Building a cat play house is not as easy as you may think. Before you start any endeavor such as this you have to know a little about your cat and cats in general. Why do they do the things they do? How big is my cat going to be when it reaches adulthood? These plus many other questions should be asked so that you can make a great play house for your four legged companion. You don’t want to have to rebuild and spend more money so that it is comfortable when it gets bigger.
The first thing to think about when building a cat play house is whether your cat is an indoor cat, an outdoor cat or both and where you will build its new home. The space you have available will undoubtedly dictate how you will build. Will it be spread out so that it can run while in its home or will you build up with multiple levels for climbing? Different materials will be used for outdoor houses so that they can keep your animal cool or warm during changing seasons.
Make a list of the things your cat likes to do. All cats do behave similarly but all have independent personalities and may like something that no other cat likes. With this list you can design the house to fit its needs. For outdoor cats the one major rule is to have the house lifted off the ground. This will help keep your pet free from insects and/or flooding.
Building a cat play house should include a general area or what humans would call a living room, dining room combo. It should be big enough to hold its food and water dish. Although it would be preferable to purchase a dispenser so that spillage does not occur. If you have the funds and want to go all out you should have the play house insulated. If you think that’s a little too much then simply securing a rug or rug-like material on the floor and walls will help keep the feline warm at night.
For outdoor cats there isn’t much you should do when building a cat play house. This home will simply be a place where your cat comes to eat or rest and be safe. Any playtime activities or things that cats love to do will be done out in the open so it will get plenty of exercise.
Indoor cats are a different matter. Keeping a cat entertained can be hard on the furniture so building a good play house is important. It will still need the living/dining room combo with feeders plus some additional areas for fun. If you’re short on space build up. Cats love to climb and jump so if you simply cut a hole leading to the second floor he’ll have already started with the games.
The second level should be a play room equipped with those fun little gadgets cats love so much. Easy to find items such as ping pong balls are a hoot for cats because they can’t use their claws to catch it. Perhaps a string attached to the ceiling of this room will add hours of fun for your friend. Another good idea for this room would be a scratching post so that it can do to it what it wants to do to your sofa.
One thing you’ll definitely want to add to your cat’s play house is some tunnels. Using PVC pipe thick enough for your feline to crawl through you can make some interesting places for it to investigate. Make sure though that when using this material you cut small holes along the way so that you know exactly where kitty is at all times. And you have to be able to reach it should the need arise. Cats can almost certainly wait you out if it doesn’t want to leave its home.
Building a cat play house is hard work and won’t be done in one afternoon. If you have some building experience it will be much easier but if you don’t know a jig from a saw then you might want to seek help. If you recruit a handyman you’ll want to discuss all the things you’d like to add and if he has any talent you can convey your cat’s needs with some simple drawings.