Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Home, sweet home!

There is no better place than home.

Inspired by a video I saw a few years back around Interwebz, I have attempted to create a cardboard cat house. Read on to see how and what the result was!


Materials
The list of materials is pretty short and sweet:
- lots of cardboard boxes of varying sizes
- scissors
- duct tape
Step I - Design

Next you'll need a design. Since everyone's boxes will be different, each house would be unique so have fun with it! Make sure your base is strong, and the higher your house is, the stronger it should be - it must be sturdy enough to allow the kitty to jump on it without toppling it over! For our base we chose a huge box that our luggage came in and we have "reinforced" it with a box of similar dimentions. This made it an excellent hiding space when "monsters attack" - vacuum cleaners, strangers or just scary noises outside.


Also make sure to reinforce any "walls" you'll have so they do not slide and also can support your kitty. They also make excellent storage containers to keep all the toys, treats, and other necessities organized.

Step II - Build
Once you're satisfied with your design and it has been thoroughly inspected and approved by the on-site supervisor, you're ready to put it all together. Use fair amount of duct tape to secure the boxes onto the base and the walls. Duct tape doesn't stick to paper as well, so you can simply tape it all the way around and then connect the two sides. Remember, the structure must be sturdy enough to withstand kitty's weight and the impact of the jumps (on AND off).

Step III - Enjoy
Now that it's all finished, enjoy the house! It might take some persuadin' to show the kitty that this weird and unknown structure is safe and fun. Be generous on the treats when the cat is on the tree, put up some toys to play with and gently encourage to "try" the house.

And that's it! Please post your suggestions, tips and, most importantly, results of your work in comments!

2 comments:

  1. Ah, boxes! Our favourite retreat! Kitikata-san, do you like boxes too?

    ReplyDelete

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