DIY cat house out of the box: drawings and dimensions, step-by-step instructions

Where to start making a house

In order for your pet to like the cat house and be comfortable for sleeping and playing, you need to carefully consider its design. This is where they usually start. The dimensions should be selected so that the finished product is spacious. If you make it “back to back”, the animal will not feel comfortable in it.

Example drawing

The diagram shows only the main parts of the cat house. But scratching posts, posts on which the animal can climb, and additional open beds can also be added. If the owners have firmly decided to make houses for cats with their own hands, drawings can also be ordered from specialists.

Side walls 2 parts, front and back walls (access size is arbitrary)

Why a cardboard box?

All cat lovers know that these animals are crazy about closed spaces: bags, sinks, shoes, mezzanines are their favorite places. But the mustachioed ones are especially delighted by the boxes, and their size is not at all important. The cat will be able to fit itself into any size.

Therefore, before you begin how to make a house for a cat, you need to understand: why does she need it? Behaviorists (behaviorism is a systematic approach to the study of human and animal behavior) argue that the love of a cardboard shelter is by no means a simple manifestation of curiosity.

Cats are predators, and closed spaces are an excellent ambush, for example, for attacking the slippers of a homo sapiens shuffling along the corridor. From the point of view of animal psychology, this explains a lot.

There is another irrefutable fact, but from the physiological side of the issue. The body temperature of a domestic cat averages 38-38.5 degrees. And what a person considers a comfortable room temperature for themselves, cats take for some semblance of cold and try to keep warm. And here cabinets, mezzanines, and so on come into play. After all, you will agree that it is easier to maintain body temperature by curling up within four walls.

Cardboard box is a budget and affordable material. Many people have them on the balcony, in the garage, etc. Strategic stocks of cardboard accumulated over the years will now come in handy in business.

But if for some reason there is not one at home, do not despair. There is no shortage of paper in the country, so any store will be happy to give you a couple of cardboard boxes. In addition, if you make any mistakes, you can always take fresh material and start over. Later in the article I will tell you in detail how to make a house for a cat.

Materials and tools

In order to make a wooden house, you need to stock up on the following materials:

Tree. Suitable plywood with a thickness of 6-12 mm, chipboard, fiberboard. The material must be completely dry and odorless.
Spiral rope made of jute or hemp with a diameter of 10-12 mm. If you choose a material that is curled crosswise, the cat may damage its claws. In addition, synthetics are not suitable.
Foam rubber for upholstery. Can be used.
Furniture fabric (thick) or a piece of carpet. A good option would be to use not new materials, but those that have the smell of the animal’s owners.
PVA glue.
Small nails (no more than 20 mm) and self-tapping screws.
Strong threads, tape.
Wooden posts or ordinary thin logs.

Silk fabrics and threads cannot be used to build a cat house. The animal will suffer from constant electric shocks. Wool fabrics are difficult to care for, retain sweat and quickly begin to rot.

In order to make a cat house from the materials described above, you will need a simple set of tools:

hammer;
sharp knife;
scissors;
awl;
screwdriver;
glue brush;
electric jigsaw;
drill.

Fabric parts can be sewn by hand or using a sewing machine. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the seams are strong and that the threads do not protrude anywhere. Often cats sharpen their claws not only on special devices, but also on the surface of the house itself. If the upholstery is sewn poorly, it will quickly become unusable.

Gluing rules

In order for the glued surfaces to hold securely, it is necessary to follow a certain algorithm:

Apply glue to both surfaces and wait until it thickens. It becomes almost transparent, with isolated yellowish spots.
Press the parts together and place them under a press.
Leave for 40-60 minutes.

If glue and nails are used when assembling the house, then the holes for them should be marked in advance. And at the end of the opposite part, make indentations using an awl so that the nails do not go askew when driving. When using self-tapping screws, it is necessary not to mark the screwing location, but to make holes in advance.

House out of a box

Not everyone can make a home out of plywood or boards for their beloved pet. This requires certain skills in working with a jigsaw, drill and the ability to make drawings and patterns. But even women and children can make a cat house with their own hands from a box.

Step-by-step instruction

External design depends on the imagination and creative abilities of the owner. For beauty, you can make applications from colored scraps in the form of shutters on the windows. Make an imitation of a doorbell above the entrance to the house.

Instructions:

First you need to choose a suitable cardboard box. It should be spacious, undamaged, and free of foreign odors.
Using a pencil, you need to mark the place where the entrance to the house will be and carefully cut it out. If desired, you can make holes on all sides of the box. Design them in the form of doors and windows. This is a kind of decor for a cat's home.
Seal the bottom of the box with wide tape
It is recommended to cover the outside and inside of the box with felt or any other dense fabric. This will not only give comfort to the house, but also strengthen it.
The bottom of the box, which acts as a floor, does not need to be sheathed. It is best to use carpet as bedding.
The roof is made flat or designed in a more original way. To do this, you do not need to close the top of the box, but connect its side “ears” using tape.

Options

The most popular DIY cardboard houses include:

Beds are a budget option for decorating a place for a cat. Almost every owner can easily construct it. The shape of the lounger can be different, the decor can be designed to suit your taste. It is quite possible to connect.
The hammock is more complicated than the first option. Its peculiarity is that it is suspended, and for fastening you will need special ropes.
A more secluded place is the booth . This variety has a full roof and soft fabric upholstery. It’s easy to make with your own hands, and for practicality you can add a scratching post.
One of the simplest options is a cardboard box house . It is short-lived, but you can make a new one at any time. Want something more durable? Read about how you can design from wood.
Complex structures for cats include play complexes . This is already a whole residential complex, where there is everything necessary for a pet: toys, a scratching post, a hammock, a small staircase and the closed house itself.

Several castles and houses. Decoration and finishing.

Cats love to climb into boxes and find secluded places in the house, so making a hiding place for them is a great option. At the same time, working with the material is easy:

You need to take a box and cut the entrance to the size of the cat.
The upper part will be the roof: the two sides are connected by a triangle.
All that remains is to decorate the house at your own discretion or in accordance with the decor of the room.

An even simpler option is a simple box with a cut-out entrance and several holes for ventilation; you can make a small window on the side so that the cat can watch what is happening around.

Useful video

In the video below you can see one of the options for a full-fledged castle for a cat.

How to make a “two-story building”?

On a note!
With good imagination of the owners, nondescript boxes can turn into a two-story house for a pet. It’s easy to build such a structure from two boxes, and to climb to the second floor, just make a hole between them. Small windows are formed in the walls.

It is recommended to secure the lower floor in this design with glue to wood or plywood so that the house does not collapse. If you put in the time and effort, you can even build a castle. For this you will need:

2 boxes.
Stationery knife and scissors.
Glue.
Pencil.
Ruler.

First, the doors and windows outlined in pencil are cut out in the box with a sharp knife. You can choose a classic design, experiment with window sizes, etc. Then the box is closed and a small hole is made in the ceiling - a ladder for the cat.

The same should be done with the second box, only the hole is made in the floor, and a roof is built from the top of the top box.

Cardboard floors are attached to each other with glue.

The top of the house can be decorated in an original way, adding drawings, ribbons or fabric drapery.

Useful video

In the video below you can see one of the options for a two-story house for a cat.

Round cardboard house or cardboard pyramid

To build an unusual cone-shaped building, you will need corrugated cardboard with a thickness of 6 mm. The more layers, the higher the strength of the house. For construction you will need :

Stationery knife.
Roulette.
Pencil.
Glue and brush.
Cardboard.

A pyramid house is a large number of connected cardboard disks. First you need to make markings; for construction you will need 40 or more rings of different diameters. They are divided into groups according to diameter, each containing 5 rings of different sizes.

Before cutting out the rings, circles with a diameter of 18–22 cm are drawn on cardboard, each 5 pieces are 0.5 cm larger than the previous ones. You need to carefully cut out the circles, accuracy affects the beauty of the house.

For the base you will need a disk with a diameter equal to the largest circles.

The height of the house depends on the size of the animal. After preparation, the circles are folded, the entrance is marked and cut out. Only then can gluing begin.

After the glue has completely dried, place a pad or soft cloth in the house.

By analogy, a house in the shape of a ball or snail shell is made.

Useful video

And especially for you, a video instruction on how to make a round house.

Bed

The version of a cat bed made from a cardboard box is the simplest. It is better to choose a shallow box and cover it with old carpeting so that the pet can sharpen its claws at the same time.

After gluing the bed with carpet, the free parts at the bottom are folded inward and also glued. A pillow is placed in the finished bed for the cat’s comfort.

Complex of houses (for a large number of cats)

Complexes of houses for cats are sold in stores, but if you wish and have the opportunity, you can try to make such a structure yourself. By the way, you can see a general article on this topic here.

First of all, individual elements : houses, supports, scratching posts, racks, deck chairs, etc. To prevent deformation, the joints of all parts are taped. Water-repellent fabric is attached inside the houses with a glue gun.

Reference!
External decor will add an aesthetic appearance to the product. Carpet is ideal for this; it attaches perfectly with a glue gun. Other fastening options lead to rapid wear.

Before letting the cat into the house, you need to wait a few days until the structure is completely dry from the glue.

House made from a box and a T-shirt

A minimum of materials, effort and time are spent on making such cat housing. What you will need:

cardboard box;
scissors;
old T-shirt;
furniture foam rubber;
PVA glue;
glue brush;
needle and thick thread.

Step-by-step instruction:

Prepare a T-shirt. To do this, you need to turn it inside out and sew the sleeves tightly. Cut off what is unnecessary.
Mark a place for entry. It is made round, the size of the neck of a T-shirt.
After the entrance to the future house is cut out, cover the top and bottom of the box with tape and begin to cover the outer walls of the box with foam rubber.
To ensure a strong fixation of the parts, apply the glue in the form of sun rays from the center of the surface to its edges. MYou can use double-sided tape. But it should be glued to the box in the same way in the form of rays.
Put on a T-shirt. First, the neck is fixed at the entrance to the house using a thick needle and strong thread.
Then you need to cover the entire box with a T-shirt and sew it on the back wall. Cut off what is unnecessary.
The seam can be left as is if the house does not rotate, or decorated with colored fabric.
Place soft bedding inside the new cat's housing, which can be easily sanitized.

The owner selects the dimensions of the cat house independently. What a new home for a pet will be like depends on the location and function that the house will perform.

If this is just a house for sleeping, then you can choose a smaller box. And if you are planning a place for games, then the sizes are selected larger. The ideal option would be to construct several boxes in the form of tunnels.

Cardboard house with several floors

For variety, you can please your pet with a two- or three-story home. To do this, take cardboard boxes of different or the same sizes. Glue them together using PVA or double-sided tape.

The entrance to the second floor can be made on one side, as well as in one of the corners of the bottom. This way the cat can jump up from the first floor. You will get a tunnel element. But in this case it is necessary to select boxes of the same size.

The outer walls of the cardboard house are left without decoration or covered with thick fabric. This way it will last longer.

Dimensions of a cat house with your own hands - inserted for admission by the system

Do-it-yourself houses have one advantage over ready-made structures purchased at a pet store. There is a danger that your pet will not be delighted with the new home and will simply refuse to sleep in it.

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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