How to Build a Cat Tree and Scratching Post

RON HAZELTON:
Now let's talk about home improvement for pets. You know those canaries, dogs and cats that we all live with, especially cats. You know, they can be really finicky. So I thought I'd try to design a cat tree that they would just love. This is it right here. Now I'm going to have some pals coming over in a little while from the Humane Society to check this out and they'll be here shortly, so we'd better get started.

Now some folks feel that the cat trees that you buy in stores don't really have stable bases. So we're going to make ours with a very large and heavy base out of 3/4 inch plywood, actually two layers of it, and we're going to hook these together by first glueing them and then screwing them.

So I'm going to apply the glue and since we've got such a large surface here, I'm going to roll it on with a paint roller. I'll take our second piece of plywood and just put this right on top. Okay. Then I drill some countersunk shank holes and drive in a few screws. Now that's a sturdy base. Now we're going to put a lip all the way around the outside here. All righty. Well, there's the base. Now we're going to start on the apartment complex.

Now cats love cozy spaces that they can crawl into and out of. So we designed kind of a two-story jungle gym here with plenty of entrances and exits. Now for small- to medium-sized cats, you want these holes to be about 6 inches in diameter.

And so I've set up my compass here to be 3 inches, which is half of that. All right, we'll put the sharp part on the cross line here and draw ourselves a 6 inch diameter circle. There we go. Now we're going to be cutting this out with a jigsaw, so I'm going to drill a starter hole just inside the line that we drew.

I'm going to drop that blade right into the starter hole and cut this circle out. [SAWING SOUNDS] Well, we've got all of our doorways cut, those cats have got plenty of ways to get in and out.

Now we're going to begin to construct the box or should I say the kitty cottage and we're going to be doing that by taking the sides, top and bottom and putting them together with glue and nails. Let's start by putting some glue on the side right here.
[MUSIC]
Well, our tower's finished. That will sit right inside the base, just like that. Now experts tell us that cats like to perch, scratch and climb. I'd say we've got the perch taken care of. Now we're going to deal with the scratch and climb by covering all of this in carpet.

I cut a piece here that drops right inside our base as you can see. I'm going to hold this in place with some staples. And there we go. That carpet's not going to go anywhere. Next, we attach carpet to the side and top of the soon-to-be kitty high rise.

Well, our carpet's on but those cats are going to have kind of a tough time getting to that door right now, aren't they? So we're going to have to cut a hole through the carpet. And the way to do that is to locate pretty much the center of the hole just by feel here — about right there, I would say, and take the knife, going to go all the way through.

We're going to cut out to the edge of the hole till the knife stops right there. And then make several sort of pie-shaped cuts like this, wedges, stopping at the edge of the hole, always going back to the center.

I give each section a dab of construction adhesive, fold them around the edge of the opening, then staple them in place on the inside.

Well, we've got a great place for our feline friends to curl up inside and a perfect perch. Now we want to add a gymnastic element. I'm going to take four pieces of PVC pipe and create a frame that will come up on all —from all four corners right here.

To attach that at the top though, I've got to put something into this hollow pipe, a piece of dowel. I mixed up some quick-setting epoxy and I'll spread it on the inside of the pipe.

Yeah, that's good. And then we'll take a piece of our dowel and just slide this right inside.

These dowels also provide a solid core to which we can attach a piece of sisal rope, a favorite scratching material.
JEAN:
Ron?
RON HAZELTON:
Hey, how are you?
JEAN:
I'm good, how are you?
RON HAZELTON:
This is my friend Jean, from the Humane Society.
JEAN:
Nice to meet you.

RON HAZELTON:
And our buddies here, huh? Who we got?
JEAN:
We have in here — this is Tina and Turnip.
RON HAZELTON:
Tina and Turnip, hey, guys.
JEAN:
These are two little kittens found in a dumpster.
[BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE]
RON HAZELTON:
Oh, aren't they precious. In a dumpster.
JEAN:
Mm-hmm [AFFIRMATIVE]. Ten, ten weeks old.
[BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE]
RON HAZELTON:
You're kidding.

We've come up with a timesaving way to wrap the rope around the PVC, using my drill to spin the pipe while Jean guides the rope into place.

Excellent, right. So now — okay, we're going to have it for you. [KITTENS MEWLING] They're really impatient. They're anxious to try this out.
[BOTH SPEAK AT ONCE]
JEAN:
I know.
RON HAZELTON:
Jean, could you hand me that last one there.
JEAN:
Sure.
RON HAZELTON:
We'll set this in place and then if you can kind of align those marks up for me right there, I'll put the screws in.

Finally, we join all our poles together by driving screws through the plastic pipe and into the wooden dowels I inserted earlier.

Okay.
JEAN:
Well, little guys — let's see what we've got for you.
RON HAZELTON:
I think — look, look, look. She loves it, she loves it. Wow.
[MUSIC]
[LAUGHS] Jean, thank you so much for bringing them over, they were fantastic.
JEAN:
You're very welcome, they're having a great time.