[Video] #10 – How to Make A DIY Christmas Tree Cat House

It's December, the month of celebration! It's not long before the Christmas Eve and all of us can feel it in the air. The shopping for gifts, cakes, food, Christmas trees, having the entire family together, and a whole lot of fun; oh, we have been waiting for this time of the year for so long! But, how about the little feline member of your family?

Won't you love to gift them something really amazing?

Christmas Tree Cat House by Dreamstime

Well, here is a great DIY project - A Christmas Tree Cat House that will make your cats extremely happy and is the best gift that you can give them this Christmas.

Let us check how you can make a Christmas tree house for your cat. Those who have cats must have noticed how they have an uncanny ability to topple the Christmas tree at your place! Now you can give them their own tree house to play with; and this one will not even topple over. Let's check out the steps and what you will need to make this one.

Requirements for making a Christmas tree cat house

• Brown cardboard boxes (1 large, 2 medium, 1 small)
• Glue
• Pencil
• Box cutter
• Scissors
• Color markers
• Brown cardboard piece

How to make a DIY Christmas tree cat house?

Step 1 - Start by taking three boxes - small, medium and large.

Now use glue to stick together the flap covers on the bottom of each box so that the bottom cannot open.

Once the bottoms are closed, use a box cutter to cut the four edges of the box from top to bottom such that the sides of the box comes undone and lay flat.

Step 2 - Mark and cut the box.

Next, use a pencil to mar a diagonal line followed by a straight line. The diagonal lines will begin from the corners of the bottom of the box and go inwards up to the edge where the side of the box meets the top flap. Then the straight vertical line will begin from the point where the diagonal line ends and go up to the outer edge of the flap. You can watch the video to get a better idea about the line.

Cut the edge between the top flap and the side of the box starting from the outward point and moving in up to the point where the diagonal line and the horizontal line meets. This needs to be done for each side of the box.

Now create a crease and bend the side of the box inwards along the diagonal line. Make a crease along the vertical straight line as well and bend the flap inwards. Once done, use glue to stick the adjacent bent diagonal parts together such that you get a shape similar to a pyramid with a flat top. Also, glue the horizontal bent flaps and stick the top flaps together to create a closed flat top.

Step 3 - Repeat the above steps for the rest of the two boxes as well.

Stack the medium size box over the large box and carefully mark the position using a pencil. Use scale to mark the position carefully and mark a square on the top of the large box and on the bottom of the medium box such that the squares are positioned at the same point.

Use a box cutter to cut the squares that will become a passage for your cat to pass from the larger box to the medium size box. Once cut, glue the two boxes together such that the cut openings match each other and becomes a passage between the two boxes. Now stick the smallest box on the top of the middle one.

Step 4 - Make the tree

Finally, use a cardboard to make the top part of the tree. For making the top part, fold a small cardboard into half and starting from the outer edge of the open side cut it diagonally moving inwards towards the folded edge. Do this for both the sides such that you get a trapezium shape with the smaller of the parallel edges being the folded edge. Make a crease along the non-folded parallel edges and bent them inwards such that the bent part can be glued to the top side of the smallest box acting as the base for the top.

You have the basic structure of the tree ready. Now it is time to get creative!

Use marker to draw tree along the body of the stack of the boxes. Create various images of gifts and other stuff attached to the tree to make it look attractive. Make a ball on the large and the medium size boxes each. The balls should be sufficiently large for a cat to fit through. Once done, use the box cutter to cut the balls on the sides of the boxes. These will allow your cats to get in and out of the Christmas tree cat house from the sides as well.

Step 5 - Building the trunk or the base of the tree and finish.

It is time to start building the trunk or the base of the tree. For that purpose take the remaining medium sized box and use glue to close all the sides of the box.

Now start painting the trunk of the tree on the side of the box such that the trunk looks erect when the box is placed horizontally below the stack of the three boxes which is now the upper part of the tree. Here is a small tip. Do not place the base box vertically as it will make the tree less balanced and when your cats get in and out, the tree house can topple and fall. Keep a place for a door on the trunk of the tree. Use box cutter to cut the doorway into the base box in the trunk of the Christmas tree.

After the base is made, create a hole on the top side of the base box. Mow place the box at the bottom of the stack of boxes and mark where the hole on the top of the base box touches the bottom side of the large box. You will also have to mark the position of the base box or trunk while marking the position of the hole.

After that, cut a hole at the bottom of the large box so that when the trunk is attached to the bottom of the large box, the hole on top of the base matches the hole at the bottom of the large box. Not, use glue to stick the trunk to the tree. Finally, use another cardboard piece to create a star and stick it with glue to the small top part of the tree.

Your Christmas tree cat house is ready and now it's time for your cats to test your craftsmanship. Set it at a place where your cats love to play. They will enjoy the path that begins from the passage door placed in the trunk and then moving up through the boxes and also coming out or going in through the holes on the sides of the tree. And, here's the perfect gift for your beloved feline friend!

If you want to know more about what you can get for your cats at home, do check out the best gifts that you can buy for your pets during Christmas.

Wish everyone a Merry Christmas!