Got a bunch of cardboard boxes hanging around your house? Just a few easy steps can turn a box into a cozy hangout for your cat.
What you’ll need:
- Large cardboard box that’s big enough for your cat to fit comfortably inside (the one I used measured 16 by 16 by 16 inches.)
- Large piece of extra cardboard for the roof
- Tape
- Pencil
- Utility knife
- Long steel ruler
- Glue and/or hot glue gun
Instructions
- Tape the bottom of the box closed, leaving the top open.
- Cut a hole for the door that’s big enough for your cat to fit through easily.
- Cut windows in two or three sides of the box.
- Measure the center top point of the front flap, and draw straight lines to the lower outside corners of the flap. Repeat with the back flap. Cut off the two outer triangles on both flaps to form the roofline.
- Fold the side flaps up and in, then tape them to the roofline.
- Measure the top of the house and one sloping side of the roof. Onto the extra cardboard, draw
a rectangle the width of the top and twice the size of the length of the sloping side. Add 1 inch or so on each side for overhang. Once it’s cut out, use the utility knife to score along the center line to divide it into two halves; then fold it. Glue on the roof. - You can also decorate it any way you want. I kept mine simple with a fun Fourth of July banner.
About the author:
Annie Butler Shirreffs has worked in the pet industry for 20 years and is currently the senior editor of Catster and Dogster magazines. A cat lover since she was a little girl, she has always had feline friends in her life. She and her husband share their Southern California home with their four cats, Agatha, Alastair, Jack and Mathilda, and an ever-changing clowder of foster kittens, all of whom enjoy being testers for cool, new products.
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