Who Rebuilds Cat Towers?

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Recently my daughter asked me to rebuild her cat tower that had been totally abused by my grand kitten's Pebbles and Peaches over a two (2) year period.

  • I asked why the cat tower artist who had built it would not rebuild it and she told me he had retired. We quickly learned why.

My answer was sure and the agreement was that she was going to help and would purchase the materials. I would provide the tools and farmer carpentry skills.

We started tearing apart the cat tower and were amazed by the number of staples holding the carpet on the tower. There were not hundreds of staples as expected but it seemed like thousands.

  • Having cut the carpet, we started stapling it using a heavy duty staple gun. We were about 50% complete when it became apparent that the staple gun was only driving the staples halfway into the wood.
  • My daughter (Ali) ripped off the carpet a second time while I took a quick 60-minute drive into town to purchase an electric staple gun.
  • We now had four (4) hours invested in the project and had backed up a step. No problem right, we will make up time since the staple gun is electric.
  • The electric staple gun was firing the staples into the wood and after fifteen (15) minutes of work, we had the base completed. We started on one of the posts and the staple gun broke.
  • In an attempt to reduce project costs, I had purchased a lower cost staple gun so made the drive again and exchanged and purchased a better quality gun.
  • We have seven (7) hours invested and it was dusk so we called it quits until the next morning.

The next morning we continued our four (4) hour project and after five (5) hours of cutting carpet and stapling, we delivered the cat tower to Ali's girls.

Completed Cat Tower

Pebbles and Peaches were ecstatic since they had been without the tower for nearly two (2) days so I felt like a good grandpa.

They had known this tower ever since Ali brought them home from Care Rescue so I could relate.

Peaches Checking Out The Job

Pebbles Performing QA On Job

This project has much in common with WA. Some similarities include:
  • Perform research before you start
  • Use the right tools and don't be cheap
  • Make certain the right materials are available
  • Be willing to start over
  • Don't underestimate the time required
  • Plan for the unexpected

I believe we understand why people buy new instead of rebuilding old cat towers but girls reaction was priceless. This project was not as bad as wallpapering but comparable.

  • What project challenges have you experienced that could be added to this list?
  • Do you know of anyone that rebuild cat towers for future reference?

Wishing you health, safety, and success. You can rebuild cat towers when you are fifty plus going on fifteen.

Jay Patterson

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Recent Comments

46

This is great Jay. We have a huge cat tree my husband put together (it comes in a box from Amazon). It has 3 perches, 2 boxes, and 10 yes 10 scratching posts. It also has 2 ladders they don't use and 2 dangely mouse toys. My husband called it the CatMaHall. We like it so much I review it on my website.

The carpet was already attached though!

You are a great kitty grandpa to rebuild it!

Jessica, Nice tower!! The girls have a second one similar to your CatMaHall that we purchased from Amazon also but they like the one I recarpeted better. Go figure. Jay

Cats are great masters, I couldn't live without.
Our cat Tower needs reparation too. Good idea for Christmas !

Anne, I have a used staple gun to assist, They are great masters are they not. Jay

What a giggle Jay, so much work involved, but look at it, well built and everyone is happy.
I've had a try at staple guns & I've found them worthless. Electric though could be better, but the cost for one job....no for me, buy a new cat platform, cheaper.
Good one you all.
Cheers, Jae

Jae, it would have been cheaper and less painful but my little girl of 28 and my grand kittens of 3 wanted it. How could I say no?

Thanks, Jay

All of the above, yes!

If I had to add to your list, it would be with extra layers of permissions and paperwork for a research project. I knew what they were, but there are timings and deadlines and microsteps in these processes I’m not yet 100% familiar with.

If I could act compulsively on every good idea I had, whenever I had it, I’d just be smashing through. But I have to agree to abide by the proper processes laid down before I arrived. I have to wait for paperwork; get advice on ethics committees.

It’s all very new and there are no easy flow charts to follow. I really don’t want to get things wrong early on and return to the shop, that’s for sure! No cheap staple gun decisions.

BTW - Your family cats are so spoiled. :)

Ivy,

Oh yes, extra layers of permissions, permits, official and unofficial fees... cross the T and dot the I. I come from the world of Navy bureaucracy so understand the pain and some was warranted so was not.

It has taken me time to move from black and white to shades of grey but I believe this happens as you get older or perhaps it is the punching bag effect.

The girls are spoiled as they should be.

I hope you are doing well. Jay

It looks like an MDR will not be needed or submitted. (Materiel Deficiency Report).

John, just PPP on my part. P### Poor Planning. Jay

Good that you have compartments. They love to go in boxes!

Mike, oh yes.... that they do. Jay

What a wonderful story of determination, bonding, reward, and success. The fruits of this project are sweet for the eating. It's a joy to see the little tigers enjoying your hard work. They deserve it.

All the best!
David

David, Funny how that works. Appreciation for the smallest of accomplishments. I did get my daughters spare laser light in payment because Roxy our dog loves to chase it. Jay

Hmmm yeah this is a good one. That's probably why I never bothered spending time on building my own tower or fixing the old ones. Instead I always buy a brand new one from the various pet stores.
The most recent one I bought has bare wood (proper wood) and the cushions can be taken off to be washed. Saves a bunch of trouble with carpet. Still there is the sisal rope that can get damaged and needs replacing, but I believe one can buy new poles in that case. If not there is always the solution to redo the sisal rope yourself.
Great fun that one too.

Awesome job however and what an amount of patience in that one. The end result is what really mattered most I guess, although it is also rewarding to know you have accomplished something like that!

Steven

Steven, Thanks, my daughter told me I needed to bond more with the Grand Kittens. Not sure how that worked since I was in the garage and they were in the house. Have a great day. Jay

GrandPa Jay you and your daughter did a fine job. There is no such thing as a simple task if it’s to be done right. The kitties are worth it.
Trevor

Trevor, Thanks... it was better than wallpapering which almost cost my bride and my marriage during year 1. Take care. Jay

Loved your post Jay as I'm a mad cat lady but can sooo relate. We've re-worked and re-covered various cat towers over the years as we thought it would be cheaper in the long run but you have to find the time to do it too!

We've had sore fingers and thumbs (and the air may have turned blue by my partner on the odd occasion) but at the end of the task, kitties are happy and that's all that matters.

This can definitely relate to WA or anything else for that matter - do it to the best of your ability but never give up on learning from your mistakes and always keep the end goal in mind :)

Louise, so true by all accounts. Hard to believe they can get so attached to a cat tower or tree. Do your best at all and learn. Thanks, Jay

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