Posts tagged "cat tree"

Amy D. Shojai, a certified animal behavior consultant and the award-winning author of 23 pet care books, including "Complete Kitten Care," "Complete Care for Your Aging Cat" and "Complete Care for Your Aging Dog," shares with Paw Nation her advice on creating a cat-safe Christmas tree.

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The Christmas tree might as well be an early holiday gift to your cat. Kitty can't resist the urge to sniff, cheek rub, claw and scale the branches to reach the highest possible perch. Don't blame your cat. It's normal for a cat to compete for the top spot (literally and figuratively) to secure his place in kitty society.

Tree encounters of the kitty kind not only risk breaking your heirloom ornaments, but your cat can be injured by chewing or swallow dangerous items. Rather than fight a losing battle to keep your cat at bay, create a second, cat-safe tree with these 10 tips, so your feline friend can enjoy the holidays as much as you do.

1. Put yourself in your cat's paws. Satisfy her desire to claw and lounge on branches, and trust that it won't tip over under her assault. Match the tree size, sturdiness and base (perhaps add guy-wires for steadiness) to the activity level and number of cats.

2. Ditch the lights and fake spray snow. Both can be chewed or swallowed. Instead, decorate with cotton balls or pillow-stuffing fleece for that snowy look on branches or around the base. If you've chosen a real tree, water with plain water; do not use additives in case kitty decides to drink.

3. Strings and garland look great on the tree but prove deadly when swallowed. Dried flowers like baby's breath look lovely and are nontoxic even if clueless kittens nibble.

Looking for a low-cost, family-friendly project? Consider building your own cat tree. Also commonly called a cat tower, these climbing structures provide indoor cats with an outlet for their frisky energy. They also make a great gift for the cat lover in your life. Professionally made cat trees retail for up to $600, so you're bound to save loads of cash by building your own.

Homemade cat trees are easily fixable if you make a mistake; if you find that one step or platform isn't working, you can always remove it from the rest of the structure and try positioning it again. Don't forget, there's loads of info online to help.

Here are some nuts-and-bolts pointers to keep in mind when constructing your cat tree, as well as a few suggestions for adding one-of-a-kind flair to your creation.

• Start with a basic blueprint for your cat tree so if you go wrong, you can find your way back to a workable structure. There are plenty of cat tree plans available for free online, while some more extensive sites, like CatTreePlans.com, charge about $10.

• Pick building materials that combine sturdiness with thriftiness. Plywood is recommended for the base, platforms and steps. Not only is plywood a relatively inexpensive textile, but it's also easy to find small scraps of plywood for free from neighbors, on sites like Craigslist or even at Home Depot. Remember, a small step for a cat takes very little wood, so you might be able to build most of your tree out of no-cost scraps.

• For the posts, consider PVC piping, readily available at any home-improvement store. (Wood would also work, though it may not have as much give.) No matter which textile you go with, surround the posts with carpet tubing, usually available for free at carpet warehouses. This will give your posts more surface area for scratching.