DIY toy guide
Repurposed Bookcase Cat Condo
An unwanted bookcase reborn as a multi-level cat condo with beds, hideouts and perches
A sturdy old bookcase already has everything a cat tower needs — levels, nooks and height. With a few cushions, some carpet offcuts and a couple of cut-out doorways, it becomes a full cat condo for the price of the bits you add.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Time
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- £0–£20
🧺 You will need
- A solid, stable bookcase (wooden or strong flat-pack)
- Carpet or sisal offcuts, plus non-toxic PVA glue or a staple gun
- Cushions, folded blankets or cut-to-fit foam for the shelves
- Optional: a jigsaw or padsaw to cut round 'doorways' between compartments
- Two L-brackets and screws to anchor it to the wall
- Optional: a hanging toy or two, and a length of sisal rope for a scratch post
🔧 How to make it
- Choose a bookcase that is genuinely sturdy and empty it completely, sanding any rough edges smooth.
- Before anything else, secure the bookcase to the wall with L-brackets so it cannot tip — this step is not optional for a climbing frame.
- If you have a saw and the shelves allow it, cut a smooth, cat-sized round hole in one or two shelves so cats can climb through from level to level, sanding the cut edges.
- Glue or staple carpet or sisal offcuts onto a few shelf surfaces and one upright for grip and scratching.
- Drop a cushion or folded blanket into the lower, enclosed compartments to make cosy hideouts, and leave an upper shelf open as a lookout perch.
- Add a hanging toy at a low level and, if you like, wrap a length of sisal around one leg for a built-in scratching post.
- Set it against the wall, ideally near a window, and let your cat explore at its own pace.
💡 Tips
Put the enclosed dens low and the open perch high — cats like to hide down low and survey from up top. A bookcase beside a window turns the top shelf into prime bird-watching seating. Leave one shelf clear so you can still use it for a plant or a lamp if you like.
📝 Notes
Cats need vertical space to climb, perch and retreat to, and a cat condo gives all three, but shop-bought towers are expensive and often flimsy. A repurposed bookcase is solid, roomy and cheap, and rehoming a piece of furniture that might otherwise be thrown out keeps it out of landfill while giving your cat a proper multi-level territory of its own.