We have a cat and dog. And this comes with certain challenges. The main one being that our dog Rosie kept eating meals we left out for our cat Flynn. So we had an idea to make some sort of wooden cat shelf which Flynn could jump onto but Rosie couldn’t reach. Thus allowing Flynn to dine at his leisure.
How I made it
I made the cat shelf out of scrap plywood cut out with a bandsaw. The curved shape allows it to be mounted in the corner of a staircase without blocking access. I cut the holes with a jigsaw and then sanded the edges smooth. There’s a little raised edge which I added to give Flynn a bit of extra security. And the finish is Colron wood dye.
Things I would change
There are a few things I would change if I was doing this again, mainly based on Flynn’s feedback:
- It’s important to choose the right bowl. The ones I used have a very small lip. So in earlier versions they were moving around a bit too much and didn’t feel very secure
- Apparently cats don’t like their food and water being close together. And indeed Flynn refused to drink the water for quite a few weeks. Next time I’ll try to space them further apart.
- I sanded it down to a lovely smooth finish, just like I would for a human. However this didn’t impress Flynn. He likes a surface with a bit more grip and a bit less slip. As much as it pains me, next time I’ll leave a rougher finish.
So there you have it, cat and dog are happy and are no longer fighting over their food. And that’s another reason why Woodwork Matters!
If you’d like to make one of these, or have one made for you, feel free to contact me. Or you can receive my newsletter to get the latest news, updates and projects straight to your inbox.