Hey Steemians,
You may not know this but I have a beautiful siamese cat that I rescued. He has been a real treat to have around. One day I was shopping online and saw a cat tree that had realistic branches and leaves. I thought what an amazing idea because cats love to climb trees. Then I saw the price tag of almost $500 for this thing and that immediately made me think, I can make this myself. All you need is:
- Ficus Tree
- carpet remnants
- Plywood Cut into Squares
- Wood Screws
- Dowel Rods
- Spray Paint
- Finishing nailer or Nail Gun
This is a project I've been wanting to do for such a long time. I saved this ficus tree for almost a year before we were able to get to the project. I'm going to show you how to turn your regular faux ficus tree into a realistic cat tree.
You can find faux ficus trees for sale in thrift shops as well. Mine was a gift from my mother years ago that I've just kept around and finally found a purpose for it.
Step 1: Take off all the leaves from the tree so that you can only see the trunk of the tree.
Step 2: Cut rectangle pieces of plywood to use as the platform and then cut holes in the middle so that the cat can climb through each layer of platform. Make them big enough so your cat can fit his/her whole body through the hole.
Step 3: Cut dowel rods at different lengths so that you can build up the stairs to the platforms. Attach plywood to the dowel rod with wood screws. Then attach the platform to the branches with wood screws for stability.
Step 4: Using a finishing nailer or nail gun place carpet on the platforms. This makes it easier for the cat to dig his/her nails into and grab on for better grip and comfort when lounging around.
Step 5: At this point I didn't get pictures of each step but you want to paint the plywood platform whatever color that matches your floors or even put carpet on it for that extra scratch factor. Then attach it to the bottom of the tree basket.
Step 6: Add all the leaves back onto your tree. If you do this step too early like I did you'll have to try and work around the leaves and branches. It's so much easier if you do it as the last step.
There you have it a realistic looking ficus cat tree for your that special kitty in your life.
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Thanks so much!!