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Home » meowzas » How to Build Cat Shelves That Your Cat Will Love

How to Build Cat Shelves That Your Cat Will Love

Posted:4/23/15
Updated:6/17/19

If you have a cat your goal in life is to probably wow them.   If it isnt, then you should get on it right away.  There’s a cat waiting!

Ways to wow them? You can try:
Singing and dancing to them, or even better with them. Most likely they won’t be wow’d at all and will ask you to put them down.

Buying them a new toy.  They might get wow’d, but most likely they are going to like the box it came in better.

Buying them a new bowl.  They don’t care, it only matters what goes in it.

Dressing up like a cat. Ok, I did this over the weekend and the cats were just weirded out by it.

What I found is that the best way to wow them is to make them feel special.  Rub their bellies when they provide it, rub under their chin for a few seconds longer than expected, or next time you’re reading snuggle up with your cat and let them sprawl out as big as they want.

What else do they love? Entertainment that doesn’t involve a human.  Sure, they love when you play “chase the fly”(best toy ever) with them but you aren’t always home.  

They love to sleep while you’re going (so they can store up all their energy for when you’re trying to sleep)  but they also love to play by themselves.  

DIY cat tree alternative

Instead of a cat tree, we decided that we were going to build cat shelves on our wall.  This would be a spot for the cats to climb, sleep and let the cats show each other who’s boss (answer always: Xanadu).

The outcome is a series of brightly colored shelves for our kitties to climb up.  Goblin loves relaxing on the shelves.  He’s a little guy so he doesn’t go very high.
How to build cat shelves your cat will love! This is a easy DIY project that will be done in 30 minutes!

 

What you need is:
Shelves: We got 18 inch and 24 inch shelves at Home Depot.  We got 2 different sizes to make it more interesting.   These shelves are great because they come with their own mounting hardware.

Wall Anchors: The shelves come with wall anchors but they only hold 8 pounds.  These wall anchors we got hold 50 pounds.  That means the cats are safe.  Heck, it means my dream can come true and all the cats can sleep together on a shelf! Oh, one day..!

Tools: Screwdriver and level

Carpet to cover Shelves:  This is important so the cat has traction to climb.  This also gives you a opportunity to add color to your home and make these cat shelves fit into your decor (unlike most cat furniture).

I found carpet squares at CB2 for $4 a piece.  They come in playful colors which was exactly what we were looking for.  We have 8 shelves but only needed 4 squares as we would be cutting them in half.

Now, time to get building.  Now grab your assistants.  Just kidding.  They will voluntarily help.
“Dad, is it level? I think a little on the right needs to come down”.

“That’s more like it.”
How to build cat shelves your cat will love! This is a easy DIY project that will be done in 30 minutes!

“What is going on?”
How to build cat shelves your cat will love! This is a easy DIY project that will be done in 30 minutes!

“We’re getting paid overtime, right?   We’re getting paid in Fancy Feast Broths, right?”
How to build cat shelves your cat will love! This is a easy DIY project that will be done in 30 minutes!

When the shelves are up, the cats will act like they did all the work.  Just suck it up and tell them they did a good job.
How to build cat shelves your cat will love! This is a easy DIY project that will be done in 30 minutes!

Now stand back and let cats do what they do; ignore everything.
“I’m going to sit on the ladder instead of the shelves because Mom and Dad are staring at me too hard.”
How to build cat shelves your cat will love! This is a easy DIY project that will be done in 30 minutes!

And then when you least expect it… cats will start to climb!
How to build cat shelves your cat will love! This is a easy DIY project that will be done in 30 minutes!

Watch out little buddy, that’s a little too high for you.
How to build cat shelves your cat will love! This is a easy DIY project that will be done in 30 minutes!

“Ok, mom, I’ll stay on the lower shelf.”
How to build cat shelves your cat will love! This is a easy DIY project that will be done in 30 minutes!

 

Hope your cat loves their shelves! 

If you make these cat shelves, please leave a comment or share it on Instagram with tag #brooklynfarmgirl – I’m always looking for photos to feature and share!  

Looking for more cat posts?  Here’s my top 4 ways on how to give a cat pill without bleeding!

How to build cat shelves your cat will love! This is a easy DIY project that will be done in 30 minutes!

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  1. Venus stegemoller says

    January 6, 2023 at 10:32 pm

    Thank u so much for showing me this bc I have ask everyone to help me with this. Now with u I can do it myself. Thank you so much Venus

    Reply
  2. A.Sneed says

    September 4, 2022 at 6:32 pm

    How many inches or feet did you put between shelves? Did all your cats do well with that measurement?

    Reply
  3. Alana Baskind says

    November 22, 2020 at 5:40 pm

    I put some up for myself but I am afraid my cat is too heavy..

    Reply
  4. Linda Ferguson says

    November 7, 2020 at 10:47 pm

    Followed your directions and put up 3 shelves The same ones from Home Depot and the #50 anchor screws. I have two six month old kittens and today the middle shelf broke off the wall!!! Jumping from top shelf to middle shelf did it. So now hubby is going to put brackets under all of them. Hope yours held up better. Love the idea!

    Reply
  5. Katie says

    September 19, 2020 at 6:11 pm

    Did you apply any adhesive to stick the carpet to the shelves or sis you just left the carpet sit on top?

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      September 21, 2020 at 1:21 pm

      Hey Katie, we glued the carpet to the shelves.

      Reply
    • Alana Baskind says

      November 22, 2020 at 5:42 pm

      Exactly – i am afraid my cat will bring them down – i have bracket now but i am still too scared to let him on them.. he is huge.

      Reply
  6. Nicole says

    June 28, 2020 at 9:12 pm

    Hey can you link the brackets you bought

    Reply
  7. Mychealle Godwin says

    June 24, 2020 at 7:32 pm

    These shelves are really awesome, but I have to ask, are your cats jumpers? I have 4 cats total and our Old Man doesn’t do much jumping anymore but the 3 younger ones they are part Lynx so they are very long jumpers. I am wondering how they hold up to jumpers? I had a couple shelves on the wall for them but they ended up knocking it off the wall they would jump from the chair and land on the shelf. I would love to know if anyone has had any problems. I am excited to put new shelves up just the crashing part in the middle of the night is terrifying.

    Reply
  8. jessica says

    April 23, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    How did you put the shelves up with no brackets? maybe i missed a step somwhere

    Reply
  9. Mohit says

    January 11, 2020 at 4:38 am

    My lovely cat will definitely love this cat shelves.
    Thanks for sharing,

    Reply
  10. Jolena Steward says

    November 24, 2019 at 4:11 pm

    Where did you find the Carpet squares

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      November 24, 2019 at 8:02 pm

      I got them at CB2, but check out your local carpet store – they might even give them to you for free.

      Reply
  11. Cara Van Dusen says

    August 6, 2019 at 2:40 am

    I’ve been looking for some ideas on what to make for our frisky felines. This seems to fit the bill! Thank you for the detailed steps on what works best for you. I am going to try these.
    I’ve seen some hammocks made along with the shelves. If you have any ideas there I would be more than thrilled to see those!

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      August 6, 2019 at 11:01 am

      Hey Cara, I’d love to see how they work out for you! Hammocks! Hah, now wouldn’t that be something! I don’t know if my cats have the coordination to get in and out of a hammock! I imagine our big Maine Coon (Toes) would get stuck! 😛

      Reply
  12. April says

    July 25, 2019 at 9:52 am

    Hello – does anyone have tips for getting the cat to actually climb on the shelves?

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      July 25, 2019 at 10:15 am

      Hey April, you could try putting a couple treats on the shelves.

      Reply
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Hi! I'm Pamela, an artist Mom who shares family recipes. My farm is a 1,000 sq ft apartment in NYC. Let's make dinner together.

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