Tag: tree

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Friday Fun: Cat Rescued After 4 Days In A Tree

When Anthony Flannery learned of a cat that had been stuck in a tree at least 4 days during flooding and severe weather, he immediately went to rescue her.  This meant climbing a crazy tall, spindly tree and sawing the trunk she was on to rescue her.  Keena is a very lucky cat whom he’s been taking care of ever since, though she does need to be adopted.

Anthony is one of those people who gives me hope for the world.  Not only does he go to great lengths to save this kitty, he also has a world view I really admire.  He’s a man of faith, but doesn’t believe anyone should push their beliefs on someone else, he believes there’s answers to the world’s problems in technology and in working together, and that if we changed our spending priorities, we’d have a better world.  He also actively supports animal rescue groups in his community, including building a cat house for one.  AND he’s a musician—the music playing during the video is his own song, which you can download.  What a nice guy!

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DIY: Cat Towers From Ikea’s Stolmen

One of the things I’m not crazy about with most cat stands is how big & clunky they are–they can take up a lot of space.  That’s why I’m liking these Ikea hacks you can make yourself with 2 Stolmen poles and shelves.  And if you want something sleeker, you can buy nifty shelves specifically for making a cat tower using just one Stolmen pole.  Not only do these cat towers look less massive than traditional cat stands, they have a very small footprint, and even cooler—you can change them around to keep your kitties intrigued.

This first DIY project is pretty straightforward and uses just Stolmen parts. See how the shelves are stair-stepped so the cats will have an easy time climbing up.

 

 

 

 

The second DIY project is a little more involved–but super easy– and includes a great scratching post. The original plans are in Finnish, but here’s a translation of the plans to give you some more information on how they made their tower.

 

 

 

 

The Hollywood Franklin Tower from designer Peter Sehorsch is a more streamlined version that uses only one Ikea Stolmen pole.  They make 2 different sized shelves, come in different color stains, and are covered in carpet from Flor.  Their site is Flash intensive and irksome, but their design is worth looking at.  If the Flash bugs you, check out the pdf to see the niftiness.

 

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DIY: Cat Tower That Wraps A Corner

This Mighty Cat Tower is unusual in that it wraps around a corner with an unusual footprint to make it less obtrusive.  What a great idea!  You probably should anchor it to the wall, but if the base is heavy enough maybe it wouldn’t need it.

The post is short on instructions, but has a good list of materials.  And there’s a video to teach your kitties how to make the most of their cat tower.  Check out previous posts on building:

Important Note: the author of on of the Cat Tree tutorial recommends using 3/8″ Brazilian sisal rope because it’s stronger, but more importantly because it’s less heavily oiled than other sisal rope.

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DIY: Monster Cat Tree

Check out these great instructions for a beefy cat scratching post/cat tree. It’s a no-frills, utilitarian design, but it looks easy to build and that it will last forever. You can make it fancier by painting the shelf supports and by the color carpet you use to cover the shelves. And if you don’t cover the center post in sisal, you could paint it too.

You will need a drill, a saw, and a good staple gun (I recommend an electric one to make sure you get the staples sunk deep.) And be sure to stagger the shelves and make them large enough that your cat can actually climb the tree.

Don’t miss these previous posts on a DIY cat tree and a DIY scratching post.

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