brought to life using a stapler. Miniature soft toys will complement the decor. It is best to stick them on the outside walls of the cat’s home.