Cardboard Box Cat Sleeper and Play Center

Make a Play House for Your Cat

If you're a cat lover nothing's more important than knowing your cat is healthy and happy. You can make your cat ultra-happy just by making him or her a bed and play set that is fun for the cat, easy for you, and costs little.

Cat play houses are expensive and cheaply made, usually. You can buy high-end items that are extremely costly or the opposite: junk that will fall apart quickly, but better yet, make a play house/bed for your kitty and it'll be his or her favorite place in the house.

You probably have everything you need at your house to make the play center/bed combo, since there's not one set of mandatory materials, but choices and alternatives to suit anyone. One way to make the set for the cat is to start with a simple cardboard box. A roomy box is best - one that is made from very sturdy cardboard. An old wooden box will work as well.

Fold or glue the flaps of the box shut. Removing the flaps completely will weaken the box but removing two flaps so that the other two can be glued shut, will work okay. The flap part should then become the bottom of the box. Use a bowl, or another round shape, to cut a hole in the side of the box. Lay a pillow, cloth and foam, or some other padding in the bottom of the box, pushing it through the hole.

Glue pieces of carpeting, Fun Foam, or foam and cloth on the outside of the box, all the way around. This will give the cat plenty of room to scratch and claw. They particularly love shag carpeting and it's easy to attach to the box.

You'll need to weight the box, so either glue a large rock to each of the inside corners, or use rock-covered matting (made for dollhouse walkways and such) and attach it to two sides of the box, with the carpeting or cloth on the other two sides. The box won't need to be weighted if you're using a wooden box.