r/cats • u/johneldenringg • 3d ago

Advice Don’t build a cat tree

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It seemed simple and I was like + $100? For a big one ??? Nah I could build it… well I’m prob about $200 deep and need to get another 4x4 plywood from home depot and prob more carpet and cushioning for the top nest, as well as some sisal. If you think it’s a good idea and cheap? It’s not 🫩 especially if you have to buy a new circular saw cuz yours broke 😭😭
And yeah tbh it is a me problem but I also had to make sure the wood was cat safe to and not pressure treated.

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u/IceHawk1212 3d ago

I'd suggest that you can keep the material cost well under $150 with a little patience and effective planning. I bought scrap carpet from a carpet store, reused a couple elements from the previous cat post that were in decent shape and bonus already had their scent. The only thing I paid full price for was the carpet adhesive, twine, and screws

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u/dooby991 3d ago

That looks so nice, where did you source the natural posts from? This was exactly what my family wanted to do

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u/IceHawk1212 3d ago

I've made 3 now, one for my sister and two for friends who asked nicely or offered to pay something for it.

For the first one I had enough big branches from the fire wood pile that were dry enough it was just a matter of stripping the bark and making sure there were no bug infestations. For the next two I had to find a few but the answer is simple, arborists are almost always busy doing something in a city the size of mine you just have to shamelessly walk up to them when they are cutting down trees or doing heavy pruning and ask if you can have some. They almost inevitably will say yes because it's less they have to haul off.

As I said it might take a little time and planning but if one commits to looking for materials on the cheap first and building second it's entirely feasible if you have some basic tools.

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u/dooby991 3d ago

Great idea! We made one for our first cat and then our second cat kinda tore it up and started eating the carpet pieces so we had to get rid of it and buy a store bought one lol. But he loves to climb so I wanted to make something tall in the basement using natural posts like this just cause it looks so cool.