Cats are one of the few pets that are very personable. You can eat with them, you can play with them, and you can even sleep with them. They also love to spend most of their time with their owners.
But despite this lovable bond, everybody needs their own space and so do your cat. What could be the best way to show your love to your cat than building your cat a home yourself. So, if you are feeling creative, then get your gloves on. We are going to make a DIY cat cage that you can keep in your backyard.
1. Planning
Good planning will do the rest of the work organized and less-stressful and let you enjoy the process. So, begin by deciding the size, how much area you have to capacitate the cage.
After finalizing the size, its time for shopping, and the list includes:
- 12-10 foot, schedule-40 1/2″ PVC
- Exactly 8 3-way fittings (In most of the stores, you can find 3-direction tapped)
- Precisely 24-T fittings
- 36″X50′ plastic poultry netting
- Between 100-150 Zip Ties
- A pipe cutter
- A marker
- Tape measure
All this would not cost more than $10. So, this cat cage will be super cheap compared to the one readily available at any offline or online pet store.
2. Its time to make the frame
After the draft is ready, it is time to give shape to the DIY cage. It would help if you started by cutting PVC. While cutting the PVC, make sure that you get a straight cut. But if accidentally you cut it unevenly, then you can shape it with the help of sandpaper.
NOTE: To get the most accurate length of the pipe, you should measure from the center of the pipe. The best way is to place the fittings and measure your cut’s size, starting from the pipe center. You want to cut the fittings in size:
- 6’11.5″ (4 pieces)
- 2’11.5″ (4 pieces)
- 5’11.5″ (4 pieces)
3. Now we need some support and platforms
You need to take all the parts and begin cutting the longitudinal PVC parts and join the end part with t-fittings to support the platform. In the third vacancy of the t-fitting, you have to insert a vertical PVC pipe and then attach it with the below fitting parts.
For making the support more rigid and supportive, do the same with the vertical PVSs, make the cut, joint-fittings, and join the two sides.
4. Installation of the frame and adding the net
Till now, we have just made the platform and connected the PVC, now is the time to take all of this together. You should now start connecting all the pieces. And the final frame of the cage would look like the one below:
After the frame is ready, it’s time to add the netting. You need to cut 6 rectangular netting pieces for covering each side of the frame. You are free to choose what you see fit, and it can be plastic waterproof netting or metal one.
After placing the net, you have to fix the zip ties to fasten the structure’s rectangular net pieces. Use about 5-10 on every side to make the net inseparable from the cage.
Now when the entire cage is ready, it’s time to make an entry and exit point for your cat; it time to get the gate. Go to the side you desire the gate to be and make a vertical cut on the netting on the side in case of the plastic netting. But if you have used metal netting, you can make a door that can easily be opened and closed.
The cage is ready!
Pat yourself on the back because the DIY cage is ready to home your cats. Here your cats can rest and play. To customize the cage, you can add your cat’s favorite toys, or you can get creative by adding slides or other DIY games for your cat!
