TOP-7 rating of the best tunnels (tunnels) for cats

How to make a house for a cat with your own hands? - Very simple! If you have the bare minimum skills in handling tools and the desire to make a cat house with your own hands, then everything will definitely work out. Making a scratching post for cats with your own hands is quite simple. And such houses for cats will cost much less than ready-made ones. In order to make a cat house with your own hands, we will need:

boards/chipboards, etc. (it is advisable to use natural material);
pipes (cardboard/plastic or something else);
sisal rope (you can use jute, but it will fray faster and require replacement);
fur (it is better to take a denser texture so that fibers do not fall out during use);
corners;
furniture stapler.

When making complexes for cats with your own hands, give preference to natural, environmentally friendly materials.
Houses for kittens (complexes for cats) made of artificial materials smell bad for our pets, and they are also toxic. I don’t have a lot of space in my apartment, so I chose a free corner - this is the best option: it doesn’t take up space and doesn’t interfere with walking, and it increases the cats’ play space. So, how to make a house for a cat with your own hands ?

STEP BY STEP WE MAKE A HOUSE FOR A CAT WITH PHOTO:

Step 1. Take boards/chipboards, etc. Cut to size.

Step 2. Attach the corners.

Step 3. Take fur and a furniture stapler and sheathe our future shelves. You can put 1-2 layers of synthetic padding under the fur (optional).

This results in a shelf like this:

Step 4. We hang the finished shelf on the corners. We do the same with the rest of the shelves as planned.

Step 5. Take pipes that can be inserted between the shelves or, as in my case, on the side as an additional scratching post and exercise machine for cats. It is necessary to think in advance about the design of attaching the pipe to the shelves or to the wall. The thicker the pipes, the more rope you will need, so if you want to save money, take pipes with a diameter of 5-7 cm.

Step 6. If you attach the pipe to the floor (as I did), you can make a small platform under the pipe, so it will be more stable and will look more aesthetically pleasing. We attach the corners to the pipe and fasten them to the platform. I also put a piece of linoleum on top.

Step 7. Wrap the pipe with sisal rope.

HOW TO CALCULATE HOW MUCH ROPE YOU NEED FOR A CLATCHING POINT?

Now we remember school mathematics and count the amount of rope depending on the length of the pipe. Let's calculate using my example:

We measure: Pipe diameter 10 cm.
We multiply: pipe diameter x pi number - i.e. it turns out 10 x 3.14 = 31.4 cm - this is the length of the rope that will be needed for one circle. Taking into account the thickness of the rope, it turns out a little more (for me it was about 38 cm per 1 turn).
We calculate: The thickness of my sisal rope is 8 mm. It turns out that for about 10 cm of the length of the pipe - 10 circles of rope, since there are small gaps between the circles of rope (here it all depends on the thickness of the rope you take), i.e. 10 x 38 = 380 cm (3.8 m of rope per 10 cm of pipe length).
Let's calculate: The length of my pipe is 2.3 m. If we assume that there is 1 circle per 1 cm of pipe length, we get 2.3 m per pipe = 230 circles (if the rope is 6 mm thick, there will be more circles): 38 cm (length of rope for 1 lap) x 230 laps (number of laps of pipe) = 8740 cm = 87.4 m of rope for my entire pipe. It took me about that much sisal rope.

It is better to take a rope with a small reserve!

So, wrap the pipe with rope:

I wrapped the end of the rope a little with thread to prevent fraying. We screw the end of the rope to the pipe with a screw and begin to wind it. I will say right away that this is not an easy matter. You need to do it together. One holds the pipe, the other pulls it tightly, and this should be done as tightly as possible to the pipe. After every 10-15 laps, be sure to “compact the rope down” with a hammer and screw the rope with a screw (we do this from the side where it will not be visible). If you don't compact the rope properly, it will slide down after a few days.

We attach the corners to which the shelves will be attached to the pipe at the required height, and hide these corners under the rope.

I lined the end of the pipe with fur. When finishing winding the rope, you need to go a little deeper into the fur and secure the rope well with screws.

Step 9. We cut holes in advance for the corners in the shelves and thread the corners that we have on the pipe into them.

Step 10. We secure the pipe well. And enjoy the result!

I made shelves on the wall and the side of the cabinet along its entire height, now the cats have the opportunity to also be on the cabinet. I still had some fur and padding polyester left, so I made a bed and put it on the closet.

Now our cats are exploring their new spaces!

We’ll also talk about interesting additions to the gaming complex.

Making a house for a cat with your own hands: simple solutions and selection of materials + 59 photo ideas

The tunnel can be horizontal, it can be placed on a sofa, in an armchair or on the floor. There are vertical tunnel designs for brave and playful cats.

In a cold room, the tunnel is an excellent secluded and warm place for

sleep _ Plush and fleece tunnels can replace a cat's bed or house.

For a pet's play, a tunnel is absolutely irreplaceable. For example, a model with foil sewn into the lining creates a rustling sound when the cat moves along the pipe, which animals like so much. Such a toy will distract the cat from playing with plastic bags, since they are unsafe for animals. If a cat swallows pieces of plastic film, it may even die.

Very cheerful and active cats are helped to have fun by tunnels that have several side branches or just holes. The cat changes direction of movement, looks out from one edge of the tunnel, then from the other. She imagines herself as a hunter who went out for prey. And there is no greater joy for such an animal than playing in a tunnel.

author Admin Via

This entry was posted on January 20, 2014, in Pets and tagged cats. Bookmark the link.

Covering tunnels with carpet

The next stage is to cover the tunnels with carpet. We chose a gray shade. It matched perfectly with the color of our cat's coat. Buy a covering measuring 3 m x 6 m, because you need to cover two 60 cm long tunnels from the inside and outside. If you don't want to cover the inside, you can simply buy a 3m x 3m to cover just the outside of the pipes. We decided that it would be better to have leftovers than not have enough material to create such wonderful houses for our cat.

We chose a natural fiber carpet. It cost much more than synthetic in the store, but there was nowhere to go. I didn't want to constantly clean our pet's houses. With natural carpet there will never be any problems with cleaning, I guarantee you that. Loop natural carpet does not accumulate pet hair like other types of pile. Moreover, it will be convenient for the cat to sharpen its claws on it.

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We place the tube in the middle of a 120 cm x 150 cm piece of material so that the sections wrap around it. Leave two and a half centimeters at the ends. This is necessary so that the edges of the tunnel are also completely covered with carpet and are not visible. Wrap the carpet around the pipe and make sure it completely covers its circumference.

We make several marks along the carpet, 2.5 cm more than where it overlaps. We cut the carpet so that it completely covers the pipe with a slight overlap. We apply liquid nails to the back of the carpet only where the carpet backing touches the pipe. We start along the first end of the pipe. We use liquid nails. Do not spare them, because the carpet must fit tightly and securely to the tunnel. Then we apply liquid nails along the pipe until we reach the second end. We cut off the carpet remnants. Glue the seams. It is necessary for the structure to dry for 2-3 hours.

In order to proceed to the next step, you need to place the tunnel on the table. We find the place where the two seams meet, measure about 15 cm and cut the carpet into strips. We apply liquid nails to the strip, stretch it and pull the carpet into the pipe.

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We cut another strip and apply liquid nails, pull and pull the carpet into a pipe, align the edges with the first strip that we glued. We continue to follow the same pattern until we reach the last strip. We will have to cut this strip along the edges to match the first and last strip we glued. We turn the pipe over and do the same on the other side. If there are any gaps, you can take the carpet scraps and glue them inside.

Is a cat tunnel a necessity or a game?

September 20, 2016

Cats love to hide under chairs, behind the TV, on the closet, and even in bags and boxes. We habitually believe that a pet is simply playing with us, splashing out its natural energy. However, in fact, this is not a joke at all; hiding in dark corners, the animal realizes its hunting instincts within the framework of the means available to it. It is in order to give the pet the opportunity to fully satisfy the needs of life that a cat tunnel is needed in the house.

Where do “legs grow” from?

Throughout their “evolutionary life,” these animals seek shelter in order to feel protected from large predators. In an open area, a cat is practically unable to relax and fully rest - to do this, it needs to hide in a safe place. Of course, our pets do not experience such constant stress; they are able to sit comfortably in a chair, on the kitchen table, and even on their owner’s head. However, they sometimes get nervous, not finding a quiet place where they could hide from troubles and wait out some time. A tunnel for a cat is simply necessary, especially if the animal has a shy character or has just arrived in the house.

Wild cats need shelter not only for protection from predators, but also for hunting. A pet, no matter how lazy it may be, is also a hunter. And deep down, each of them dreams of catching valuable prey. If there are no suitable objects for this, the owner’s feet are used as they pass by the cat sitting in ambush.

Pets rarely walk outside, so they don’t move enough, which can harm the animal’s health. Boxes, cabinets, tunnels are objects that help maintain the required level of activity for the cat.

What is it and what is it for cats?

A cat tunnel is an unusual design in the form of a pipe or other shape with holes. Usually, for its manufacture, fabric with fixing tabs is taken (for example, cardboard), but other material is also possible.

The tunnel is a favorite pastime for cats

These devices are included as an element in the play area for a pet. Some products are designed so that the animal can not only actively spend time in them, but also relax.

Asylum

Cat owners know that finding a hidden pet can be very difficult: it can be on the mezzanine, under the bottom shelf of the closet, under the bathroom - anywhere. Animals often choose places that are completely unsuitable for playing and sleeping: it could be an oven, a microwave oven, a washing machine, a car engine, or any other place. Cats are instinctively drawn to warmth and secluded places, and even in sleep they remain alert.

To prevent an animal from seeking shelter in inappropriate places, it is best to provide it with a suitable one. Today you can choose a shelter to suit every taste: houses, palaces, couches, tunnels.

Hammock

A cat hammock is also great for a restful sleep. These structures are made of various materials and have a variety of designs.

Before you buy a hammock for your cat, you need to make sure that its fastenings are secure and that the structure will support the weight of your animal. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the preferences of a particular pet: does it like to sleep on a smooth or hard surface, does it need fabric or fur, does it want to rock, or does the bed need to be stable.

The battery-mounted design is very popular. Most animals willingly spend time at such observation points. However, it is worth remembering that if the battery gets too hot, a cat, especially a young one, may overheat. In addition, such a place is not suitable for animals with thick and long hair - near radiators it becomes brittle and dry.

No less popular, but more expensive are play complexes that include a hammock. Such structures are equipped with scratching posts, houses, pedestals, and tunnels. Any animal will be happy to have such a “hut” at its disposal, but not every apartment and budget will accommodate such a gift for a pet.

Game tunnel

Sometimes owners decide to create a cat-friendly home. To do this, a cat tunnel is placed around the entire perimeter of the home. Most often, it is made under the ceiling, leaving holes with convenient descents along the entire length, so that the animal can go out where it wants, or watch what is happening in the house.

This design fully corresponds to the natural inclinations of the animal: it observes from above, remaining unnoticed, as if from the branches of trees, where the wild ancestors of modern pets preferred to hide.

In order for such a device to be used as a play tunnel for cats, in some areas you can sew foil, which will make their favorite rustling sound. You can equip the passages with hanging toys that you can “hunt” on. Be sure to make several side corridors along which the animals can run after each other. Of course, it is worth making a huge tunnel if there is more than one animal in the house - this way it will be much more interesting for them to run through the passages. For a single pet, a small device is quite enough, in which it is convenient to hide, sleep comfortably and have fun playing.

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Customer Reviews

Tatyana: “I’ve been planning to buy a tunnel for a cat for two years, but I couldn’t choose everything. Finally bought the Trixie Spieltunnel with sleeves. The cat had already grown beyond the age of a kitten, but immediately showed interest in the toy. Runs in and freaks out inside. Sometimes you have to lure him out of there with treats.”

Sania: “I bought a collapsible S-shaped tunnel for my cats on Aliexpress at a discount for ridiculous money. I have two of them. Now they don’t even need a mistress. They hide there, run after each other, jump out unexpectedly from the windows - they hunt me and each other.”

Vladislav: “Our cat is already an adult. She is 6 years old. They thought that things like tunnels were no longer interesting to her, so they didn’t buy them. Our friends gave us a plush Trixie tunnel, so she sleeps in it and hides in it when there are guests in the house. She never liked noisy companies.”

Should I buy a tunnel for cats or make it myself?

Cats are one of the most inquisitive creatures on earth! They always care about everything. And of course, one of their favorite pastimes is to explore the world around them, or rather your apartment or house, and crawl through places that are difficult for humans to reach, for example, under a bed or sofa, or maybe secretly sneak inside a cardboard box. If you are the owner of a soft, warm ball of fur, you simply have to make him happy and give him cat toys and accessories that are interesting to him. There are many options for such toys, let’s consider one of cats’ favorite preferences. So, we will talk about a tunnel for a cat, believe me, this is one of the favorite pastimes for cats, crawling inside the tunnel for hours, hiding from the owner and playfully hitting with their paws at passing household members.

Online pet stores offer caring owners a number of different options to choose from. What should an ideal tunnel for cats

? First you need to ask yourself why cats like tunnels so much; the answer lies in the manifestation of their hunting instinct, and the thirst for knowledge of everything unusual and unknown. Instincts are especially pronounced during long hours of games. So, you need to choose an option that would fully reveal the hunting skills of your furry, and would not get boring for him quickly. Therefore, it is better to choose options for composite multi-level transforming tunnels for kittens and cats. Typically, such a tunnel consists of four or five parts that can be connected, so you get a whole multi-level network of corridors. Believe me, the kitten will spend hours crawling through them, going up and down, left and right, this is especially useful for small kittens as it improves their coordination skills and imitates climbing trees. In pet stores, such a maze may be called a wall-mounted cat tunnel. Let your cat feel like a real climber!

Another option for tunnels, more interactive and safe. The tunnel looks like a coil. This type of shelter remains on the ground to avoid injuries that could occur if your kitty accidentally falls from a wall-mounted cat tunnel. As mentioned above, a coil labyrinth is formed. In this version, cats love to play chase, you can easily play with her, pretending to be the victim. It is especially interesting if you have several cats; they will play, hunt and relax in such a toy for hours. The appearance is so playful that it usually does not spoil the surrounding interior due to the use of bright colors in the materials. Manufacturers have tried to make the tunnels not bulky and easy to clean; you can easily assemble and put it away if you have guests. The tunnel is decorated with strong, durable synthetic fabric that is not afraid of sharp cat claws and is easy to wash.

Tunnels for cats

The production itself is simple. You will need a regular corrugated pipe of large diameter, just enough for your cat to fit inside. Fortunately, manufacturers produce them in different colors, and you can create a fairly pleasant-looking gaming room. Next, the corrugated pipe can be attached using metallized tape to a cardboard box, which cats love as a house. To do this, you need to cut several entrances and exits into the box. In this simple way, you can make a tunnel of any shape and size yourself.

Similar materials

Mouse Lion Scratching Post || cat house

When a cat lives in a house, especially if it is a small apartment, the owners of these cute animals constantly have to deal with their inexhaustible activity, curiosity and desire to explore all accessible and even hard-to-reach places in the human home.

Cognitive games of meowing pets lead to objects flying from shelves, the plaintive meowing of an animal stuck in a closet or behind a sofa, and other destructive consequences, which have long been excellent material for the plot of short animated films.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to avoid the mess that cat play can bring into your home - go to the pet store and buy interactive toys for your furry or non-furry pet, including a cat play tunnel. Tunnels are able to fully satisfy the ineradicable love of these animals for heights, help them cope with the irresistible instinct of the hunter and the craving for research.

What can you make a tunnel for cats from?

I'm interested in what can serve as an internal frame that will hold the round shape of the tunnel.
What ideas will there be?

photos or videos are welcome!

Cats love all kinds of passages, and if there are two or more of them in the house, then even more so. A very large selection of all kinds of tunnels is sold in pet stores. The principle of their manufacture is simple - any fabric is stretched over a frame consisting of several rings made, for example, of plastic.

Another option is a tunnel made of solid materials (wide rings of cardboard covered on the outside and inside with fleecy material).

If you want to make a tunnel with your own hands, here are several options.

1) From ordinary cardboard boxes next to each other.

2) From various plastic pipes, varying in size.

3) From any fabric based on a frame of rings. Even children's pants can be used as a tunnel.

4) On my own behalf, I would like to add that a plastic mesh is suitable for the tunnel, from which several cylinders are made, covering and connecting them with fabric.

Finally, watch a funny video of a cat having fun in such a tunnel.

There are plastic pipes of medium diameter, one pipe can become a good tunnel for cats.

If you need a tunnel with a turn, then you can use a corrugated pipe.

Pipes are expensive and if you don’t have money, then you can simply put together a rectangular tunnel from boards.

It can be made from old five-liter bottles, which can be fastened with thick fabric that will not be torn by claws in the heat of play. You can use raincoat fabric.

What types of cat tunnels are there?

Both small kittens and adult cats can play in play tunnels, and older animals, as a rule, sleep in them with pleasure. With the appearance of a play structure of this kind in the house, the cat will leave its attempts at pieces of furniture and will crawl, hide or rest inside the pipe.

There are only two types of play tunnels for cats - horizontal and vertical - but there is a huge variety in the designs of this toy. Firstly, there can be a different number of holes in the structure; there are toys with one entrance, and others with holes located on the side and top. By the way, cats turn some holes into an observation post, where they warily monitor the world around them and, of course, hunt, as a rule, for the legs of their owners. Horizontal species may have only one “sleeve” or several additional ones. Cats really like triple designs, which have three “sleeves” located in different directions.

Wall-mounted, that is, vertical play tunnels , are ideal for animal owners who live in small apartments. In toys of vertical design, the base is made of plywood, which gives reliability and strength to the entire product. Vertical species can have several “floors” and they are all connected to each other by openings, which allows the animal to move freely throughout the entire gaming system. After climbing the tunnel, on the top floor your pet will find a cozy cat bed where he can rest.

How to calculate how much rope is needed for a scratching post?

Now let’s remember school mathematics and calculate the amount of rope depending on the length of the pipe. Let’s calculate using my example:

We measure: Pipe diameter 10 cm.
We multiply: pipe diameter x pi number - i.e. it turns out 10 x 3.14 = 31.4 cm - this is the length of the rope that will be needed for one circle. Taking into account the thickness of the rope, it turns out a little more (for me it was about 38 cm per 1 turn).
We calculate: The thickness of my sisal rope is 8 mm. It turns out that for about 10 cm of the length of the pipe - 10 circles of rope, since there are small gaps between the circles of rope (here it all depends on the thickness of the rope you take), i.e. 10 x 38 = 380 cm (3.8 m of rope per 10 cm of pipe length).
Let's calculate: The length of my pipe is 2.3 m. If we assume that there is 1 circle per 1 cm of pipe length, we get 2.3 m per pipe = 230 circles (if the rope is 6 mm thick, there will be more circles): 38 cm (length of rope for 1 lap) x 230 laps (number of laps of pipe) = 8740 cm = 87.4 m of rope for my entire pipe. It took me about that much sisal rope.

It is better to take a rope with a small reserve!

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We attach the corners to which the shelves will be attached to the pipe at the required height, and hide these corners under the rope.

I lined the end of the pipe with fur. When finishing winding the rope, you need to go a little deeper into the fur and secure the rope well with screws.

Step 9. We cut holes in advance for the corners in the shelves and thread the corners that we have on the pipe into them.

Step 10. We secure the pipe well. And enjoy the result!

Now our cats are exploring their new spaces!

Check out 15 DIY cat toys you can make!

Many pet owners place various cat toys on the “floors” of the wall tunnel, which the animals undoubtedly really like, and they can play in this structure for hours. What materials are play tunnels made from?

Play structures for “mustachioed and striped animals” are made from only two materials: soft, most often plush, and rustling, which the animals really like, despite the fact that it is made from synthetic fabrics. The “sleeves” and “floors” of the play tunnels have different colors that enliven the interior of the house with a bright spot; some cat owners even specially select this toy to match the color scheme of the room.

The play tunnels for cats produced by the popular companies Triol and Trixie are practically the same in design, their differences lie only in size and materials, but in any case, the toy is made of dense fabric with a reliable frame inside.

Varieties

Cat tunnels can be classified according to several criteria. For example, they differ in the material they are made of. On the shelves of specialized stores for cats today you can buy products made of fabric, fur and even plastic. In addition, the tunnels are often equipped with linings, which can be standard or deliberately rustling - this attracts the attention of cats who adore such things.

In addition, different types of structures themselves can be distinguished into separate lines. Depending on this, they are straight or curved. According to the type of direction, modifications are divided into vertical and horizontal. This is convenient, since owners will be able to choose the most unusual options for their pets, taking into account the temperament and level of activity of their cats. In this case, products may differ not only in internal diameter, but also in length.

How to choose a play tunnel for a cat

Pet stores offer several design options, but the best option for this toy is, of course, a multi-level model that has a composite design that allows it to be easily transformed.

When purchasing, it is important to pay attention to its size. It is better to choose a play tunnel consisting of at least five parts; in this case, you can not only assemble a toy that does not interfere with people, but also fully satisfy the play needs of the animal. The material must be durable and pleasant to the touch. Particular attention should be paid to the strength of the material when purchasing a vertical tunnel, along which the animal will certainly climb, climbing up and releasing its sharp claws.

Assembling the top and bottom parts

For the bottom and top layers we will need:

(4) 2.5cm PVC elbow fitting;
(2) 2.5 cm PVC tee;
(4) 2.5 cm PVC pipe, cut to 23 cm;
(3) 2.5 cm PVC pipe, cut to 30 cm for each layer.

We connect PVC pipes and fittings. We focus on the photos presented in the article.

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