Kitty Castle with Scratchpole

First of all, there was the idea to take in two kitties from the local animal shelter. To avoid to much damage to furniture I wanted to have a scratchpole for them and also a place, where they could hide.
If you are a cat-owner by yourself you probably know the ugly plushy cat-trees which are usually sold in shops. For me, this was an absolute no-go! So I headed out in the internet looking for alternatives an found this:
http://www.moderncat.net/2008/09/21/custom-kitty-castle/
and this:
http://www.moderncat.net/2008/12/29/kitty-catsle-copycat/
I immediately thought, that underneath the "balcony" I should be able to integrate the scratching pole and started sketching.

Step 1: Materials and tools

As the castle (or catsle as it's called on moderncat) should match the bookcase next to it, I decided to build it in laminated 16mm birch plywood in Germany commonly known as "Siebdruckplatten" (screen printing panels?).
The joints I made with simple wooden bars (20x20mm), screwed into the corners. One could also use metal angle brackets or if you have the tools on hand, you could also use a biscuit-joiner, Lamello or similar (I would have preferred this).

As other tools you will need:

• jigsaw
• drill with necessary bits
• screwdriver
• carpetknife

materials / partlist:

• wood 16mm:
  • 2x: 1600x470 mm (back and front)
  • 2x: 1600x600 mm (sides)
  • 2x: 470x568mm (top and lower floor)
  • 1x: 568x800mm (middle floor and base for pole)
• some carpet of your choice
• scratching pole (mine was the cheapest I could find, plus a spare piece,screwed together with a fitting rod)
• screws
• glue

Comments

[Uptonb]

Good luck on the Pets Challenge.

[MicioGatta]

This is great!!!!!! I love it!

[dimtick]

i really like this. Pet "furniture" is so expensive. this seems fairly straight forward simple build. Along with 2 cats we also have a dog which likes to chase the cats around. he doesn't do anything to em, he just seems to get pleasure from making them scramble. I think that cats would like to have a place to get away, especially if there's a perch where they could look down at the dog and torment him for a change.
seems like one of the sides should be removable just so you can get inside there for cleaning.

[annahowardshaw]

Great project!

I am also looking for more attractive alternatives to the standard ugly carpeted kind. And I like that they can hang out in a covered area (for a shy kitty) or in the open up top.

Now if there were a moat with fish for them to stare at... : )

[jessyratfink]

You might want to switch one of the final photos out to be the main one - I think you'll get more views with an action shot of the castle. :) People love cats, afterall! The second picture on the last step is fantastic!

And I really really love this project! I'm also not a fan of those ugly carpet covered things, but my cats are in need of some furniture. This looks like a good way to go!

[uersel]

Thanks for the tip, already done!