Tuesday, April 18, 2006

The Ghetto-Fabulous Cat Tree

Well, this blog is about innovations, so today I have a new one for you. What do you do with two boxes and one hyperactive kitty? You put the first two together and let the third climb in!

I cut a hole between the two boxes so Friday could climb between the two, and hung a string with a jingle ball on the end for him to play with.


Tada! A ghetto-fabulous cat tree! Who needs a hundred bucks? Just raid your trash can! And I've got one kitty that's happy from head to toe....



And if Friday ever decides he's going in and not coming out (if the cat carrier comes out to go to the vet, for example), we simply cut the tape on the box and pull him out! Then tape it back up again! This might be a little more complicated if I ever decided to paint it, but the idea would still work.

The jingle ball on the string was Jon's idea. We looked everywhere for Friday's jingle balls. He should have about 12 laying around the house, and we couldn't find any anywhere! I finally remembered that there was one behind the fridge that Friday tries to get at every once in awhile. Jon pulled the fridge back, and there was not one, but seven jingle balls! Friday thought it was Christmas all over again!

Possible improvements in the future:
  • Paint it
  • Add nubby fabric to one side for Friday to scratch
  • Suspend a string on the outside of the box
  • Put a carpet sample at the top entrance for Friday to scratch

So many possibilities....and to think: you, too, can own such an invention, for the low low price of a dumpster dive!

11 comments:

  1. Love the pictures! Fabulous concept and so creative, no, innovative! Necessity truly IS the mother of invention!
    Love,
    Momma

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  2. Of course, we did the same thing for you and John when you were toddlers....a few boxes stacked together with holes cut here and there (thanks to Daddy) and you two were happy campers! :)

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  3. You're an absolute nut! You need to get Friday a little "bling bling" to go with his ghetto house! Or how about a "grill" for his teeth...well, maybe that would make his biting hurt more.

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  4. Yea! I love Friday! He doesn't know how good he's got it. I think adding fabric to one of the sides would be a good addition.

    You could instead of painting it, make a collage with birds and animals and kitty treats from magazines and cover it! Make it an original "Lydia!"

    Happy inventing...next will be salsa!!

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  5. awe...what a happy little kitty. You two are such good parents!

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  6. That's awesome! Buddy would love it! Cliff wanted to make one, with carpet and everything. Buying one would be so much easier, but gosh they cost so much. Yours looks very fun :)

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  7. Ghetto kitty! He's no thug! He's too cute.

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  8. And he's too much of a pansy! I love him to death, and he thinks he's so tough, but he jumps at anything! He'd never make it as a thug.

    He does love his cat tree, though. It's more like a fort. He plays in it a lot. I've decided to put some of the same fabric we used to cover our chair on the side of the box. He really likes that chair, and wants to scratch on it, so he'll be glad to be able to scratch on this one!

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  9. I saw the ghetto tree this weekend. It looks bigger in the pictures, but you know, kitties always like tight spaces. It's amazing how they'll cram themselves into tiny spots and consider it comfy cozy. I think cats have a security complex. That's why they like boxes. They provide security. Wow - Friday is so big! And he's such a pretty kitty, who knew our scraggly little red-eyed, big-eared kitten would turn into such a stud!? Well, I guess sweet Lydia knew all along.

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  10. Lydia, I haven't told you yet, this is very innovative, very fabulous!

    I asked Mike for a cat for my birthday - our apartment is so small, we're not sure if we'll have room for the litter box, etc., but he said we could get one. I love kitties!

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  11. Rachel:
    A cat is perfect for small apartments! We wondered where we'd fit Friday's litter box, and it's now in a closet in the back room. We have to keep the closet door open, but it was really the best option. Someday the litter box will have a place of honor in a utility room or something (oh! to have a utility room!).

    I'm excited for the addition to your family on your birthday! You'll have to post lots of pictures!

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