DIY Cat Shelf: Walkway Much Better Than a Cat Tree 

I constructed a "cat walk" similar to this 40 years ago. My wife hated it. The cats would lay in wait until she (or anyone for that matter) would pass through the doorway and FFWAAPP., someone got their scalp bopped by one of the cats. I loved it. I installed a carpet runner so they could climb up to the catwalk through a half-moon hole. My wife did not allow this set-up in any subsequent dwelling because of damage deposits. But for a year, the cats really did have the run of the mansion.

There is definitely something very sweet and humane about a man who constructs catwalks.

i absolutely LOVE people like you. It drives me crazy when people are like "my cats so annoying" or wondering why their cat is yowling all the time, or just assume cats are there to pat on the head once a day and then just go lay in the sun. THEY NEED EXERCISE. THEY NEED MENTAL STIMULATION. THEY NEED SOCIAL INTERACTION. I dont know why this is still news. So I'm always so happy to see people give their cats full and interesting lives.

My husband and I put up a "cat walk" 12 years ago when we rescued 3 kittens. They all love it and still use it. We just rescued a baby kitten, and I can't wait until he fully joins the family to see his reaction to the elevated playground.

Plenty people seem to forget that pets have needs. But this is exactly the kind of thing that's easy and not in our way, but which a cat loves!

The bit where the three of them are watching things outside together is adorable :)

I love the way your shelves blend into the rest of the room. It carries the aesthetic well.

I especially appreciate the note about cats climbing up, but difficulty climbing down. I feel like this is something a normal cat owner would not think much about, and is great information to point out

Francisco, you are a very good communicator. Effective, easy to listen to and understand. Great job, cat dude.

"The zoomies!" How cut! I love it. And the skyway! ❤❤❤

My dining room has tall ceilings and a "loft" on one side. My husband and I are slowly turning it into a "cat loft" for our two cats. We have IKEA shelves that create a "staircase" up to the loft but it still needs a lower "step", some soft things to lay on and some decorations. I'm so excited to create a space for them!

I actually have 2 store-bought window hammocks for my cats, they absolutely adore them. Have to move the beds down for the night but in the morning all of my cats just sit and wait for me to put it up again 😂

You are great cat staff, and have mastered listening to their communication to do their bidding! That looks like cat heaven.

What a great cat dad!

Great for indoor cats! They need more stimulation and it is up to us to provide it!❤️🇨🇦

This is so awesome. You did a great job. You're a great cat owner and I know your cats are happier than ever. Thanks for being so kind to animals. I always love that. Take care and much love from Missouri!

Great results, 9 Lives to Live! Thanks for sharing! ⚠️One caution: repeated jumping from a height over 2 feet will take its toll on a cats shoulders & wrists! I cared for a 21 yr old cat in the last 3 years of her life. She came with a cat tree she’d had her whole life (!) and its lowest platform was 26 inches off the floor. Lord knows how many tens of thousands of times she jumped from that platform. But she came to me with a severe repetitive-use metatarsal injury of her right shoulder & wrist. Her shoulder bowed out, her wrist bowed in and you could tell she no longer enjoyed getting DOWN from her tower 😔 She eventually stopped climbing and her wrist really bothered her, sometimes giving out! There are braces for this injury but they are expensive, bulky and heavy. Of the many things I learned from this lovely aged cat, it was this: just because a cat CAN jump down from a height doesn’t mean they SHOULD! Those jumps down add up, resulting in either a repetitive or acute injury! For a long lived cat, that will leave them with a problematic, disabling injury later in their lives 😿 Make your cats steps closer together and lower to the floor. They won’t always use them, but when they do, you’ll know the cat may already be having discomfort. Thanks for listening 🕊

Nice work! The cats look very happy.

I appreciate youre creativity for your babies so much! It looks so cool and fun. And your involved in it

I love that you see the world through your cats eyes. Cats can be pills. They can be annoying. They can destroy furniture. And you do have to make accommodations to their needs. But most of us cat lovers wouldn’t have it any other way! Love this cat shelf. Too much fun. Now give them stuff to knock off from the shelf. Cats are totally “flat earthers.” Knock stuff off furniture and shelf all the time!

I constructed one around my office which is pretty large and has high walls. I went all out and didn't just do a walkway but like a little town where every few feet is a little shelter with windows that they can hang out or sleep in. Instead of the typical shelf holders, I went to Home Depot and bought large corner braces which are sturdier and look more aesthetically pleasing. They have them in many sizes. The portions that are walkways look nowhere nearly as good as yours though as I built it using literally some scrap wood I had laying around so it's sort of an eyesore but it functions as intended and my cats love their little town in the sky. Yours inspired me to redo it so it could look as nice as yours! Love the carpet. I just sanded down the wood to ensure they don't get splinters but I had intended to cover my walkways with some sort of rubber material. I think the carpet is nicer looking so will definitely go with that when I upgrade mine. Great job and great channel and super cute cats!

Thanks for including the European Lynx climbing a tree. Most people don’t know that they do this. Even a lot of biologists are fully aware of the reason for the behavior of Lynx climbing trees.

Wow! Thank you so much. I love cat-lovers!!!

I love a man who loves his cats.

I love that "zoomies " is basically a technical cat term haha

I live in a small appartment and this is exactly my plan! I just need the lumber, and im ready to build my kitties an adventure traIl from room to room. Theres going to be a ropebridge and probaply a small house up there too :) Great job man!

Your kitties look very happy.

I made my long hallway a cat gymnasium by placing narrow shelves along the hallway. The shelves are varying heights and slightly spaced apart and she loves jumping from one to another. On one far end I have a freestanding climbing wall made from an old twin mattress that I covered in upholstery material to not look as ugly. She loves climbing up it but uses the shelves and a tall cat tree on either side to get down. She often naps in the mattress. I stationed it so she can be up on the mattress snd see the entire living room and kitchen and down the hallway and into my office. It’s not attached but if I’m climbing she tops it over, since it’s in the hallway it doesn’t have far to tip so never crashes to the ground. She actually enjoys riding it as I push it back in place. I clip some of her dangling toys from it hat she loves to play with and pull down. On the floor I have a few rag rugs that she loves to ride when she runs snd jumps in the hallway. And another plus is when she follows me closely as I walk down the hallway she never has to worry I will step in her which happened a lot before I made it. I rent do I knew I couldn’t make anything permanent or screwed into the floor or walls. This has been a huge hit with her and the shelves are where I store her food and toys and other belongings. And she likes the lower shelves to crawl in to ambush her toys or to watch me doing laundry or getting ready in the morning. Because of this feature snd the furniture I arranged isn’t my bedroom and living room she can now travel from the front of the house to the back of the house, my bedroom, and her feet don’t have to touch the floor. And the hallway is her favorite venue for her favorite game, fetch. I’m still making tweaks to it but so far it’s been a godsend and no building skills required. Not even sewing cuz the upholstery fabric is carefully safety pinned into the mattress. One day I may more permanently tack it on with needle and thread but for one year it’s still going strong so I’m good

Very glad you pointed out all these things. High walkways are rather essential. Big thank you.

I really liked your video it was very easy to see how you made the cats a great environment to tickle their vat imaginations, plus made it safe and melding into your decor. I subscribed as soon as I watched your video just to keep seeing you cats! Thanks very much, you've given me some good ideas.

This is why I'm glad I have an indoor/outdoor cat.

Wow, pawsome 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👍🏽🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛💕💕💕👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

This is pretty awesome. I want to build something similar for our barn cat. Years ago, our cat showed up and decided this is home, we love him and take care of him. But, 2 in the family are allergic, so he can't live inside. So, he's king of the barn.

You are a wise cat servant judging from my 30+ years of servitude. Stimulated cats tend to do less of the things humans find annoying, and options help keep them stimulated. We have high cat runs in the living room and in the garage. They adore them and they leave our shelves full of decor mostly undisturbed. The cat shelves were well worth the small investment and effort to install. I hadn't seen your channel until today, now I'm subscribed.

i sure appreciate a person that cares enough about cats ( or any animal) to consider their quality of life. It breaks my heart when i see a cat that is stuck in a tiny apartment with no life or just as bad- wondering the streets miserable- but as long as they are fixed- that is something... help the homeless pet crisis by always spaying or neutering

Cats are prey? Yes, to my hugs and kisses :D I also build a cat theme park in my room years ago and they really loved it. Especially at 2 a.m. during a work week. Unfortunately, except for one who now lives with my parents as they just have way more time to care for him all the others crossed the rainbow and are terrible missed. Still cherish the years we had together and all the fun play time we could share

An elevated walkway also provides them with a sense of security, specifically from the clumsy ambulations of big gangly apes. But it also disentangles points of possible cat conflict.

You are so considerate building the super-highway for your cats!! I also built one a few years ago for my 4 cats and they loved it. My cats also have access to outdoors.

You can tell the cats love it bless you. you have a kind heart❤

Thanks so much for sharing! I'm turning my office e into a super highway for my babies. I'll have to send ya pics when I'm done. Thanks for the great ideas!!!

Awesome! Your cats are very fortunate.

All I can say is that Jenny is a lucky lady and I am so glad that I found your channel!!❤🐾❤️🐾❤️ Mr. McFall, Calypso ,and Muffin are beautiful cats, and so are Jenny's . Thank you for the climbing ideas. I have two cats, and I am going to see if I can adapt my living and dining rooms to your excellent ideas. ❤🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️

Those cats are so lucky to have such a wonderful, capable human!

This is a good idea. My cat use to go walks with me sitting on my shoulder, We would go to a local wood where he would love to climb trees.

The reason a squirrel is able to climb down a tree easily is not because of the curve of their claws, which curve the same way as a cats. It's because their hind feet can rotate 180 degrees to be able to hang on to the tree as if they were climbing up. So now the claws are at the proper angle to hold onto the tree and that is why they can climb or descend facing in the proper direction.

Look at the benefits for the cat guardian: those areas of the room with a catwalk will be free of spiderwebs.

Amazing! I’m a single 66 year old woman and do many projects myself. I have 3 cats, one over 17 and has kidney disease. I’ve wanted to make something like this for the younger ones. Thank you for sharing this! So many people have cats and don’t realize or care what they need or what would enrich their lives.

Excellent, you really understand cats and you likely improve the life quality for thousands of cats through these videos!

Lo felicito, por su trabajo su creatividad y por el amor que demuestra tener por estos gatitos, que sin duda deben ser muy felices con usted en ese ambiente!!

Yes, cats love to perch up above their domain and feel safe, but having something to climb for exercise is good too! Your skyway is a pretty good solution! Also, it's probably just a couple degrees warmer up there, so cats going to like that, too!

Your such a good cat dad ,

After watching a lot of Jackson Galaxy, I shared this video with my husband and he plans to do this in our house! We plan to adopt cats soon and we want to make sure they have a good way to escape our younger kids.

•💟• Well Done. 🙄 👏 Happy cats. 🐺 🐈 🐱 Thank you for doing such a kind, caring and thoughtful thing for your pets. May the skyway bring all of you many years of delight. •💟•

Beautiful job, Francisco!!! Your cats are very fortunate to have such a caring owner. Without your woodworking skills I will need some assistance but already have a vision of where a skyway will work. My three girls have good, carpeted window perches and large condos by other windows but your skyway is the BOMB❣️

Well done all around ! The window sill ; relax / observation station , is a winner .

Lovely cats! You did such good job for them 🙂👍

You are kind, knowledgeable, helpful, and your cats are adorable! (Please pet them each for me!) You inspired me to finally order some bulk shelf brackets as my biggest cat projects keep getting put on hold because I can't find any that are the right size in the local stores! (pandemic supply chain issues I guess) Thanks 9 Lives to Live!

..I love it: TOTALLY OPEN YOUR OWN BUSINESS where you around and add this to homes

How lucky for your sweet babies. I love animal people!❤️❤️

Gorgeous. I want to do this so bad for my cats. I would love to see how you did the climbing post step by step.

I wish I have someone like you to do it haha. I live alone, 31yo cat lady 🤦‍♀️ I bought my cat a tall cat tower but it's never enough, he wanted to reach the ceiling 😂

Love this all cats need a cat walk, that would be great. ❤

When my sister's cat was with living with us, we had a tall TV shelf and she would climb up there to look down upon us and then when she wanted to come down she'd leap from there to the couch. I never thought about the difficulty of climbing downward. I just thought she enjoyed the adventure of the jump.

Great job. Love it. They're living the dream!

I love what you have done and i would really welcome something like that for my cat 💖 Thanks for sharing this with us 🐱

We know why they climb, and it is from their primal instincts. They like to be able to survey (overlook) the territory around them. Like a leopard/panther.

I made a cat parkour course on all 4 living room walls in my apartment, with a long runway on the half-moon window above the patio door where they can lay and birdwatch. They love it and use it all day every day, lol.

You are a dutiful cat slave. I really like how you made the runway fit your home decor.

Beautiful cats ❤🐱 and wonderful environment for them. Congrats!!🎉

I think the tiny railing is the perfect finishing touch.

"Skyfall, Calypso, and Mister Muffin" Great cat names!

Thank you for your informative video. I enjoyed it very much. I'm sure my cats would love to have anything like this!!! I've been trying to think of a way to give them a run in front of my picture window that wouldn't interfere with the blind....

I’ve seen pictures of cage tunnels built around the outside of a house. Inside you might get a lot of fur and dander falling down. Cats do love to climb and explore. Keeps them active and stimulated. An outdoor catio enclosure is also the perfect area to give cats a secure outdoor space with fresh air and sunshine.

Your an amazing guy! Thank you for sharing and helping us cats livers to better care for our babies. 💖

I did have a cat with a fear of heights. He had a small mishap with the stairs when young. He lived a long and happy life, so it wasn’t a big problem. ❤

There must be something primordial about that... I think cats love being up high... ready to pounce! LOL. Such adorable cats!

New sub here. I love listening to you. Your gentle accent, your clear delivery, and you obviously care deeply for your cats. They are gorgeous, btw.

Aww lucky cats! They're beautiful.

I always wondered why they get stuck in trees. You explained it very well. Also bc of this video, I got a floor to ceiling tower for my kittens and have it next to my hutch so they can jump on the top. I also am now planning a cat walk like yours as well. So far- they are going nuts on the floor to ceiling tower and jumping on the hutch. U also gave me the great idea to put the cat steps on the side of my hutch - I’m a renter. Ty so much for all these videos! I was afraid to catify bc I’m renting but now I’m excited and am Finding ways to be able to do it with minimal holes in my walls

Loved this ~ obviously RU-vid was reading my mind again!! LOL I have been looking all over the house where Lorenzo jumps and coming up with ideas so thank you that was really fun😻

Very nicely presented. Good information on cat claws. Thank you.

I love it. It gives me so much joy to watch happy indoors cats like yours

Just BEAUTIFUL!💯👏👏👏👏

That's great! I've been thinking of making something similar for some time, I think this was the last push I needed to actually get it done! :)

wow, that's amazing - you did a great job for your fluffy friends! :)

Hands down, and one of the best walkways I've seen... thank you for sharing!

Great Job and Well Done....

Beautiful work! I use the highest shelf of my wall bookcase for a cat run & have a 6' cat post my 4 like running up and down. I have often wished I could expand my walkway around the livingroom, but I physically can't do it myself and financially cannot afford to hire it done. My cats enjoy what they do have plus a hanging outdoor catio with 4 shelves to enjoy in good weather!

Hi Francisco, Thank you very much for sharing your fabulously catified home, and how you made it. I love the way your home looks with what you have done for your fur-babies. I've been trying to figure out how to catify my home without breaking the bank, along with still looking good, and your ideas are the #1 best! I absolutely love this! I live in an apt style condo so have very few tools, therefore I've ordered some very long, deep and thick shelves that will be perfect for this and will look great in my home. Now I'm working on getting some wall mounted climbing poles to get my kitties up to the walkway. ***Question: What are the dimensions of your stair pieces on your wall, that your kitties use to climb down from the walkway?*** I'd like to get something similar to what you have because they appear to be the perfect size. Thank you so much for these great ideas, and all of your informative and entertaining videos! My cats and I are forever grateful, for this one, in particular. -Deb

Cats sitting on the cat run, "We love our humans for knowing we want to be far away from them."

Awesome build, You are the Cat's Meow Man!! What a Guy... Great job!!!!!

This is just amazing, I wish I had half your skill to build something my cat would enjoy. I know just how much he like climbing, and I can't find anything that could help him with that aside from those "wall cat trees", but it is so expensive. :(

Aww, your kitties look so content Also like how unobtrusive this is - had considered something similar but wasn't sure if kitties would cope with high narrow walkways. Obviously not an issue

Loved it.

I would love this for my 4 babies in our very small house!

I have an 18ft high stairwell and, this year ('22) I'm putting up a series of "flying" shelves for my two cats to clamber about on. PS. Cat Chess. No mere human can fathom out all the rules of Cat Chess, but two which I am certain of are that "check" is the result of being either (a) higher up than any other competing cat or (b) able to see every other cat *without being seen by them* .

Very beautiful. Is there any recomendation of the type of wood, carpet, and any other resources where I can learn how to build one. I have 3 cats too. And I look forward in building one for them.

Brilliant!

I’ve got this in a hall and a bedroom. They love it. I left the top, you can’t see, unfinished. They do their nails on it.

I am glad that you went to such lengths to allow your cats to exercise their instinct for climbimg and being in high places. It shows that you care for your pets. My only concern is the possibility of a cat falling off the catwalk and being injured or killed.