24 DIY Cardboard Cat House Plans You Can Build Today (With Pictures)
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Every cat needs a special place to hide, lounge, and plan its next adventure. As long as the place they’re settling in is warm and comfortable, cats will nestle wherever they choose. The market is flooded with premium cat houses: cat towers and cat condos with fancy features such as igloo beds, scratching posts, and hammocks. We humans, however, have learned that what cats most often prefer is a simple tipped-over cardboard box with a fluffy blanket inside. Luckily, it’s pretty straightforward to build an epic cardboard cat house from scratch.
The cardboard cat house is a simple project, but there are so many ways to make one. In this article, we will examine some of the most innovative and creative plans out there. These plans range from complex to extremely straightforward. Whatever you’re looking for, we’ve got a plan for you.
Top 24 DIY Cardboard Cat House Plans
1. Martha Stewart Cat Playhouse
This easy cardboard cat house has a sweet, simple feel. Using just three cardboard boxes and with downloadable and printable templates, you can construct your cat’s very own home in just a few easy steps. This is a free plan, and you only need basic supplies to make a cardboard castle for your cat. It can climb, crawl, and hide in a corner of your house whenever it wants. As with all Martha Stewart projects, this has great step-by-step instructions.
2. Pretty Cat Cottage
Create a cardboard cat house that is tailored to your cat’s unique personality. With simple decorations, you can style a home that will reflect their individual qualities and give them their very own special, private space. This is a free plan and a simple but effective project. Whether you choose this instructable or not, take inspiration from the amazing customization and personalization featured in this project.
3. Funky Modernist Cat Bungalow
You can tell a cool cat lives here. With some cardboard boxes and some creativity, you can make your cats a mid-century retreat. This is a free project, and the possibilities are endless with this DIY. You can customize the shape and size endlessly, depending on what boxes you have available, and even make a structure suitable for multiple cats.
4. Vintage Kitty Camper
Ah, the open road! If your cat is a free-spirited adventurer, this free project is purr-fect. Put the “camp” in camper—create a vintage camper from some large cardboard boxes, piece them together with painter’s tape, and then decorate as kitschy as your kitten can stand.
5. Conical Cat House
Let’s face it, sometimes our moggies have got us running in circles anyway, so you may as well spend a day fabricating this circular palace. If your cat likes the snuggest spaces, then this conical cat house is the right project. There’s lots of precision hand-cutting involved, but the unique end product is well worth the hours of effort. This is a free plan.
6. Multi-Level Mansion
With stairs, a balcony, and little holes for sensory play, this multi-level cardboard mansion has so many cool features. The instruction video is perfectly paced and it’s so easy to follow along and pause when necessary. Your cat will love the interactivity of this charming project and the plan for this project is free.
7. Creative Cat Castle
Despite its lack of specific guidelines, this project produces an excellent final product. Following along with this video will result in a highly interactive and exciting cardboard cat house if you can do without detailed written instructions or audio descriptions. This may be a case of getting what you paid for, as this plan is also free.
8. The World’s Greatest Cat Fort
This epic cat fort is the happy result of lockdown boredom. Made from things found lying around the creator’s house, this is mostly assembled from cardboard, but also includes some wood offcuts, an old shoe rack, and some bits and pieces leftover from other projects. We think you’ll agree that the end result is just amazing. This is also a freely available plan.
9. Cute & Cozy Cat House
You only need a few cardboard boxes, glue, a box knife, and a few markers to build this cute and cozy cat house. You can adjust the size to suit your taste, and it’s infinitely customizable. This free plan provides you with detailed step-by-step instructions that are easily followed, and it should only take you a few hours to make something your cat will love.
10. Adorable Cat House
There is something irresistible about empty boxes for cats. However, for us humans, a stack of boxes is a depressing pile of junk. Transform them into a chic cat house that you can proudly display in your home. This pretty cat house has been adorably decorated, and this is another free plan.
11. DIY Kitty Castle
This free design is simple but effective—take some old boxes and create something magical for your prince or princess. This project is finished in black, white, and gold, but the only limit to this design is your imagination.
12. Chewy Box Castle
Your cat will feel like royalty in this cardboard palace. Use this free plan to show off your crafting skills, display your love for your furry friend, and transform an ordinary Chewy box into something spectacular.
13. DIY Cardboard Cat Fort
Why make your cat a small house when you can build a fort? This is also great if you have more than one cat since they can share the cardboard house and have loads of fun. All you need is a bunch of old boxes, which you can easily find if you don’t have any of your own. You can position the boxes as you wish, like a game of Tetris, and add small interlinking doorways between each of them. Leave them plain, or add a coat of paint to personalize them.
14. DIY Cat TV House
This idea is a little out of the box, so to speak, but it is fun and unique, and your cat will love it. This video tutorial shows you how to make a cardboard cat house that looks like a television. Your cat playing in this box TV house will likely become your favorite show! It’s easy to follow and includes downloadable instructions in the description.
15. Modern DIY Cardboard Cat House
You can repurpose old boxes to make this simple but chic, modern cardboard cat house. It is an easy project that won’t take up your weekend, so there will be time for you and your kitty to relax. You can add your cat’s favorite blanket and battery-operated lights to get the vibe right, and your cat will never leave.
16. Cute and Cosy DIY Cardboard Cat House
The finished product of this design looks like a residential house for your cat and it’s adorable! It is made from a single large box and personalized with final touches such as a roof and windows that make it resemble a house just for your kitty.
17. DIY Cardboard Cat Igloo
Why choose a house when you can build your cat an epic igloo? It includes plenty of right angles and hexagonal surfaces and looks futuristic. The igloo design consists of a short tunnel as the entrance into a bigger, enclosed area that your cat will love. The plan requires knowledge of geometry, but it’s not too difficult.
18. DIY Geodesic Dome
Geodesic shapes utilize geometry on curved surfaces, which creates this angular dome of symmetrical shapes using cardboard to build your cat the most creative and calculated cat house. This one is for those looking for a little challenge, and you can easily use the principles of the tutorial to scale the size up or down. If you want a simple cat house, it’s best to use one of the other plans, like the one below.
19. DIY Charming Cardboard Cat House
Have fun creating this simple cardboard cat house using one box and a little bit of creativity. You can decorate the outside as you please and add accessories your cat will love. You can have this project completed in under an hour and don’t need any specialized tools or equipment.
20. DIY Cardboard Cat Mansion
Modernize a simple single-story house by building your cat an amazing cardboard cat mansion with this easy-to-follow tutorial. It may look more involved than it is, but you can have it done in just an hour. All you need is two boxes that you’ll glue together and paint.
21. DIY Two-Tier Cardboard Cat House
This two-tier cardboard cat house design may look like one for an architect, but the video tutorial shows you how to construct it step by step so that anyone with a bit of patience can complete it. This is definitely a weekend project, but you will love the process of building it, and your cat will love the results!
22. DIY Cardboard Cat Villa
This cardboard cat house has it all! It includes a chimney and its very own courtyard with elegant fencing. If you want your cat to have the best of the best and are willing to put in the time, this plan is the one for you. However, in case you were wondering, the chimney is not attached to a working fireplace, and your kitty will be warmer and safer with a blanket.
23. DIY Festive Gingerbread Cardboard Cat House
This one is for the eccentric cat and artistic cat parent. The gingerbread-inspired cardboard house is fairly simple to construct, but it’s the decorating where all the fun is! You can follow the design for inspiration but come up with your own color combinations and patterns for a more personalized look that you prefer. This tutorial is easy to follow and very detailed, so you don’t miss any steps or measurements.
24. DIY Epic Cardboard Cat Castle
If you are going to build your cat a cardboard house, you may as well go for it and make it an epic project like this cardboard cat castle. This design comes with all the elements that make it royal, like a drawbridge, twin towers, fortress walls, and a courtyard! You will have loads of fun putting this castle together, and your cat will feel like the king or queen it is. Just put aside some extra time and creative energy for this one since it’s incredibly detailed.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed learning about the many ways to create a cat house and plan to recreate one of your very own! Or, unleash your creativity and problem-solving skills by crafting a whole new idea up. Either way, your cat would be overjoyed with a new house to roam in.
- Related Read: DIY Cat Tent Plans (with Pictures)
Featured Image Credit: Pixabay
