Mary Allen
An ideal cat household has a climbing wall for cats on which the house tiger can really let off steam. The velvet paws love to climb, jump and move at dizzy heights. Here you will find tips for cat fun and learn how to build a climbing wall for cats yourself.
What a climbing wall looks like is up to your imagination and your preferences. Theoretically, there are countless variants of the equipment, from three simple boards attached to the wall to an extensive climbing landscape with a number of different building blocks. It is important that the elements of the wall are safe and suitable for cats.
Climbing Walls For Cats: That’s Why They’re So Important
Why is a climbing wall so important for cats? Well, the burrow is not essential for survival – nevertheless, the possibility for your velvet paw to venture into the vertical can be a decisive factor for its well-being. In principle, a climbing wall fulfills a similar purpose as the scratching post, which should be part of every cat’s equipment. The fur noses feel closest to their natural way of life when they can also climb indoors and relax on elevated lookout posts.
If you have the option, you should use them – the kitty will thank you for it, as it is a blessing for her to have an overview of the room from above, to be able to withdraw in peace, or just a little test their skills in jumping from platform to platform. An element is also often used for dozing or sleeping.
Ideas & Possibilities of Wall Construction
As already mentioned, there are countless possibilities. The simplest form of climbing wall for cats is a couple of boards that mount to the wall like a bookshelf. It is important that the individual platforms are fixed at different heights and distances the cat can reach and are equipped with non-slip surfaces. Note: Overlapping shelves should be at least 40 centimeters above the next shelf if an adult cat is to jump around there. For example, the bottom shelf – the entrance to the climbing wall, so to speak – can be attached at a height of 40 to 50 centimeters from the floor.
As far as the surface of the individual boards is concerned, you should ensure safety or firm hold. Sisal carpet is ideal, with which you cover the surface of each climbing wall element. Your kitty’s claws will find a secure hold and it’s also nice and cozy for the cat’s belly to lie on.
In general, you can use simple constructions with a few “shelf elements” to construct complex landscapes with differently shaped building blocks, caves screwed to the wall, balancing poles that connect two or more elements, cat stairs, and whatever else you can imagine. If it becomes particularly difficult, you should call in a craftsman – if you have manual expertise yourself, you can also build a climbing wall for cats yourself.
Build a Climbing Wall For Cats Yourself: An Example
For this simple example of a cat climbing wall, you will need four small boards (e.g. free-floating square shelves with wood veneer), a few pieces of sisal carpet, screws and dowels depending on the type of wall, small round-head nails, and the tools pencil, drill, cordless screwdriver, hammer, Carpet knife, spirit level, and folding rule. And here we go:
1. Sketch the wall to scale with a pencil and mark the places where the individual boards are to be mounted (height distances for an adult, healthy kitty, preferably 40 to 50 centimeters).
2. Cut the sisal carpet to the size of the boards with the box cutter and nail the pieces of carpet to the surfaces (make sure that no pieces of the nail protrude – the risk of injury!).
3. Mount the boards according to the principle of a shelf wall at the sketched points with dowels and screws. The spirit level will help you to assemble everything straight.
4. Finally, check whether all the wall elements are mounted securely and securely – even if your cat is not that heavy, the climbing wall must still be able to absorb the force of its jump. Sharp corners or edges should be sanded or taped.