Mar
15
Carpeted Cat Tubes
Filed Under DIY (Do It Yourself), Cats | Leave a Comment
This is a size comparison of my old cat climber on the right, and the carpeted tubes I made on the left. The old unit is almost 6ft high.
Side View. I guess If I placed the tube going along the wall, underneath the upright tubes, then it would be also 6ft tall.
Laying down the tubes in interesting angles. Notice the "S" shape placed under one tube, which forms a little hiding place. Stood on end, the concrete tubes will hold 300lbs.
A slightly different arrangement: The bottom 10inch tubes placed in a "V" shape, with a 12inch tube laying between them. This time, the "S" shape is used to prevent the bottom tube from rolling. Laying them down like this, I can almost sit on it with my full weight of 200lbs. I crushed a concrete tube trying this, but the good news, is that even if you crush the concrete tube, you can push it back into shape. So, they will take quite a bit of damage from children I guess.
Side view of above, this configuration is 3ft high. I'd like to keep the inside of the tubes NOT carpeted, because they're easier to keep clean. It would be difficult to reach inside with vacuum attachments. More importantly, if there is an outbreak of fleas, you won't have to worry about them laying eggs in places you can't clean. One thing I did notice though. If the tubes are laid at an extreme angle, the cat's have difficulty running up the slope. So, at the very least I'll have to put a walkway of carpet down the center.
10inch tubes in "L" shape in corner of room. I thought about cutting these tubes at 45 degree angles and attaching them together. But, then their only use would be as a right angle. I admit, it doesn't look as cool. However, this is one of the sacrifices I'm willing to make for my convienience. The cats won't notice the difference. And, if this conjunction happens to be behind a chair, you'll never notice it isn't connected either. Ultimately, it doesn't matter if it's connected or not.
12in tube placed on top, teddy bear used for size of one cat (I couldn't get them to sit still).
Tubes directly on top of each other, aren't very stable, so the chair keeps everything against the wall.
Tubes fit inside each other for storage. A small 1ft tube could be used to join two longer sections together.
Side view.
Keep in mind, I'm not trying for great photography here, and these tubes are not complete glued and cut to exact sizes. I guess, they're "test tubes" just for demonstration purpose.
I tried at least 10 different layouts, and I realize I'll have to bevel the ends of the tubes inward, so that the end of one tube fits better when joined to the middle of another. Or, including an 8ft piece of rope might help to bind tubes together in some cases.
I thought about using a different color for the ends of each tube so it isn't so plain. That strange looking "S" curve, would be done in a second color too.
In Summary:
Nothing to really assemble, very light weight, easy to clean, low maintenance/repair, and most importantly the fun factor for humans and cats.
