Cat Window Perch

Intro: Cat Window Perch

Our cat liked getting on a sofa to look out a window. Said sofa was getting cat fur all over it and clawed up. Made our cat her own personal window perch for cheap.

STEP 1: Long Story and Parts Used.

In the living room area there are 2 windows and one of them has a sofa in front of it. The cat would lay on the back rest of the sofa to see what all was going on outside (damn birds). I had some boards that were part of a shelf in one of our closets that were collecting dust, so I decided to see if I could build a shelf under the other window for the cat to rest on.

Some of the things I did have on hand were the 11.5" wide boards, some black "automotive" carpet and various wood screws.

Items I had to go out and purchase:

Two 8ft 3/4" PVC pipes.
Ten 90deg elbows.
Eight "T" fittings

STEP 2: Sizing Up the Cat

First thing was to see if the cat would fit onto a 11.5" width board. To do this, I put the board on the floor and plopped the cat onto the board... to which end she would just walk away. So I took a piece of newspaper (ads) and put it on the board and pretended to read it.... 10 seconds later the cat lays down on the board and is a good fit. I figured 22" length would work out.

I cut 2 boards out, so they are 11.5" X 22". Since my cat is old and fat, I figured I should make the perch with a lower level to help make it easier to get to the upper level that is at the window.

STEP 3: Cutting Up the PVC

I'm not going to give out the measurements since I based them around the size boards I had on hand and the height I needed to make this to fit out window.

My logic went like so... how long to cut the piece of tube that is between the 90deg elbows to come up with the 11.5" width of the board. Same thing for the "T" to 90deg elbow. I started at the top and worked my way down. Once I had one side figured out, just copy the cuts for the other side.

STEP 4: More Frame Info

Shove everything together and you've got yourself a simple frame.

STEP 5: Yet More Frame Info

I used 2 pieces of PVC to link the bottom of the frame together. Now you can see the basic concept coming to life.

STEP 6: Add the Boards

I used wood screws to secure the boards it to the frame. I drilled guide holes into the boards, put the boards onto the frame asm and drilled tiny pilot holes into the PVC then ran wood screws into it. The screws were long enough to go ito the PVC but not come out the other side.

Toss some cat nip onto it and see what happens.... not much. She didn't seem to care much for her new perch. Hmmmm

STEP 7: Needs Fuzzy Love

First I put a carpet self that runs between the two PVC cross brases using short wood screws placed ever 2 inches. The cat liked it... so even more carpet would be better!

I took the boards back off and wrapped some carpet around them and used a staple gun to secure it on the undersides of the boards, then mounted the boards back to the frame.

Picking the cat up and putting her on the top self a few times didn't go over so well, but after a couple of days she would jump onto it on her own. Putting cat nip on it helped as well. There is now a towel on the top shelf so we can remove it and shake it clean every so often.

Our fat cat tips the scales right at 15lbs. I built this perch several months ago and the cat loves it. I didn't glue any of the PVC pieces together and it is holding up fine.

Comments

[fuzzywhumperbutt62]

This is great. I am going to make it a large unit as I have 4 furrballs and they adore laying on ANYTHING! I am going to use canvas and a closed netting instead of wood this will entail using more pvc pipes and adding more steps but it will be worth it. I can see the furrballs hissing at the killer birds outside the windows now.

[RustyRoller]

If you did it well, you've also got a way to keep the surfaces clean -- just pull off the slings, hammocks, whatever you want to call them, into the laundry every week or two. I also thought of weaving the nylon strapping that is used on lawn chairs that have web seats (that don't hold up for very long).

[b1russell]

LMAO at Step 2 and your so ingenious method of attracting the cat to where you wanted her!  It's a guarantee!  I only have to pick up a book - or any reading material - for the cat or cats to decide that page is where they need to plop their furry little behinds!  It DOES pay to know your critter that well!

[sherryr]

I was surfing for a cat perch that did not cost a few hundred dollars and happened upon this. Easy to make once you decide on your size that you want. The kids and I put it together with a few changes. We made the top more like a hammock/sling.The cat loves it. And it didn't break the bank. Thanks!!

[amander]

This is great! You could also, instead of using board, make frames and stretch fabric on them (much like stretching a canvas) to make them more like kitty window slings. I bought a window sling for my cats, but this one with all of the levels is much cooler. Right now, my two young sibling sisters fight for the one sitting area. It's much coveted real estate.

[chasmyn]

Excellent! My cats woul;d use it as a perch and my son would use it to climb up to the window and knock the cats down. Might I suggest sinding some sort of rough rope around the PVC for kittehs with clawz to scratch upon?

[Trent The Thief]

Hey, that's pretty neat. I've been considering building some sort of wall/ceiling unit that my cats could climb about on and lounge as the mood struck them. I hadn't thought of PVC, though.

[cattledog]

cool build,beautiful cat

[colin]

Ha! Instructables has reached the point where people are posting pics of their cute cats! Actually, seriously, it's a cool project. I really like making structures out of PVC since it's pretty cheap, super versatile, and you can find everything you need at a local Home Depot.