All cat owners know that feeling – you see an amazing bed or home for your furry friend at the pet store only to have your precious kitty turn her nose up at it when you bring it home. Then moments later, you find her nestled up in an old cardboard box.
There seems to be something mystical about a cardboard box for a cat. Perhaps it’s the smell of the cardboard, or maybe it reminds them of when they were kittens and they used to snuggle up in a box with their siblings. Or maybe it’s the fact that they know they shouldn’t be in there – cats are so mischievous after all!
Now you can kill two birds with one stone (or claw) by creating a magnificent palace for your cat using nothing but the humble cardboard box. There’s no limit to what fantastic delights you can create for your feline, it just depends how many boxes you can get your paws on. All you need is some cardboard boxes, scissors, glue and something to decorate with.
If you care about your pet, we hope that you care about the environment too. A cardboard construction is a fantastic green alternative to shower your pet with affection. They are environmentally friendly as they don’t create the additional plastic waste that many cat homes are made from and they don’t use any harmful colours or chemicals, which makes them a much safer environment for your cat to sleep in. Just make sure to cut holes big enough for your cat to feel comfortable in so they stay safe too.
Here are a few of our favourite cardboard creations for cats.
The snowy chalet
Recreate a wooden chalet for your cat to snuggle up in during the winter nights by taking a large cardboard box with a lid and cutting a hole big enough for your cat to comfortably climb through in the centre.
Use paint and pens to create a wood-stained effect around the exterior and draw slats on the lid to replicate a wooden roof. Complete the look by lining the inside with a soft white fleeced blanket to replicate snow and attach a dangling snowflake toy by a string from the roof.
The Royal Cat Castle
We know you may already treat your cat like royalty, but now you can give your pet a truly regal home fit for the Queen of Sheba.
Flip over a large, wide, cardboard box with a lid on and cut half of the bottom of it off so it’s half open. Using scissors, cut windows and wall details into the box. Next, take a longer, taller cardboard box and slot it into the open space. Finally, cut a large window in the front of it and smaller windows along the sides to decorate.
Kitty Sphere
This amazing spherical creation illustrates the power of texture. By layering sheets of sturdy cardboard on top of one another they have managed to construct a durable home that would support even the sharpest of feline claws. This fantastic home is not only incredibly durable, but the contemporary design means it’s easy on the eyes too.
The Purrrfect Hammock
Your cat needs to relax and enjoy the sunshine as much as you do. Now you can design a wonderful kitty hammock using one large cardboard box with the front removed and a piece of sturdy material attached to the top. Just make sure that your cat’s weight can be fully supported by the hammock before you let them try it out to avoid a fall from paradise.
You can find perfect pet palace sized boxes of all shapes and sizes here at Boxes2Move and build your own at home. 🙂
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And that reminds me of the one picture from Simon’s cat in this year’s calendar, Simon has built an elaborate card-board-fortress with a lot of effort – and a few minutes later Simon’s cat has scratched it to pieces.
LOL! That sounds so like something Oliver would do… I love simon’s creation :). He often visits the local shelter not too far from me btw!
He definitely knows his kitties!
🙂
Nice post, I will check their blog too 😉
Thank you 🙂
I can’t find their link in your post.
Oh that’s odd! O.o it’s a friend of mine who sells boxes btw rather than a blog 😉 but the link works for me oddly. I wonder if wp disabled it? Does this work? http://www.boxes2move.com/
I did find that link, but thought it was from a blog.
Shall I ask if he can put together a step by step instruction for one of those :D?
That could be fun and giving for him too 😉
These sure are beautiful and easy to make and the fact that they are environmentally friendly is such a bonus. I look at the effort we put into making our cat children comfortable and I have no doubt what I want to be when I am reincarnated! I want the hammock box then, please
I love the hammock box too! 🙂
Wow … Just in time! I’m gonna make that hammock. I was going to make a castle for Joey, but I’m going to make that hammock! (Not for Joey, though, because he’s big like a dog. I’ll be ideal for Simi, the runt of the family.) 😀
Haha 🙂 yeah I wanna build a hammock one too ^^
There just was a new study released where they actually tested if boxes do reduce stress in shelter cats and they found this to be true 🙂 http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/boxes-really-do-reduce-cat-stress
Oh wow 😀 it certainly works in a multi cat house hold. Until they fight… LOL
I’ll have to check these out! Mr D loves his cardboard boxes!
They are all home made using old boxes 🙂
My cats had the cat castle. They loved it! Then Miko the Balinese cat got too big. The castle could not survive her size and enthusiastic jumping, leaping, and chewing.
LOL. Even sturdy packing boxes get destroyed by my two XD
the castle is just great! every cat is a prince or a princess and they all deserved to have their own castle :o) we bought a cardboard house for easy too, but he shredded it before we could add the paint and the decorations :o(
Lmao! Well at least you didn’t paint it first 😉
Oh this looks so fun to do! Maybe next time we have a large box i could create a kitty castle. I am sure my cat will probably ruin it within 2 minutes though!
Haha you’d be surprised how quickly my two devour boxes XD. But isn’t that the whole fun of giving it to them 🙂
Awesome design…now if only I could build one for my 100 lb Leonberger (dog).
Hmmm that would need a big box :0! My friends Labrador loved sleeping in boxes. 🙂
Funny how animals have their individual likes and dislikes just like us….my Leonberger likes to sleep “up” off the ground on her own lounger…we spoil our babies.
Haha yes we spoil our two as well. And we generally call them kids rather than cats after all they are our family <3
Reblogged this on Owl? Wonder and commented:
So creative!
Thank you so much 😀
Most of the shelter cats seem to love hammocks. We have wall hammocks and ones that attach to cages, but no cardboard box hammocks. Seems like a great idea combining two things cats like.
Yep. I can’t wait on the next sufficiently sized box to build a cardboard hammock myself 😀
I love these….the hammock looks so cool….take away the roof and put the sun there and voila….my place in the sun!! Now to talk dad into some work.
Shoko
Hehe 🙂 hope he will build you one ^^
Wow, all 4 of those ideas are great. The sphere is amazing! I think the castle or chalet is more my cats’ speed and more suited to my skill level. I am moving in April and will have a bunch of boxes so I think I will give one of those a try. Totally pinning all 4 though. Great post!
Thank you ^^. And good luck with the move! You should do a follow up story on how you created your own. :). Happy to post it here if you do!
We love the kitty sphere! We’ve never seen that before.
It was a first for me to see a sphere like that too 🙂
Those all look great!
🙂
This is a great idea! Pumpkin and Scout love boxes, and because they are cardboard, I don’t worry when they get destroyed by them. I also love the hammock.
Aren’t our little friends terrible in destroying all their toys 😉
Reblogged this on ENLIGHTENMENT ANGELS and commented:
A Great Idea For A Cardboard Box!
Thanks for the reblog 😀
Absolutely my Angel!! Happy Thursday! 8) xo
🙂