Four years ago I decided to "Hack" a piece of kitty furniture that my cat often utilizes, you can see the original D-I-Y here. Since that time, with regular use, my cat has shredded the scratching post and the bottom level of the tower has gotten super dirty. With Covid-19 amongst us, what else do I have better to do than to upcycle projects around my apartment. Enjoy!!!

Supplies

Cardboard

Fabric

Pencil

Scissors

Staple gun

Tape

Step 1: Out With the Old...

As I said in the introduction, my kitty uses this cat tower pretty frequently; with regular use, it has become dirty and frayed. What better way to be quarantined (Covid-19 pandemic) in New York City than to be in isolation doing craft projects. I started this D-I-Y project by dismantling the tower and using the hand vac to clear loose debris from the second level (the grey furry part). The entire first level is being repurposed, see Step 2 of the description. After I cleaned the piece thoroughly, I laid out all of the supplies I needed in order to complete the project. Step 3 will show how the top level was made.

Step 2: ...time for an Update!

Since the tower has aged some over the years I wanted to reinforce the bottom level. I used an amazon delivery box that the new scratching post came in to do this. I used the existing level as a template, tracing out a new piece and marking where my holes needed to be for the poles to be inserted later when it came time to reassemble the tower. All I needed was a pair of sharp scissors to cut out the new piece and the four corner holes. Next, I used packing tape to secure the new piece to the original piece, being careful to line up the holes for a perfect fit. Once the pieces were joined, I used the template as a guide to cut out the needed fabric; making sure to allow 2-3 inches on all four sides so that the material could be pulled taut when stapling it to the cardboard. Adding the scratching post between the first and second levels completes this refresh transformation.

Step 3: This...really Was Done First :-)

If you wander over to the original post when I initially hacked the Kitty City Tower you will notice that it had more of a hammock style to it. As a cat lover, I am always thinking of the comfort of my precious girl. So I thought I would make her a super cozy comfort top as a replacement for the worn-out hammock. But ohhh nooo...not my precious cat; since re-doing this, she has yet to get on it after the first time. I weaved two color jumbo yarns through one another to get this desired effect, after shortening the strands, I braided them around clockwise and added a furry ball where the ends joined. Post redo: The reason she doesn't care much for this comfy bed, is that her paws go straight through the yard even though it is weaved together...oh well...I'll be going back to Michael's for a stretchy fabric to turn it back into a hammock!