- 1). Pour mixed concrete (concrete powder that has been mixed with water according to the directions on the package of concrete) into a large wide flower pot which is approximately twelve inches in diameter. Fill the flower pot at least half full of liquid concrete. Insert a solid, bark-covered tree limb or tree trunk, approximately four inches in diameter, into the concrete and let the concrete dry. The tree trunk must have several branches still attached. Water the concrete twice a day for several days as it dries to prevent it from cracking. Concrete powder can be purchased at a home center. The tree trunk may be one that has been pruned from a larger tree or maybe a leftover Christmas tree. Both hardwood and softwood trees will work for this project.
- 2). Approximately three feet from the trunk's base, remove the bark on the tree trunk where you will be gluing the middle of an 18-inch-long two-by-two board to the tree with wood glue. Glue the board and clamp the board to the tree trunk and let it dry. When it is dry, secure it in place by inserting three screws with the screw gun to hold the board in place. Repeat this two more times along the trunk of the tree with the remaining two boards, with each board attached about one and a half feet higher than the last. Vary the angles of the boards so that they are not lined up.
- 3). Lay a wooden shelf horizontally along the outer end of each of the boards (one on the left side on the bottom board, the next upper board on the right side, the highest board on the left side). The shelves should be approximately two inches thick and eight inches by eight inches. Glue the shelves along the boards' ends horizontally with wood glue. Clamp them to the boards. When the glue dries, secure the shelves by screwing them onto the board.
- 4). Lay three Sonotubes (from the concrete formwork section of a hardware or building supply store) on the three remaining outer board ends. Lay these sonotubes horizontally on the opposite side of the shelf in the same manner as the wooden shelves. Screw them in place with wood screws.
- 5). Cover the inside of each Sonotube with fabric. (Any old soft fabric will do, though something soft like old carpeting squares will be nice and soft for the cat.) Do the same with the flat shelves. Attach the fabric to the undersides of the perches and shelves by placing the seams on the the undersides of the perches and stapling them to the wooden shelf undersides and the Sonotube undersides.
- 6). Wrap sisal rope (found at home centers) around the tree trunk. Wrap the rope around the whole trunk or in various spots near the shelves and perches where the cat will sit. Cats like to sharpen their claws on sisal rope and offering them this opportunity may help protect the other furniture in the house. Nail the rope to the tree trunk in the spot where the rope is meant to start and wind it tightly upward. Nail the rope to the tree trunk where it ends.
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