Felt Cat House with Hideaway Condo

She'd rather sit in the Amazon box. You bought the padded bed, she looked at it once, and went back to the cardboard. Cats don't want a soft open cushion in the middle of a room. They want walls, a roof and one way in.

This felt cat house is exactly that, stacked, with a cushion inside each level. Every floor is an enclosed cave with its own opening, and the whole thing goes upward instead of outward.

Why a stacked cave beats a cat bed:

• Enclosed on every level: walls, a roof and small openings, which is the shape cats actually choose
• One cat per floor: two cats stop negotiating over the same spot
• Lies down as a tunnel: one move turns the furniture into a game
• 14.6 in (37 cm) square footprint: it all goes upward, so it fits an apartment
• Wooden peg steps: a way up the side to the top perch

Two cats, two floors, no argument. Each level is its own enclosed cave with its own opening, so one cat can hide underneath while another sleeps above without either having to share. In a one-cat house, it just means she gets to pick her mood.

Lay it down and it's a tunnel. Tip the whole thing onto its side and the stacked caves line up, which is usually enough to get a cat who's been ignoring it to go through three times in a row.

All of it goes upward. The footprint is the size of a large book, which is the difference between a cat tower you can have in an apartment and one you can't. Wooden pegs down the sides give her the steps to the top.

It slots together in a few minutes. The panels push into each other and the wooden pegs lock them, so it arrives flat and goes up without tools. It comes apart the same way if it has to move rooms or go into storage.

Getting the size right

Two heights, both on the same 14.6 x 14.6 in (37 x 37 cm) footprint:

• Two layer: 14.6 x 14.6 x 23.6 in (37 x 37 x 60 cm), sits at side-table height
• Three layer: 14.6 x 14.6 x 35.4 in (37 x 37 x 90 cm), puts the top perch near a window sill

Choose by the height you want her to reach rather than by her size. The caves themselves are the same on both, and the extra layer buys a lookout, not more room to sleep.

Specifications

• Sizes: two layer 14.6 x 14.6 x 23.6 in (37 x 37 x 60 cm), three layer 14.6 x 14.6 x 35.4 in (37 x 37 x 90 cm)
• Material: dense pressed felt panels with wooden peg steps
• Inside: soft cushion on each level
• Toy: hanging pompom on a string
• Also works as: a tunnel when laid on its side
• Assembly: slot together, no tools

Safety note: Stand it against a wall rather than in open floor space so it doesn't rock when a cat lands on the top. Check the peg joints every few weeks and push them home if they have worked loose.

Pick the height that puts the top perch where she wants to look out, stand it against the wall, and the cardboard box finally loses.