Remember yesterday when I said that I hate those carpeted cat trees? I do. I don’t know if I’d mind them so much if we had a bigger place, but we don’t. We have a tiny place. So having to find floor space to house a cat contraption is pretty much impossible. Putting it near a window so they can look outside – definitely impossible. Enter cat shelves.
I looked online (of course) for an alternative to the standard carpeted tree and I found a whole bunch of stuff. I liked the idea of a lot of them, but some of them were kinda ugly (I’m not a huge fan of kitty footprints all over things) or, of course, expensive. For example, I initially found the Buddha Square Cat Habitat shelves which are…$100 each. Uhhhh…yeah, no. I mean, I guess things made out of bamboo are environmentally friendly or something? Unless they are saving the world one cat at a time, I cannot understand why someone would pay $100 for a shelf. For their cat. Then I remembered that I have a Ryan. And there was an Ikea nearby. And now I had an excuse to drag Ryan to Ikea. HA! He totally loves it there. Not.
So, after buying Ikea’s Ekby Jarpen shelves (I get that they’re a foreign company, but the names…they sound like diseases – “Lizzie called in sick to work today. She’s got Ekby Jarpen Disease.”), cutting them down to size, attaching some fancy pants Flor carpeting (using double-sided tape) to the top and hanging them strategically on the walls, we have this:
“But what about the scratching post part? I mean, that’s part of the draw of those GORGEOUS cat trees.” you say incredulously. Bam:
Ryan took a piece of plywood, bent it and screwed it into the wall and floor. Then he covered it with a sisal remnant (sold on eBay) which Ralph seems to love. Side note – when Ralph is being attacked by Ted, we can always judge the severity of the attack by what step Ralph runs to. The shelf pictured above is “Stepcon 1.” He has been known to go IMMEDIATELY to Stepcon 3 which means I need to have the squirt gun ready in case the ordeal needs to be minimized. Oh Ted…
But, my favorite part of having these shelves is this:
When Ralph stares down at us like he’s the king of the world. He always looks very haughty. Like he knows he’s untouchable. Well, until Ted decides he’s not.
**UPDATE** Since we attached the Flor carpeting using double-sided tape, we were able to replace it easily. Plus, we painted the wall grey and it was a little barfy with the brown and light blue carpet. ANYWAY, here are some updated pix! Oh, and you’ll notice that we got rid of that extra piece of wood we had on the second highest shelf. They finally stopped having that look in their eye like they were going to plummet to their death from that shelf, so we took the “safety rail” off.
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This post is a DELIGHT.
Which part? It’s the picture of Ralph, isn’t it…
Ah, I am a SUCKA for a Tuxie Cat, so yes . . . it’s because of your Ralph that this is so much more better!
He really does make everything better. Even makes the apartment look better and more stylish, doesn’t he?!
This doesn’t appear to be posting and I wanted to respond because you think Ralph is handsome and I don’t want to discourage anyone from thinking that. That being said, he really does make everything better. Even makes the apartment look better and more stylish, doesn’t he?!
Saving the world, one cat at a time… Ekby Jarpen disease… Stepcon 1… and, of course, Ralph.
It was chock full o’ funny. LOL.
Those looks awesome. Since we don’t have cats, and I don’t think hanging out above couch-level is the dog’s scene, I am seriously considering this set-up just to use as book shelves. I know, it takes all the fun of it not having live animals up there.
HA! Live animals…
Wife (and Lizzie), how did you choose your own profile pic thumbnail? Mine just defaulted to some Space Invaders-type image with blah colors.
I think it’s through your WordPress account. There’s an option to change your profile picture.
Lynnnnn, I signed up with Gravatar, and it automatically does the profile photo on (most) blogs by recognizing the email.
Love these. I want some!
They’re the best. Ralph and Ted LOVE them! AND…they’re going to be “featured” in Modern Cat Magazine’s premier issue in September! Watch, they won’t now…LOL.
I have been contemplating this for a long time now. I just sold my massive, hideous carpeted cat tree and I’m ready! I just have one question.. one of my cats is on the “husky” side. Do you think those brackets will hole or should I opt for a bracket with a double anchor point underneath?
Hey! I’m so glad you’re thinking about giving this a go! Carpeted cat trees are so gaggy. Blecht. And I know what you mean about “husky” cats. Things can get a bit complicated when making stuff for them. Ralph weighs over 15 pounds and we used triple grip anchors like these (http://tinyurl.com/triple-grip-anchors) which are said to hold up to 75 lbs. But if you’re nervous, Ryan said you could still use the same brackets but use a toggle bolt like these (http://tinyurl.com/toggle-bolt) instead of regular anchors as they hold a lot more. You’ll just need to drill the hole a little larger to fit the toggle in the wall. It might be overkill, but it’ll definitely give you some peace of mind. :)
And send pictures if you end up doing it! I’d LOVE to see them!
OMG! I am so glad I found this site!! Yesterday I found Minion (solid black polydacyt) on top of the 9 foot armoire. No clue HOW he got up there…. he is only 8-9 months old, depending on who you believe, the vet or the adoption place… ANYWAY, glad to know that I don’t have to spend an arm and leg to keep Minion off the floor with safe choices!!!
They’re SO TRICKY, aren’t they?! And I’m glad to be of service! :)