It’s pretty common knowledge that cats love to climb and be high off the ground to watch over their environment. There are numerous ways to give your cat the vantage point they love by placing cat shelves on your wall or getting them a cat tree to play and sleep on. But what about when they want to get from one vantage point to another? That’s what cat bridges are for! This interlocking structure can be used to walk across or nap on—so it needs to be sturdy.
For those looking a save a bit of money or who love building things themselves, we’ve got a few DIY cat bridges below to help you with your task. Don’t worry; they’re not too complicated, and you’re free to adjust the designs and materials according to your style and what you have around your home.
The 8 DIY Cat Bridges
1. Cat Rope Bridge by The Owner Builder Network
| Materials: | Plywood, varnish, upholstery tacks, joints, shelf brackets, sisal ropes, wood glue, screws, and screw plate |
| Tools | Sander, paintbrush, measuring tape, circular saw, and drill |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This DIY cat rope bridge is going to take a bit of time and effort. It requires serious tools such as a sander, circular saw, and drill, but the YouTube tutorial walks you through the process nicely.
You’ll need to paint, measure out, and cut the pieces of wood into the same sizes to eventually join them together with screws and sisal rope. Attach the end perches to your wall and then secure the interlocking bridge to it. You can place this bridge at the top of your doorway so that your cat has a full view of your room and passage.
The end result should look like a simple rope bridge that you see in movies or rural areas. It won’t only look great, but your cat is going to love the adventure too!
2. DIY Carpeted Cat Bridge by Matt Heere
| Materials: | Carpet, wood, and screws |
| Tools: | Chop saw, drill, glue gun, and staple gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
To protect your cat’s joints from future problems, prevent them from jumping from one cabinet to the other by placing a bridge between them. What’s different about this bridge? Well, it’s carpeted and doubles as a cat scratcher to save your furniture.
The designer of this carpeted cat bridge has an easy video tutorial to guide you through this easy DIY project. Begin by cutting a piece of wood into the length that corresponds with the distance between your cabinets. Cut smaller, matching blocks to create legs for the bridge.
Take your carpet piece and staple it onto your wooden structure. Cut off any excess. Glue the edges down to prevent your carpet from fraying, and place it on top of your cabinets to create a bridge between them.
3. Hammock Cat Bridge by IBurnMetal
| Materials: | Old canvas cloth, strips of pine, 2 angle brackets, deck screws, and pocket hole screws |
| Tools: | Measuring tape, miter saw, drill, screwdrivers, pocket hole jig, stud finder, hammer, and chisel |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
We’ve got another excellent video tutorial for you to follow when attempting to DIY your own hammock cat bridge. It’s a great alternative to wood, and you can use any old canvas cloth that you may have around your home.
Prepare your canvas by ironing the seams flat and then sewing them together. As per the video, cut and prepare your wooden “clamps.” These will hold your canvas on either side once it’s been screwed through. Secure the hammock cat bridge onto the wall but make sure it’s near their cat tree, tall cat scratcher, or perch so that your cat can reach it.
You can repeat the process and place another hammock bridge next to the one you just built to extend it. This bridge is so comfy that you shouldn’t be surprised if you see your cat curled up in it the next day.
4. DIY Cat Bridge by IKEA Hackers
| Materials: | LACK tables, angle brackets, straight metal brace, wood screws, and plastic wall plugs with screws |
| Tools: | Drill |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
If you’ve got a couple of LACK tables from IKEA that you don’t have any purpose for, you can use them to build your cat an IKEA LACK table bridge/walkway. Sounds strange, right? Well, turn them upside down, and you’ll start to see how this could work out quite nicely.
If your IKEA LACK tables aren’t already assembled, go ahead and do so by following the instructions that accompany the tables. If you’re using multiple LACK tables, join them together by the legs with the straight metal braces. Turn the LACK tables upside down and then attach your angle brackets onto the bottom of their legs.
Drill the angle brackets to the ceiling to attach the IKEA LACK tables. You’ll need a friend to help you if you have multiple LACK tables joined together. These LACK tables give your cat a spacious and secure bridge to walk on—as well as a new purpose for the LACK tables.
5. Interlocking Cat Bridge by Sid’s woodworks
| Materials: | Wood squares, baling wire, u-shaped fencing nails, and thick twine |
| Tools: | Hammer and miter saw |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Depending on how much DIY work you intend to do, you can either use a cat shelf or build your own cat suspension bridge to get your cat from one cat tree to the other in an easy and fun manner.
If you opt for the easy option, simply place your cat’s trees on either side of their cat shelf or perch. Otherwise, follow the instructions that accompany the cat tree on how to assemble it and secure it, and build it between the two cat trees.
For a more do-it-yourself option, watch this YouTube video on how to make a DIY suspension bridge to close the gap between the two cat trees. You’ll first need to cut the wood into the correct sizes, nail the thick twine down using the u-shaped fencing nails, and secure it to the end of each cat tree with the baling wire.
Now your cat has a simple yet effective way to reach their other cat tree without climbing down onto the floor.
6. Multiple Pallet Cat Bridges by 1001 Pallets
| Materials: | Wood boards, premade cat tree, copper pipe strap, sisal rope, drapery rod, D-ring carabiners, and wood glue |
| Tools: | Glue gun and drill |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
If you’re looking for an inexpensive plan to make a multi-bridge structure for your cat that has several perches, read through this DIY guide. You can use any type of wood for this cat bridge, but pallet wood is one of the more affordable types, and you may already have some lying around your backyard.
What’s great about this cat bridge is that your cats can walk, play, and run along it just above your head while you’re relaxing in your room or living area. It can also be added to over time, which means that you can add extensions and finish it at your own pace. Get creative with this multi-bridge design and add the cat furniture to it that your furry friend enjoys most.
7. DIY Tubed Cat Bridge by CatsOnTv
| Materials: | Cardboard tube, carpet, screws, and brackets |
| Tools: | Staple gun, glue gun, drill, and a carpet knife |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Another affordable way to make a cat bridge is by using a cardboard tube. This video tutorial is short and simple if you need some extra guidance or inspiration.
Firstly, glue the carpet to your cardboard tube. This will make the bridge look fashionable as well as offer your cat some extra grip.
Drill the brackets onto the cardboard tube and then secure it onto your wall, across a doorway, or onto existing cat furniture. That’s all you have to do, making this cat bridge one of the easiest on our list.
8. Cat Storage Bridge
| Materials: | Wood slates, stair tread, plywood, poplar strip, oak dowel, carpet runner, upholstery tacks, biscuit joints, shelf brackets, LED strip, and a turning knob |
| Tools: | Miter saw, wood clamp, scroll saw, drill, and table saw |
| Difficulty Level: | Hard |
While creating the perfect climbing playground for your cat, you may want to do a little something for yourself too. Whether it be for aesthetics, storage, or books, you could consider adding this cat storage bridge to your room.
This is a slightly more difficult cat bridge to build yourself, so don’t know back from following the detailed plan. If it’s still a bit too advanced for your DIY skills, simplify the plans to better suit your abilities.
Start with a sketch of your design, and then start building the storage bridge from there. Of course, you could always opt to add a simple cat bridge to your existing bookshelf to save you both time and effort.
In Closing
Although we hope these DIY cat bridges have given you some inspiration and guidance in building your own, remember that you have complete creative freedom. You can choose to use different materials and tools than those suggested in the guides if that’s what you have lying around your home. Just make sure that the bridges are strong enough to hold your cat and that you’ve safely secured them in place to avoid any sudden falls. Happy building!
Featured Image Credit: Dominik Weber, Pixabay
