Grab your drill bits and put on your best craft-time game face. With these 5 insanely easy DIY projects, you can make some pet home improvements that are pawsitively amazing!
“Fit for a Queen” Doggy (or Cat) Bed
Does your dog or cat prefer the finer things in life? Give them the royal treatment with this DIY four-poster doggy or kitty bed.
This is an end table turned upside-down, painted, and padded.
You can get as fancy or understated with the pet bed as you’d like.
For a more ornate look, screw in finials (like you use for curtain rods) at the top of each leg and glue a piece of crown molding cut to fit between two of the legs to form a headboard. You could also glue 4 smallish ball feet in each corner of the top of the table (once the paint dries, of course).
Cat Tent
“Privacy please!” Does your cat treasure his alone time? Give him space with his very own tent.
Instructions:
1. Gather your supplies:
- Medium t-shirt
- 15 x 15 inch piece of cardboard
- 2 wire hangers (if you don’t have wire ones, go to a dry cleaner or raid your parent’s closet)
- Tape
- Safety pins
- Something to cut the hangers and bend them, such as a large pair of pliers
2. Cut off the squiggly ends from both hangers.
3. Shape the hangers into a smile shape. Try to make them smooth and uniform. You want curves that will go from corner to corner of your piece of cardboard.
4. Poke a hole in each corner. (You can use the end of the hanger to do this.) The hole should be at least a half inch in from each edge and not too large.
5. Tape the two hangers together. Cross the two hangers in the middle and make sure all the ends touch the surface you’re working on. Tape them together really well so they don’t shift. Push the ends through the holes you made in the corners.
6. Bend the ends of the hangers and tape them down. You should have at least an inch on the bottom of each hanger so it sits against the bottom of the cardboard. Tape the ends down flat against the cardboard.
7. Make adjustments. Bend the wire so that it looks nice – use the pliers if you need to straighten it out a bit.
8. Create the tent: Pull the shirt over the tent frame and position it so the neck hole is in the front middle and the bottom of the shirt is trailing behind the tent frame.
Flip the whole thing up so the bottom is facing you and the hole is pointing upward.
Fold up the excess from the bottom of the shirt and tighten it up so the neck hole is taut and safety pin the bottom in place. Pull the sleeves tight and safety pin them in place too.
It should be pretty tight over the frame. Keep tucking and safety pinning until it’s ready! (Pinning makes it easy to remove and wash.)
Feline-Friendly Indoor Garden
Add some greenery to your indoor scenery with this munchable cat garden. Cats love these plants, and they’re so easy to grow and upkeep!
For best results, grow cat grasses from seeds. Oat, rye, barley, catnip, and wheat grass are excellent choices.
Choose a heavy, shallow container that your cats can’t knock over. Fill it about three quarters full with loose potting soil, using a spray bottle to dampen the soil as you add it. Place the container on a tray.
Sprinkle seeds evenly over the surface. Cover lightly with about a quarter inch of soil. Cover the container very loosely with plastic wrap. Keep at room temperature and away from direct sunlight. Make sure the soil doesn’t dry out.
Sprouts should appear in a few days. Remove the covering and move the pot to a sunny spot. Water the sprouts when the soil begins to feel dry to the touch. Don’t let excess water sit in the container.
Give to your cats when the grass is 3 to 4 inches tall.
When the grass wilts after a few weeks, pull out the shoots and plant more seeds.
Dog Ramp
For little dogs or pets with bothersome joints, this lightweight DIY dog ramp is just the ticket to get them in the truck, on the bed, or next to you on the couch. And it’s a fraction of the cost compared to purchasing one!
Go to your local hardware store and buy two 6-foot closet shelves and a 6’x 2’ piece of outdoor carpet.
Interlace and zip-tie the closet shelves to use as the ramp structure.
Put rubber end covers on the exposed wire rod ends. These slip-on covers will protect your flooring and fabrics.
Use an awl to poke holes in the carpet at about every fourth spacing in the wire itself and zip-tie the carpet to the ramp’s wire rods.
Once the ramp is completely wrapped, cut off all the zip-ties and roll their edges in a position so as to not cut yourself or your pet.
Colorful Scratching Post
Save your furniture from getting scratched with this color block scratching post. No drab grey! You dye the rope (nylon or sisal) different colors to match your home décor.
Attach a 4×4 wooden fence post (about 20” tall) to an 18” round wood circle (using a drill).
Paint everything in the color of your choice and let dry.
Add the rope to your base using a staple gun and continue winding it around while working your way to the top, blending two colors with matching electrical tape. (Make sure you wrap as tightly as you can, pushing down on the rows every so often.)
When you are finished winding your rope, add a post cap using epoxy glue and let your cat have at it!
Good luck and be sure to send us some pics of your finished products!
Pass It On!
Can you think of someone handy who also loves their pet? Be a friend and send them these fun ideas.
