DYI Cat Cave Tutorial

Sometimes people think that a lot of money, and time, needs to be spent in order to enrich their cats environment. Well, that is not the case at all! There are so many hacks out there in the world-wide-web that can be easy, and cheap, do-it-yourself projects. This is a project that I first saw on Cole & Marmalade Youtube channel. If you have never watched their antics, you can find them at:

https://www.youtube.com/user/chrispoole20t

This super easy tutorial shows how to make a cat-cave, with items that are  not only very inexpensive but also forgotten around our homes. This project is very simple, only a few items are needed to complete it:

• 1 cardboard box
• 1 old T-shirt (must be of the same size as the box of your choosing)
• 1 old towel (or blanket)
• Some duct tape
• 1 safety pin

I begun by securing the flaps of the box with duct tape (to make a deeper base for the cave). This step may not be necessary if your box fits your t-shirt without pulling the flaps out. You can maybe fold the flaps inward (for additional support) or alternatively cut the flaps off all together.

Then I added a towel to the bottom of the box. I folded it to fit to size. You could technically do this post-assembly. But I find that it is easiest to do it at this stage, despite having to re-adjust it by the end.

Then I slid the box into the T-shirt, with the neck opening lined with the box opening...

I pulled the shirt all the way through and adjusted it to center the neck opening to the box opening.

I then stood the box on it's opening, and started working on folding the hem of the shirt as if it were a gift package that I was wrapping. I believe this is called box pleat, maybe?

Bottom up...

Top folded down...

Smokey Bones supervising my efforts...

Side nicely folded in a triangular shape...

Fold triangle over to meet the hem of the shirt.

At this point I just tried to make it as neat as possible. Holding it in place, I tacked it down with the safety pin making sure to gather fabric from all layers to secure in place.

I then placed the cave on it's side and started to work on tucking in the sleeves. This was hard to do while documenting it at the same time. What you don't see is that, to make the sleeve all nice and taught, I used both hands and tugged (in opposite directions) flattening the fabric very neatly.

This is the final result, with the sleeves neatly tucked in, there is no need for safety pins on the sides.

This is the print on my tee BTW, just in case you were wondering what it was. And, yes! I love this Estes Park tee. When I found it at ARC I knew it would come handy one day. I think it's hilarious!

This is what happened the VERY minute I put the cat-cave down on the floor. Yup, it clearly has the cats 'seal of approval'. Smokey Bones loves it and uses it very often!

I hope this inspires you to make your very own cat-cave and other DYI's for your kitty cats. 

Happy crafting = ^ .. ^ =