DIY Cat Party House in Eight Steps

Mewla here.

It’s time for website staff members Kwazi, Uli, and Ginger’s birthdays. To celebrate, CatDad and I surprised them with a homemade two-story birthday party house.

Nothing makes Kwazi, Uli, and Ginger happier than a new box. Cats love boxes because boxes provide cats with the security of four walls.[1, 2] In the wild, similar hiding spots such as small caves protect felines from predators, Cats also like to hide in boxes so that, when their chosen prey wanders close, they can surprise them with an ambush.[1]. Kwazi, Uli, and Ginger like when we add strategically cut holes so they can stick their paws through to play with a toy and swat at one another.

Conveniently, we had just bought a new refrigerator, so we had a nice big box to start. Though any box can serve as a potential D-I-Y cat house, larger (appliance-sized) boxes allow for a multi-story Cat Party House.

Putting the Cat Party House together is pretty straightforward. Here, I describe our process. Also, see our YouTube video below for a demonstration of each step.

Tools needed:

1. large box
2. yardstick ruler
3. box cutter
4. strong packing tape
5. optional:
  - wrapping paper and/or other decorations
  - scotch tape
  - scissors

Step 1: Measure and Mark the Box

We wanted to make a two-story house, so I used the yardstick to measure and mark lines parallel to the base of the box on all four sides. To accommodate our medium-sized cats, I made each level 18” high.

Step 2: Measure and Mark an Angled “Roof”

The refrigerator box was a rectangular shape, so I lightly drew a sloping A-frame shape on the two shorter sides of the box and two roof panels on the two longer sides. For a sloping roof, I marked the line for the roof panel 23” higher than the “second” story (see video). If you prefer a roof with a sharper angle, increase the height of each roof panel.

Step 3: Cut the Overall Structure

CatDad cut along my marked lines. We then bent the two 23” roof panels toward the middle to touch one another. This way I could make sure that they aligned with the arch (on the two shorter sides of the box). I marked the spot where the panels met on each end and drew lines for cutting.

Step 4: Flip the Bottom Floor Over

Once we finished cutting out the two-story cat-sized structure, we flipped the bottom story over so that what had been the bottom of the box became the first floor’s ceiling.

Home-made Cat Party House demonstration.

Step 5: Measure and Mark Doors and Windows

I measured and marked cat-sized doors and smaller windows on all four sides. Cats love different-sized holes in boxes, so have fun designing shapes that will intrigue them. Next, cats love to reach out from small spaces, so don’t forget the ever-important “paw portals”. These are openings just a bit larger than a cat’s paw. Last, add an opening to the ceiling so that your cat(s) can climb up to the second floor and back.

Step 6: Reinforce, Assemble, and Tape

Now your packing tape will come in handy. We first reinforced the first floor’s ceiling (i.e., the second story’s floor) by taping two leftover cardboard squares to support it. When the ceiling felt sturdy enough to bear the weight of the cats, we assembled and taped the second story on top, then taped the roof panels together.

Step 7: Decorate as Desired

We typically don’t bother with decorations on homemade cat houses. However, since this party house was a birthday present, we decided to add wrapping paper to the top and side as well as a few cat party decorations.

At each window and door, I cut out X’s in the paper and folded it back around the frame to create a clean line on each side. Our decorating efforts are minimal. Please see other articles by more talented creators for more attractive cat house designs and/or watch this video of a Cherry Blossom cat house by みゅうたチャンネル/Mewta Channel.

Here’s one example of a cute box design from our friends at みゅうたチャンネル/Mewta Channel.

Step 8. Bring on the Cats!

Now the house is ready for the Kwazi, Uli, and Ginger! We’ll add some treats inside to encourage the cats to explore each floor.

Now it’s time to surprise the cats. Click the video below to see how they liked their new Cat Party House..

Find out about some of our favorite homemade and store-bought cat products, including a cat treat puzzle toy, cat tree, and cat scratching pad,

at Our Favorite Cat Products

Why do cats love boxes? Alison Gerken, DVM shares six reasons at:

https://www.petmd.com/cat/behavior/why-do-cats-like-boxes#

Please share a comment below.

REFERENCES

Gerken, A. (2023). Why do cats like boxes? Downloaded July 31, 2024 from https://www.petmd.com/cat/behavior/why-do-cats-like-boxes#
van der Leij, W. J. R., Selman, L. D. A. M., Vernooij, J. C. M., & Vinke, C. M. (2019). The effect of a hiding box on stress levels and body weight in Dutch shelter cats; a randomized controlled trial. PloS one, 14(10), e0223492. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6791553/