DIY Cat Tree House

Here's a great way to make a cool scratching post/tree house/hangout spot for your cat without making your home look like you've become a cat lady.

Materials I used:

-old side table that was ready to be thrown out
-potted fake tree that had seen better days
-burlap
-sisal rope
-drill and 1" drill bit
-piece of scrap wood
-hot glue gun

Here's how I did it:
I wanted to use only items I already had. So, I found an old side table that was stuck in the corner of an upstairs playroom. It wasn't being used much and was pretty ugly. Perfect.
I drilled two large holes in the top. The largest drill bit I had was 1" - and not big enough, so I ended up drilling several one inch holes right next to eachother to make two large flower shaped holes (see photo).

Then I stapled some burlap over the top of the table and cut slits where the holes were. You could also use a carpet scrap for this - but I only had burlap on hand, so that's what I used.

I poked the tree branches right through the burlap & table holes and straight down through the bottom wicker shelf of the table.

I added a little seat for my cat within the branches. This step isn't necessary - especially if your cat is a natural climber. It could also be done much differently than the way I did it. I used a scrap piece of wood - probably around 18" long and 8" wide. I notched the both sides to match the width of the inside of the two branches and wedged the wood between them. I used hot glue to secure the wood to the branches and it seems nice and sturdy.

I wrapped sisal rope around one of the bottom tree branches for scratching and the project was finished. It seriously took just a little over an hour - start to finish.

My cat absolutely loves it. When I showed it to her, she immediately started scratching on the burlap and then climbed up into the tree and started batting the branches. 

This was so much easier than I thought it would be and turned out so much better looking than I had expected.

As it sits in the corner - you can't really tell that it's a cat tree unless you know what you're looking for. It mostly just looks like part of the house decor. No cat ladies here!