Cardboard Cat House With Scratcher

In this tutorial, I show you how to build a creative cat house with scratcher out of cardboard. Your cats will like it a lot.. All you need : 7 pieces of corrugated cardboard 1000x500mm, Cutter, Hot Glue Gun and Hot glue stick.

Step 1: Building the Two Facades

I began by tracing the shape of the facade: the external shape and the entrance of the house. The shapes chosen are similar to a cat's face. You find the dimensions in the attached picture. After, cut the cardboard using the cutter while following the shape drawn. Both sides are equivalent except that I chose to make the second entrance of the house to a cat paw shape.

Step 2: Making the Base and the 1st Scratcher

Secondly, I move to build the base of the house. I always start by drawing the shape following the dimensions written in the attached picture. The shape contains notches of 25mm length to improve the fixation with the facades.

After the cut, I built 3 cardboard beams, each of them contains 3 rectangular pieces of dimension 30x370mm. I glue them using hot glue.

To build the scratching post, I used rectangular cardboard pieces 35x370mm and stuck them next to each other until they filled the floor of the house.

Finally, I make the assembly of the two facades with the base.

Step 3: Shaping and Mounting the Side Elements

All the side pieces have the same length and the dimensions of the notches except that the widths are different. The width of each piece is defined by the photo of facade dimensions attached to the first step. After cutting, I use the ruler to bend the cardboard pieces to the desired shape.

Finally, I do the assembly of the side pieces one after the other.

Step 4: Building the 2nd Scratcher

Finally, it remains for me to finalize the 2nd scratcher. I begin by cutting the cardboard according to the dimensions mentioned in the photo attached. After folding, I put the rectangular pieces 30x370mm next to each other and I glue both ends. Then I put the scratching post in its location.

Hoping that you liked this creation!

Comments

[MariaNova]

Love it! I'm just finishing one for my cat :)
Just a remark, and I haven't yet tried it under scratching claws but to me it seems nicer if I cut pieces for scratcher perpendicular to main lines/waves of cardboard. Gives a nicer surface in the end.
For pieces that connect two facades go parallel with lines for the long side because you'll need to bend them along the long edge.

[LarryF24]

Ok so I never got past the facade , measurements not complete enough for me to work with .By the time I cut the first part out of cardboard 351mm x 500 mm and tried to figure out the rest of the measurements like where the ears started and the base , my dimensions did not work out. trying to start from the bottom and measure up to the 340mm dim . Just made it very difficult to lay out properly.Maybe its me but this was pretty confusing without a better layout or possible template. Looks great, just had too many problems with laying it out and ending up correctly.

[ESSOMAR]

Normally all the measurements are correct .. I'm going to re-checked them. Your proposal about template is good, can you give me the name of an easy and free software to do that?

[RegiS5]

First, the questions: What’s the distance between the base and top of head? What are the various angles up the sides & ears? Lastly, distance from interior ear base to top of head? If this is in the video, I apologize, I haven’t watched it yet.

Second, I love this idea! I’m going to do the cutting, then hand it over to my 6-yo to construct.

As an aside, I built the picture out of carpet we pulled up, exposing the oak doors beneath. The wood was from a neighbor’s paver pallet, & leftover paint.

Thank you!

[RegiS5]

That’s supposed to read “oak floors.”

Because,
unfortunately,
our house
isn’t one of those
super fancy houses
with doors
for floors
or clear taller walls
billowed with rainbows
of smaller balls
so we have
a color cornucopia to play
with us all day.

[ESSOMAR]

That's done, I'm adding all measurements in attached photo of the first step.. Hope that's will be more clear.

[RegiS5]

Thank you so much! Can’t wait to start measuring and cutting.

Be well~

[ESSOMAR]

You're welcome :)

[Creative D2H]

Awesome ! Good Job :)

[ESSOMAR]

Thanks !

[Creative D2H]

Thank you for the inspiration !

[ShawnS60]

Very nice job, Essomar! I hope your cats enjoy it. I will show it to a friend who has cats--perhaps she will enjoy building this. I do not have a cat, now--but my wife and I have had, before, and we hope we can again in our future. (Now, we rent--> "no pets allowed", an evil prohibition, BUT, I understand it makes your house last longer with fewer scratches on all visible surfaces. But compare: life with cat/life with no cat, I choose to have scratches everywhere and have all my possessions destroyed by claws. It's really no contest; we animals should live together for mutual benefit.) I'll stick a pin in this and come back and make one when I have the need. I enjoy recycling--our largest benefit to the environment is living on a plant-based diet, as using all arable land to grow feed for cattle or to graze (+ 30 gallons fresh water per cow), so that the richest 10% of people on earth can order a big mac is not sustainable. Please note, watch "Forks Over Knives", and "Cowspiracy" and become an environmentalist for real. Or not; I believe in your right to choose; I am not king of earth, yet. :-)

[ESSOMAR]

:-) I like also the recycling projects, this type of domain make our environment more clean .. Thanks for your encouragement.

[ShawnS60]

Exactly--and what are our first toys(?) Personally, I like playing with a stick when I'm out hiking. I have a stick in my garage, a found object, and one in my pen holder on my desk. I do not remember what I used it for; it is about the size of a pen, but well-aged, with no moisture in it so it stays well inside my home. My granddaughter likes the wrapping on the presents; she likes the sound they make when she tears them and her mother plays along, oh you like that tearing sound--it's an interesting sound isn't it? Then she likes the boxes, playing inside them if they're big enough. One of her favorite toys were lightweight boxes that LaCroix sparkling water came in, 12-pack holders. Her father sat one on top of two and they took turns knocking the top one off the bottom. When she hit it to him, he said some word, like Boo! and knocked it flying into the air--it randomly flew anywhere, then they went and got it. She could not yet walk, just crawled. I have never seen her laugh so hard, not to this day. So I guess her favorite toy so far was a recycled box before we put it into the recycle bin. I think of that when I decide what to buy her as a toy :-) Thanks for keeping up the good work! My daughter, & son-in-law, and granddaughter are with you, in spirit.

[ESSOMAR]

Thanks a lot and have a nice day :)

[caitd3]

I totally love it. We have been using display boxes from our local BJ's and turn them upside down on a carpet for our cats. They love them. Our main problem is we keep the boxes outside as one of our cats is feral and refuses to come in. I am going to try using recycled pallet boards for the sides and plywood for the front and back. With a removable top scratching board, it will be easy to clean the inside and change the bedding.

[banesync]

If you're using wood, please remember to use some sort of stain/sealant so that it can stand up to the elements.

[caitd3]

Absolutely. The house would be under our roofed patio, but that is always a smart idea. I prefer a good polyurethane to do the job. Of course painting it to match the cat would be great too.

[ESSOMAR]

Nice Idea ! Of course, plywood is more resistant ! But, Cardboard is more easy in crafting, we can cutting it with a simple cutter :)

[caitd3]

Agreed. Not everyone has access to the tools like we do. For us this is simple, the pallet boards are already a good size. We cut each of the long slats into two pieces by cutting on either side of the supports...that way we avoid removing nails. We store that way and they are ready to go. For this project, they are already the perfect length. A band saw or even a sabre saw will make quick work of the cat head outline in the plywood and a rotozip will do the paw or smaller face very easily. It uses a rounded saw blade and cuts clean. This is a definite project for the spring when we can work outside. Thank you for the inspiration.