In this video we look at a custom cat house I recently completed and talk about some ideas for building custom cat houses. If you have any questions, ideas, or suggestions, feel free to comment below. Thanks! www.alleycat.org
In this video we look at a custom cat house I recently completed and talk about some ideas for building custom cat houses. If you have any questions, ideas, or suggestions, feel free to comment below. Thanks! www.alleycat.org
I like this concept and application. Was going to joke, and doing it right now, that the perfect cat house is a cardboard box. I like this though, especially the solar fan, it gives the little stinkerdinks a safe place to shelter should they need it, and Ace showed the utility of removing the magnet from the entry flap, as it would have snapped back on his tail. If possible, could you give total cost of the project with parts list? I figure you have stuff laying around, and it's extra work, but store pricing for those items you had around and about would also be helpful.
Hi! Thanks for checking out my video. That's a great observation that if the main door had the magnet it would've snapped back on Ace's tail. He would be one unhappy camper and less likely to want to go in any house again! You're right, some of the stuff was just "stuff I had laying around". I did spend entirely too much on a few items, including a new table router (to route the 1x2 boards to slide in the white beadboard side panels), and some premium exterior paint that I probably could have got cheaper at a paint discounter. But the router I needed anyway and the paint & clearcoat will help protect it, so I'm glad I didn't "cheap out". Price of wood is going to be pretty variable depending on your local market. I used 1/2" cedar laminate plywood for the floor and 19/32 plywood for the roof. Had to buy entire sheets, wound up giving away a bunch of scrap to a friend for their own project. The beadboard I used almost an entire sheet. The foamboard insulation I used about 2/3rds of a sheet, and the rest went to insulate some attic stairs. Same for the carpet - it was scrap from another project. Always handy when you have multiple projects going on. 😂 Here's a list of the other items (links to Amazon & Home Depot): 1x2 Furring Strip Board: www.homedepot.com/p/1-in-x-2-in-x-8-ft-Furring-Strip-Board-160954/100009348 1x1 Poplar Board: www.homedepot.com/p/Weaber-1-in-x-1-in-x-Random-Length-S4S-Poplar-Board-21074/207059042 (used a couple of these to make a "shelf" for the flooring) Cedar plywood (floor): www.homedepot.com/p/Columbia-Forest-Products-1-2-in-x-2-ft-x-4-ft-PureBond-Aromatic-Cedar-Plywood-Project-Panel-Free-Custom-Cut-Available-2090/204311257 Beadboard: www.homedepot.com/p/EUCATILE-32-sq-ft-3-16-in-x-48-in-x-96-in-Beadboard-White-True-Bead-Panel-975-759/205669196 (I think this was the one I used?) 19/32 plywood (roof): www.homedepot.com/p/19-32-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Rtd-Sheathing-Syp-195482/100004472 Tarco roll roofing (had to order an entire roll when I only needed about 5'): www.homedepot.com/p/Tarco-3-ft-x-36-ft-100-sq-ft-Coverage-Weatherwood-Fiberglass-Mineral-Surfaced-Cap-Roll-Roofing-24-008206/100557358 48" piano hinge: www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-1-12-in-x-48-in-Square-Radius-Matte-Black-Continuous-Hinge-28926/314151008 Various things like a handle, zinc screws (zinc for better weather resistance), Gorilla glue (both liquid and spray), a small amount of wood filler, wood stain (to seal & protect floor), weather stripping seal, and 1" Velcro strips to attach everything. PetSafe door flaps (ordered a medium and small): www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013DJFQS www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MD59IS Quietcool solar fan: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B845KDW8/ O-ring for fan: www.amazon.com/dp/B0051XXM8I LED motion sensor light: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XQ39PMF/ Leg protectors: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BPNY1ZP7/ 14" 24# Vepagoo gas shocks (to lift lid): www.amazon.com/dp/B088HCRLKY Ball & stud mounts (to attach lifts to side and lid): www.amazon.com/dp/B08G7Y5ZCX www.amazon.com/dp/B08G7R7HC2 I think that covers everything. Obviously paint (and clearcoat) of your choice. I bought small 1qt cans of exterior paint mixed to the colors of my choice and had plenty left over. If I can remember anything else I'll update my comment. A bit scared to add all this up. Obviously it was several hundred dollars at least. I could have gone smaller or used cheaper materials but am very happy with the finished product. I put my old one in the garage, you can see a couple of the cats out there checking it out in this picture: Old cat house pic: imgur.com/a/zLe3rPt (image hosted on Imgur) The new one is a huge improvement and I'm very happy with it. Bonus, it doubles as a table on my front porch. Just put rocking chairs on either side! 😹😄
@@CompTechMike Thank you for such a thorough response, and yeah, the prior cat house is on the smallish side, though I'm sure it will be used by your little ones.
I'm so glad I came across your video, the build looks so amazing but yet so simple. I've been wanting to build a cat house for my little sister's cat as a surprise for a while. Might have to now when I head back home in 2 weeks. If you don't mind could you make a step by step video or sharing the information for the parts and how you built it. I would really appreciate it, thank you.
Hi! Thanks so much for checking out my video and commenting. Glad it was helpful. I left a comment above with a list of most of the items I purchased (or had lying around) for construction. I originally had a much smaller house (you can see it in the Imgur picture link in the above comment). I liked the overall shape of it but it was much too small. Here's a link to the original small one. They're manufactured by a company overseas and sold on Amazon. They're functional, but in my opinion pretty cheaply constructed: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HSX1PV6/ I wanted something better and knew I could do a better job for the cats in my care. 😺 For the one in this video I basically constructed the frame out of the 1x2's and 1x1's mentioned above. I think I used about ten 8' boards, total. But I had some scrap for other projects. I didn't draw up any plans for this project, basically just "winged it" based on a mental picture I had in my head and lots of googling for pictures of cat houses online (to get ideas). *** Another resource is look at pictures of chicken houses. Those folks are super-creative! *** I routed slots in the 1x2's to connect them, as well as used zinc screws (sizes ranging 1"-2.5"), and also used 1/4" wooden dowels. Sort of like how Ikea furniture is assembled. I also routed channels along the sides of each piece so the beadboard could be slotted into place during assembly. Used some large wood clamps to hold everything while the wood glue dried. Here's a link to the router and bits I used: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09FPBFQSX/ www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V5ZCV3M/ Obviously pricey if it were for just this project, but I needed a new one anyway, haha. 😸 Had a lot of trouble with the hinges, as I mentioned in my video. Again, I found RU-vid helpful - watching videos of cabinet assembly to help select the correct parts. It was frustrating having to order these online and not really knowing what you were getting (compared to buying from a retail store where you could hold them in your hand and push on them prior to purchase). Ultimately I found the right ones and returned the others (thanks, Amazon!). When I dropped the others off at a local Whole Foods / Amazon depot to return them, the guy working there was real interested in my project and offered suggestions to contact local community cat resources. 😻 Once it was constructed I coated everything with several layers of premium outdoor paint and clearcoat to protect it, and attached the foamboard insulation panels with velcro. I'm pretty active in my community helping with the stray and abandoned cats problem, and have met several others who feel similar. A few local counties have programs for this; nothing in my city specifically (yet) but hopefully some residents here can get a care program started up. Thanks again for checking out my video!
